Sesame Chicken

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!

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Looking for more make your own take out recipes? Some of our favorites are this Mongolian Beef, 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.

How to Make Sesame Chicken

1. Start by browning your chicken. You don’t need to cook it through – just make sure you have it browned on all sides.
2. Add the sesame seeds and garlic powder and continue to cook until they are toasted.
3. Add the sauce ingredients – it’s only chicken broth, hoisin sauce and pepper.
4. Let it cook long enough to cook the chicken through and thicken the sauce slightly.
5. Add in the broccoli and continue to cook until it is crisp-tender, or done to your liking.
6. Drizzle with a bit of toasted sesame oil.
7. 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.
• You can use fresh garlic instead of garlic powder. If you choose to do this, don’t add the garlic until just before the seeds are toasted so that it doesn’t burn. It only needs about 30 seconds to cook.
• You can also sub in boneless, skinless chicken breasts for the thighs, but I like the extra flavor and tenderness you get from the thighs.
• 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
Pressure Cooker Cashew Chicken
Steak Stir Fry with Peppers
Easy Egg Roll Recipe
Easy Lo Mein