A healthier take on a Chinese food favorite, this Sesame Chicken stir fry is an easy dinner that can be on the table in 30 minutes. It’s also non-spicy, so everyone in the family can enjoy!
Looking for more make your own take out recipes? Some of our favorites are this Mongolian Beef, this Kung Pao Chicken, this Orange Chicken, and this Beef and Broccoli Recipe.
We love getting Chinese take out. Sometimes you just need some good orange chicken in your life.
But let’s be honest – after we eat it, we’re not feeling all that great. It’s often deep fried and filled with all kinds of things we don’t know about.
Now I like deep fried every now and again, but sometimes, we need to feed that Chinese take out craving but we also want to feel good after.
That is one reason I absolutely adore this Stir Fry Sesame Chicken recipe.
(And let’s be honest – even if I’m not looking for a healthier recipe, this recipe is so good I often crave it!)
What is Sesame Chicken
Sesame Chicken is a chicken dish that can usually be found at most American Chinese restaurants. The best way I’ve heard it described is being similar to General Tso’s Chicken, minus the heat.
It is a mild chicken recipe that has a nutty flavor from lots of sesame seeds.
Sesame chicken is often made from deep fried pieces of chicken, but I love this recipe because it’s not only healthier, but it is faster, as well. And while you are always welcome to leave the broccoli out, I love the addition of a vegetable.
This recipe is also a little different from many others as there is no soy sauce or brown sugar. Its sweetness comes from the hoisin sauce.
Hoisin sauce is a sauce made from soybean paste, garlic, chiles and spices. It can sometimes contain sugar and vinegar, as well. And even though chiles are one of the ingredients, I have always found the grocery store varieties to be on the mild side. It adds the perfect combination of sweet, spicy, salty and umami.
Ingredients
- Oil: You want an oil that is good for sautéing – I tend to use extra virgin olive oil. You could also use vegetable oil, canola oil, or avocado oil.
- Chicken: My favorite is to use chicken thighs for this recipe. You can use chicken breasts, but the thighs will give you better flavor and texture.
- Sesame Seeds: You can’t have sesame chicken without sesame seeds! You want 2 full tablespoons for the recipe, plus more for sprinkling on top. You do want to make sure that your sesame seeds are not old, as the oil will go rancid and the taste will be off.
- Garlic Powder: You could also use freshly mince garlic, but you’d want to add it a little bit later so that it does not burn.
- Chicken Broth: The broth will contribute to the sauce. I like to use low sodium broth.
- Hoisin Sauce: I talked about hoisin sauce above. It is usually pretty easy to find at most grocery stores in the Asian foods section.
- Pepper: This is just for seasoning.
- Broccoli: Fresh broccoli will be the best in this recipe, but you could use frozen in a pinch. If using frozen, you want to thaw it and then add it with just enough time to warm it through.
- Sesame Oil: A drizzle of sesame oil to finish will really bring in that sesame flavor.
How to Make Sesame Chicken
- Start by browning your chicken. You don’t need to cook it through – just make sure you have it browned on all sides.
- Add the sesame seeds and garlic powder and continue to cook until they are toasted.
- Add the sauce ingredients – it’s only chicken broth, hoisin sauce and pepper.
- Let it cook long enough to cook the chicken through and thicken the sauce slightly.
- Add in the broccoli and continue to cook until it is crisp-tender, or done to your liking.
- Drizzle with a bit of toasted sesame oil.
- Serve over rice or noodles with an additional sprinkling of sesame seeds, if desired.
Tips and Tricks
- Make sure everything is ready to go before you start. It all cooks pretty quickly, so it’s important to have everything prepped and ready to go.
- This is pretty saucy, so you can cook the sauce a little longer to reduce it down a bit, if you’d like.
- I like to add just a bit of toasted sesame oil at the end. A little goes a long way, so I probably only use about 1 teaspoon, drizzled over the top. Make sure you are using toasted sesame oil for great flavor.
- This is great served over rice to soak up the extra sauce, but we have been serving it with rice noodles a lot lately, too. Both ways are delicious!
More Chinese Take Out Recipes
Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Daddy Wu’s Chinese Chicken
Slow Cooker Pepper Steak
Pressure Cooker Cashew Chicken
Steak Stir Fry with Peppers
Easy Egg Roll Recipe
Easy Lo Mein
LOOKING FOR MORE FREE RECIPES?
Subscribe to my free recipe newsletter to get new family friendly recipes in your inbox each week! Find me sharing more family-friendly inspiration on Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram.
Sesame Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 1/4 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds, plus more for serving
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1/2 cup hoisin sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 4 cups fresh broccoli, cut into bite-size pieces
- Drizzle of toasted sesame oil
- Rice or noodles, for serving
Instructions
- Place a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the olive oil. Once hot, add the chicken and cook, stirring as needed, until browned on all sides.
- Add sesame seeds and the garlic powder and stir to coat the chicken. Continue to cook until the sesame seeds are toasted, about 2 minutes.
- Add the chicken broth, hoisin sauce and pepper. Stir to coat and bring the mixture to a simmer.
- Cover the pan and cook until the chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes.
- Remove the cover from the pan and add the broccoli. Cook until the broccoli is crisp tender, about 5 minutes.
- Drizzle a bit of toasted sesame oil over the top.
- If desired, sprinkle with additional sesame seeds before serving over rice or noodles.
Valerie B says
Stumbled upon this recipe on Pinterest. We LOVED this recipe and we all came back for more. I used chicken breast instead of thighs and added more broccoli then the recipe called for! The flavor was great!
Mrs. L says
I think I have some to use up but can’t remember what I made with it originally…I’ll have to try this recipe.
Pomegranate says
I think I know what to prepare tonight. Lovely!
glamah16 says
My type of quick dinner.
♥Rosie♥ says
Looks a lovely meal and sounds so tasty!
Rosie x
Maria says
Great dinner idea. Thanks for sharing!
Sara says
oh that sounds so wonderful! can’t wait to try this.
Rosa's Yummy Yums says
A great meal! Tasty and healthy!
cheers,
Rosa