{"id":205226,"title":"Better Than Takeout Sesame Chicken","modified":"2026-11-09T11:38:28+01:00","plain":"Twice-fried chicken bites coated in a glossy glaze of honey, soy sauce and sesame, to serve with white rice and broccoli.\n\n\n\nOn the night a craving for Chinese takeout hits, this is often what you order. The golden bites crackle as you bite into them, then the honey and soy sauce glaze sticks to your fingers just enough, while the warm aroma of sesame rises from the bowl. \n\n\n\nIt\u2019s mild, with no chili, and is eaten steaming hot over white rice with a little broccoli. Made at home, it reaches the table while the crust is still crisp under the sauce.\n\n\n\nSame sesame glaze, beef version: crispy sesame beef\n\n\n\nWhat Is Sesame Chicken?\n\n\n\nSesame chicken is a classic of Chinese restaurants in the United States. Bite-size pieces of chicken are coated in a thin cornstarch batter, fried twice, then covered in a sweet-and-savory glaze of honey and light soy sauce. The sesame comes in at the end, with sesame oil poured into the sauce and sesame seeds scattered over the top.\n\n\n\nIts cousins are General Tso\u2019s chicken, which is spicier, and orange chicken, which is tangier: the same fried chicken with a different sauce. In English, you order it by the name \u201csesame chicken.\u201d\n\n\n\nAnother honey-glazed chicken: Chinese honey chicken\n\n\n\nA Product of New York\u2019s Chinese Restaurants\n\n\n\nSesame chicken descends from General Tso\u2019s chicken. That Hunanese dish, created in Taiwan in the 1950s by chef Peng Chang-kuei, reached New York in the early 1970s. Cooks there made it much sweeter for American customers, and sauce-coated fried chicken became a mainstay of the country\u2019s Chinese restaurants.\n\n\n\nAnother star of American Chinese takeout: Mongolian beef\n\n\n\nRestaurants quickly realized that the same fried chicken base could carry several different sauces. Sesame chicken is the mildest version, for those who want the crunch without the heat. \n\n\n\nIt\u2019s served in takeout containers with white rice and steamed broccoli, sometimes with Cantonese fried rice or Chinese egg drop soup on the side. It belongs to Chinese cuisine as it has adapted to American tastes.\n\n\n\nThe Main Ingredients in Sesame Chicken\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBoneless chicken thigh stays tender through double frying, whereas breast meat dries out more quickly. The batter combines cornstarch, a little flour, egg white, light soy sauce, white pepper and water. The cornstarch gives a light, crunchy crust, the flour helps it hold together, and the egg white makes it cling to the meat.\n\n\n\nHoney and brown sugar give the sauce its sweetness and shine, while soy sauce brings salt and umami. Ketchup adds acidity, color and body, and rice vinegar cuts through the greasiness of the frying. Shaoxing wine adds depth, and a grated garlic clove livens everything up.\n\n\n\nTo finish, sesame oil provides the aroma and the seeds the crunch. Green onion adds a fresh note against the sweetness of the glaze.\n\n\n\nTechnical Tips for Good Sesame Chicken\n\n\n\nThe crispiness comes from double frying. The first fry, at around 165 to 170 \u00b0C, cooks the chicken. The second, at 190 \u00b0C and very brief, dries out the crust, which then stays crunchy once it\u2019s in the sauce.\n\n\n\nThe whole method is explained step by step in our guide to Chinese double frying\n\n\n\nThe sauce boils just long enough to turn glossy and sticky: if it cooks too long, it smells of burnt sugar and turns bitter. The chicken spends only a few seconds in it, then you serve it right away, while the crust is still crunchy. A wok or a large frying pan gives you room to coat everything without crushing the pieces.\n\n\n\n\n\n\tRestaurant-Style Crispy Sesame Chicken\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\tBatter65 g cornstarch2 tablespoons flour1 tablespoon light soy sauce1 egg white0.25 teaspoon white pepper80 ml waterChicken450 g chicken, (preferably boneless thighs, cut into bite-size pieces)Neutral oil, (for frying)Sesame Sauce3 tablespoons honey, (to taste)2 tablespoons light soy sauce1.5 tablespoons ketchup1.5 tablespoons brown sugar, (to taste)1 tablespoon rice vinegar1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine, (or sake, or dry white wine)1 clove garlic, (grated)To Finish1.5 tablespoons sesame oil2 teaspoons sesame seeds1 green onion, (chopped)White rice, (for serving)Broccoli, (for serving)\t\n\t\n\t\tBatterMix all the batter ingredients in a bowl until you have a smooth batter with the consistency of paint.Add a little water if the batter is too thick.ChickenAdd the chicken pieces to the batter.Stir gently to coat each piece well.Heat the frying oil to about 165 to 170\u00b0C.Fry the chicken pieces for 5 to 7 minutes, until cooked through and golden.Remove the chicken from the oil.Turn the heat up to high to bring the oil to about 190\u00b0C.Fry the chicken a second time for 30 to 60 seconds, until deep golden and crispy.Let the chicken cool on a wire rack.Sesame SauceMix all the sauce ingredients in a bowl until smooth.Pour the sauce into a large frying pan or wok.Bring to a boil and let it boil for 1 to 2 minutes, until the sauce thickens slightly into a glossy, sticky glaze.To FinishAdd the fried chicken, sesame oil and sesame seeds to the thickened sauce.Toss gently for 15 to 30 seconds, just long enough to coat all the chicken in the sauce.Sprinkle with the green onion.Serve right away with the rice and broccoli.\t\n\t\n\t\tDon't overcook the sauce: 1 to 2 minutes of boiling is enough to get a sticky, glossy glaze. Any longer (you'll know by the smell of burnt sugar), and it turns too sticky and bitter, so you're better off making it again. If it reduces too quickly, lower the heat or add a splash of hot water. Taste the sauce before adding the chicken, and use less honey or brown sugar if you like it less sweet.\nDon't leave the chicken in the hot sauce for too long: the steam would soften the coating.\nThe Shaoxing wine can be left out; if you do use it, the alcohol cooks off. You'll find it at Asian grocery stores; failing that, dry sherry, sake or dry white wine can stand in for it. The ketchup is a sweet store-bought ketchup. You can replace the brown sugar with dark brown sugar or muscovado sugar.\nJust like at takeout restaurants, serve this chicken with rice and green vegetables: saut\u00e9ed broccoli, cabbage or zucchini.\nTo make ahead, keep the sauce and the fried chicken separate. Reheat the chicken by frying it again briefly, or for a few minutes in the oven or air fryer at 180\u00b0C, then toss it with the hot sauce. Leftovers keep for 5 days in an airtight container in the fridge, but the chicken loses some of its crispness.\n\t\n\t\n\t\tPlat principalChinoise","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205226","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=205226"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205226\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/205166"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=205226"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=205226"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=205226"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}