Skip the take-out and make your very own Homemade Crispy Sesame Chicken! It's easier thank you think and you can make it with simple and easy ingredients you already have in your pantry!
Guys. It's allllll the Asian flavors up in this house these days. Even though people often try to speak to me in Japanese, Chinese, and Korean (and any other Asian language that the speaker knows) because I am in Korean, I grew up in New England and was raised 100% Polish, so this much Asian deliciousness in our house isn't common, but it's now going to be because these homemade versions are so easy. With a two year old and a (now) 3 month old at home, dinner has to be easy these days. And although it might take a little bit of time, this Homemade Crispy Sesame Chicken is easy!
Ingredients Needed
Even though "from scratch" and "homemade" can often sound time consuming, it doesn't have to be. Plus, you probably already have everything for this recipe in your pantry. Maybe you don't have rice wine vinegar. In that case, you need to add it to your pantry immediately, especially if you want to make more Asian dishes.
Tip: You can make your own 5 Minute Homemade Ketchup and Homemade Brown Sugar!
Substitutes: You can also make this with boneless chicken thighs, but I personally prefer it with chicken breasts.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Coat the chicken pieces in eggs, flour, and cornstarch and then fry. It's the most most time consuming part of this recipe but 100% worth it.
Tip: For the best fry without the risk of undercooking and overcooking, is to make sure that your oil is 350 degrees. To do this, we have an instant read thermometer and love this one.
Step 2: Mix your sauce and then just mixing the sauce, adding it to a pan and then tossing your deliciously breaded and fried bits of chicken in it.
Step 3: Top with sesame seeds and green onions, serve over rice annnndddd done.
I mean, c'mon. How good does this look? Trust me, it tastes that good. I wish I could take credit for this recipe, but I totally can't. This is a creation by Dinner at the Zoo, who is amazing because all of her recipes are On. Point. Especially for a busy family!
My husband and my two year old could not get enough and have already requested it again! So skip the take out and make your own Homemade Crispy Sesame Chicken!
Other Favorite Asian Inspired Recipes
Crock Pot Beef Pho From Scratch
Sweet and Spicy Sriracha Chicken Thighs
20 Minute Sweet and Spicy Noodles
Chicken and Broccoli Sesame Noodles
Sweet and Sesame Ginger Meatballs
Don't forget to tell me if you've made the recipe on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter! Or leave a comment below - I love hearing from you!
Homemade Crispy Sesame Chicken
Ingredients
For the chicken
- 1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into 1 inch pieces
- 2 eggs
- salt and pepper
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
- oil for frying
For the sauce
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/2 cup soy sauce see note
- 1/3 -1/2 cup ketchup*
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar**
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
- 2 tablespoons sliced green onions
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk eggs and add salt and pepper. Mix to combine.
- In another bowl, combine flour and cornstarch.
- Coat the chicken by dipping each piece of chicken into the egg mixture, then into the flour. Repeat with all of the chicken.
- In medium deep pot, add 3 inches of oil and heat to 350 degrees F
- Once oil is hot, add about 8 pieces of chicken at a time and cook for 5 minutes or until crispy and golden brown. Repeat with all of the chicken.
- Let chicken drain on a paper towel lined plate.
- While the chicken cooks, combine the honey, soy sauce, ketchup, brown sugar, rice vinegar, sesame oil and 2 teaspoons of cornstarch in a bowl.
- Heat the vegetable oil in a large pan over medium heat. Cook garlic for 30 seconds then add the sauce and bring to a simmer. Cook for 3-4 minutes or until just thickened.
- Add the chicken and toss to coat with the sauce. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and green onions, then serve immediately over rice or just on it's own!
Notes
Nutrition
Recipe adapted from Dinner at the Zoo.
The sauce was too dark. My family couldn’t eat it. We rinsed the sauce off the chicken to salvage it and ate it with a different homemade sauce. You could taste the ketchup and vinegar. Too much soy sauce too.
I do not recommend.
The sauce was a little sweet. The recipe calls for 1 tablespoon of sesame oil in the sauce I’m not sure if that was a mistake because it also says 1 tablespoon to sauté the garlic. I probably will not make this again because of the sweetness.
I’ve made this a handful of times using the exact recipe and it’s fantastic! This last time (today) I used the recipe but cooked in the air fryer since I just bought one on 400* for 10 minutes, flipped the pieces and cooked an additional 7 minutes. It was phenomenal!!! My 5 year old couldn’t get enough and this is my husband’s favorite dinner now too.
Amanda! That's WONDERFUL to hear! Great to know about the air fryer, I don't have one (yet) but now I know. Thanks so much for sharing and letting me know!
Hi Tracy,
I’ve just tried this recipe and it’s amazing. May I just ask what soy sauce you used - dark or light? My dish turned out quite dark in colour. Thanks
Hi Jen! We use Kikkoman all purpose soy sauce for this recipe.
This was an AMAZING recipe. My family and I loved it so much. A few things I changed however to make it a bit healthier/add flavors I love: avocado oil for frying the chicken, peanut oil instead of sesame oil, cane sugar instead of brown sugar. Loved it with these flavors and tasted lighter than if getting it from Chinese takeout!
Yay Leah!! GREAT subs - SO glad you enjoyed it and thank you so much for letting me know!