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.
- Boneless Chicken - Breasts are our favorite for this.
- Flour - To coat the chicken. We use all purpose but you can also use a gluten free flour. Just keep in mind if you use an almond or coconut flour, that will adjust the taste of your chicken.
- Eggs - To bind the coating
- Cornstarch - To help make it crispy!
- The Sauce - Soy, rice vinegar, ketchup, honey, garlic, and brown sugar.
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 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
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
- oil for frying
For the sauce
- 1 1/3 tablespoon sesame oil, divided into 1 teaspoon and 1 tablespoon or vegetable oil
- 2-3 gloves garlic, minced
- 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
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
- 2 tablespoons sliced green onions
Instructions
- In a medium to large sized shallow bowl, combine flour and cornstarch.
- In another bowl, whisk eggs and add salt and pepper and mix well.
- Coat the chicken by dipping each piece of chicken into the egg mixture with tongs and then into the flour. Add to a large plate. Repeat with all of the chicken.
- In a deep pot (one that will be good for frying), add about 3- 3 1/2 inches of oil and heat on medium until oil is 350 degrees. It's best to use a thermometer for this, but you can also do the wooden spoon test.*
- Once oil is to temp, add chicken to oil (only about 8 pieces of chicken at a time as to not crowd the pot) and cook for 5 minutes or until crispy and golden brown. Remove from oil and add to a paper towel lined plate. Repeat with all of the chicken.
- Let chicken drain on a paper towel lined plate.
- Meanwhile, combine the honey, soy sauce, ketchup, brown sugar, rice vinegar, sesame oil and 2 teaspoons of cornstarch in a bowl. You can also prepare this sauce a day in advance.
- Heat the vegetable oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add garlic and sauté for about 30 seconds just enough for it to become fragrant, but be sure to not burn it. Then add the sauce, bring it to a simmer, and then let it all cook together for about 3 minutes.
- Once sauce has thickened, add the crispy chicken to the pan and coat all the pieces fully with the sauce. Add sesame seeds and green onions to the top of the chicken and then serve!
Notes
Nutrition
Recipe adapted from Dinner at the Zoo.
This just went from an obscure maybe to one of my top 5 favs!
I added 2tsp of ginger and a sliced jalapeno for heat but WOW! Thanks Tracy! You rock!
(How do I add a picture!?)
That's so great - and the additions sound delicious! You can add a picture to this Pinterest Pin! https://www.pinterest.ch/pin/523965737903819931/ Or if you have Instagram, post it and tag me! 😀
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.
Sorry to say, this was terrible. I agree with the other reviews about testing the ketchup. The vinegar taste was overwhelming! Tried to fix it but threw it out.
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!
The chicken recipe was delicious, but the sauce was terrible. I had to throw it out. I think it was just entirely too much vinegar. I remade it and instead I did more brown sugar and added 1/3 water and only 1 tablespoon of the rice vinegar. That substitute was less vinegary...if that's a word 🙂
not a good sauce recipe
Hi Samantha,
I'm so sorry to hear you're not happy with the recipe! Was it that you didn't like the sauce on the chicken or were you trying to make it as just a sauce?
I'm going to make this today but I'm confused about the "Heat the teaspoon of oil"...is this one teaspoon of the 1 TBS of sesame oil therefore only putting two tsp in the sauce mixture? Admittedly, I am not a great cook so I get confused easily! 🙂
Hi Marilyn! I'm so sorry I didn't see this yesterday - you're SO right it is supposed to say TABLESPOON. Thank you for catching that - you're a GREAT cook to catch it! How did they turn out??
Tasty and delicious dish.I made it in my home and get amazing taste,also enjoy the dish with my family they also loved it.one of my suggestion is that if you want more spicy you can add hot sauce and red chili.
That’s great to hear- thanks so much for letting me know you enjoyed it! That extra hot sauce and red chili sounds yummy! ☺️
Yum! This sesame chicken looks better than takeout! I love making dishes like these at home because you get to control the quality of the ingredients and how much salt and sugar you use. Great recipe!
So much better than takeout!
I agree with you this is best crispy sesame chicken . Looks like it has everything you look for crispiness, sweetness and flavors along with nutty sesame seeds. love it.
This is perfect easy family weekdays dinner. I love the flavors and the look. Sound delicious too. I'm putting this on my weekly menu. Great recipe!
Thanks, Natalie!
This looks absolutely delicious! So much better than takeout! Now I'm craving some sesame chicken...my family would love this meal!
Thanks, Catherine! I hope your family loves it as much as mine!
Wow! This sesame chicken looks fantastic! I love Sesame Chicken and I am so glad to make it at home! Yummy!
It's so fun when you realize you can make your favorites at home!
Thanks!
It may quick and easy but it sounds and looks like it's got loads of flavor. I remember the days when I had two little ones 13 months apart. Yep it was busy and challenging but also great fun with the kiddos. Now I'm busy in a different way and the homemade crispy chicken would be great to serve. Can't wait to make it.
13 months! Wow! I love having two pretty close, it definitely makes life even MORE fun!
We love Asian food in our home and this looks like something I wanna make for our next Asian meal. Love sesame and love crispy chicken.
I hope you enjoy it!
I always make the Asian take outs at home to make them healthier. Being vegetarian, I make something similar with cauliflower and my boys love it. Chicken is the most popular among my friend and this looks so amazing.
Yes- they're so much healthier when made at home! Oooh subbing cauliflower would be delicious!
Take out I can make at home?? Yes please!!
This is one of my favorite dishes to order when we're out to eat ... I've always be intimidated to try making it at home. Maybe now I can have it at home (and therefore, more often!)
Yes! Nothing wrong with more sesame chicken in your life!
Forget the take-out! Your recipe looks waaaaayyy better than anything I could order, and I can make it from home! I love it! Thank you!
Thank YOU!
I love how this recipe uses simple and easy ingredients! I do cook some complex recipes from time to time but this one is just a rare find! Super excited to try some of your tips - thank you!
I love the sound of this recipe. This would be great as an appetizer or paired with some rice for a great meal. You can never go wrong with chicken for dinner. Much better than takeout!
Great for both for sure!
Love Chinese cuisine and am a big fan of shallow frying, Will definitely try your recipe.
I love making Asian takeout recipes at home! Lighter, healthier, and you know exactly what's in the sauces. I ALWAYS have rice vinegar in my pantry, but I'm not quite extra enough to make my own ketchup or brown sugar 🙂
Girl I bet you are TOTALLY extra in many other ways! 😉
our favorite is sesame chicken its just so flavorful and this looks fabulous I would love some of this right now