This post Easy Chinese Honey Sesame Chicken has been updated in 2022.
Simple crispy, oven-baked Chinese Chicken served with a honey sesame glaze. Who needs takeout Honey Sesame Chicken when it’s faster and so much healthier to make at home?
Chinese Honey Sesame Chicken isn’t huge in Australia. It’s rare that I see it on Chinese restaurant menus. My first experience was at a hotel buffet (don’t judge me!) New York. Then, Las Vegas. (Ok, you can judge me!)
To this day, I remain perplexed why Honey Sesame Chicken hasn’t made it to our shores. Along with Kung Pao Chicken, which still isn’t huge here though I have seen it on the odd menu in Chinatown.
This is crispy chicken coated in sweet, salty sauce with sesame flavors. Hello. Australia. What’s wrong with us? We need to create a Honey Sesame Chicken Revolution.
Honey Sesame Chicken gets a crispy coating from deep-frying. I don’t deep fry for midweek meals. Too much effort, too much mess, and my waistline can’t afford it.
So this is how I make Honey Sesame Chicken for a midweek meal – by baking it. You get most of the crunch. It has all the flavor. Don’t you think this looks lovely and crispy??
The key ingredient to making this crispy is one thing that I do. – I use chunky strips of chicken rather than small pieces. ThIt is way, I can bake and broil/grill it long enough to make it crispy without the chicken shrivelling up into miserable dried chicken.
Then you toss it in the gorgeous sticky sauce….
…then you sprinkle over more sesame seeds (this is Sesame Chicken after all!) and a fresh sprinkle of shallots/scallions….(Please excuse my very pudgy Baby hands, it’s a hot and muggy day in Sydney today.
This is the end of it.
This recipe has the ultimate validation – from a member of my family.
There are many willing taste testers in our lives. I seldom get any useful feedback from them. (“OMG, everybody loved it!” does not count as Constructive feedback!)
On the other hand, we have my family – mother, brother and sister. Always respectful and grateful for the opportunity to cook. But…..we definitely don’t hold back if we have….erm….. thoughts. 😉
You can trust me. It’s as good or better than I get!
So yesterday (Sunday), my sister happened to drop by and I sent her home with takeaway containers filled with this Honey Sesame Chicken as well as Kung Pao Chicken (coming soon!). That evening I received a message.
“The chicken was really nice.”, my sister wrote. “But your rice needs work. It was dry.”
Gasp! My rice, dry? Offensive. The string of fiery texts back and forth about rice began.
But this isn’t about my rice. It’s about the Honey Sesame Chicken. It has my sister’s stamp of approval. Enjoy it! – Nagi x
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Easy Chinese Honey Sesame Chicken
Ingredients
Chicken
- 1 lb/500g Chicken thighs , cut into 1.2cm/ 1/2″ slices (Note 1)
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 2 tsp sesame paste OR tahini (Note 2)
- 2 tsp soy sauce
- 1 1/2 tbsp sesame seeds , toasted
- 1/2 Cup Plain flour
- Oil spray
Sauce
- 1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine (Shaoshing/Shaoxing wine) or Sherry (or use Chicken broth/stock).
- 3/4 Cup chicken broth / stock
- 1 tsp rice wine vinegar or Chinese black vinegar (Or ordinary white vinegar).
- 3 1/2 tbsp Honey
- 1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce All-purpose ordinary (Note 3).
- 2 tsp Sesame oil
Cornstarch
- 1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch / cornflour combined with 2 Tbsp water
To Cook
- 2 tsp Oil (vegetable, canola, peanut)
- 2 Garlic cloves , minced
Garnish
- 1 Scallion/shallot stem Sliced
- 1/2 tbsp sesame seeds , toasted
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 200C/430F. Oil baking tray.
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Combine the sesame paste with soy sauce in bowl. This makes it easier to coat chicken. Salt, chicken, and sesame seed are all you need.
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In a separate bowl, combine flour and flour. Dip chicken into flour and shake off any excess. Place the chicken on a baking tray.
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Bake for 12 min. Bake for 12 minutes.
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Broiler/grill should be turned on as high as possible, with the shelf at 15 cm/6 inches from the heat source.
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Turn the chicken. Turn the chicken.
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Mix Sauce and Cornstarch together in a separate bowl.
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Over medium heat, heat oil in a skillet or wok (I used a skillet). Cook the garlic for 30 seconds or until it is fragrant, but not browned.
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Stir in Sauce. Cook for another 30 seconds, stirring constantly until the cornstarch is incorporated.
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The Sauce should be immediately removed from the stove. Pour the sauce over the chicken.
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Toss the chicken in Sauce and then garnish with Sesame Seeds, Shallots/Scallions. Serve with rice
Notes for Recipes
2. Sesame paste, a Chinese ingredient, can be purchased at Asian grocery shops. It is hard to tell the difference from Tahini, which is the sesame paste that’s used in hummus. PEANUT BUTTER can also be used as a substitute. I promise! It provides a slight nutty flavor and acts as the same binding agent.
3. Use LIGHT and DARK soy sauces only. Use an all-purpose ordinary soy sauce. I use Kikkoman. It will not have any “light”, dark, or sweet soy sauces on the label. The flavour of dark soya sauce is too strong and light soy sauce too salty.
4. Baking chicken is not as crispy as deep frying. It’s healthier, and still crispy. For a more extravagant approach, you can use the same coating, but deep fry your chicken in oil. For extra extra crunch, fry it twice.
5. I used to make my own recipes, but I came across this recipe from Woks Of Life. It was even more delicious so I decided to combine their recipes. 🙂
6. Based on 4 servings Rice not included.
Nutrition Information:
