Making restaurant-style crispy sesame chicken without a ton of sugar or deep frying. The chicken is juicy and tender with a chewy coating and a flavorful sauce full of umami. You can’t miss this dish! {Gluten-Free Adaptable}
Sesame chicken is a popular dish on Chinese takeout menus. But did you know that you can easily make it at home?
You typically see two types of sesame chicken recipes. The first type replicates the takeout-style crispy sesame chicken but requires you to deep fry the chicken. The second type uses a simple stir fry approach, but doesn’t give you that crunchy surface. This recipe provides a better solution, so you can create the perfect crispy, crunchy chicken without deep frying.
Why this recipe
Now here is the trick to creating crispy chicken with a crunchy coating that is like the takeout you’d get from a Chinese restaurant, without making a mess.
- The killer coating for extra crispy chicken
Simply use the formula: oil + salt + egg + cornstarch
Not only does it season the chicken and make it flavorful, but it also yields an extra crispy exterior, even after you coat it with sauce.
- How to make crispy chicken with less oil
The answer is by pan-frying, which requires just 3 to 4 tablespoons of oil to coat your skillet. Simply cook the chicken one side at a time until golden brown, and transfer it to a plate for a minute to cool. Taste a piece of chicken. You’ll be surprised at the juicy and flavorful interior and super crunchy coating.
- Extra flavorful sauce with less sugar
This recipe uses cooking wine, Chinkiang vinegar, and plenty of fresh herbs to create an extra fragrant sauce that is rich and delicious. Many recipes out there use half a cup (or a whole cup!) of sugar. This one uses just a quarter cup, but I guarantee the results will be amazing.
Sesame chicken ingredients
Which cut of chicken to use
My favorite cut for sesame chicken is chicken thigh. It results in very juicy tender chicken bites with the crust properly crisped up. However, you can use chicken breast as well. The chicken will end up a bit less tender but will be flavorful as well.
Chinkiang vinegar
Chinkiang vinegar is also called black vinegar. It has a dry, tart flavor that is balanced by a malty umami and accented by a slightly woody and smoky aroma. The malty umami is what makes Chinkiang vinegar special, as it gives dishes and sauces a characteristic flavor and fragrance, in addition to its sourness. You can learn more about this ingredient HERE.
I used Chinkiang vinegar in my recipe to give the sauce a bit of an extra tangy taste with a ton of umami. But if you don’t have this ingredient on hand or need to make the dish gluten-free, you can replace it with rice vinegar.
You can easily find Chinkiang vinegar in large Asian markets or Chinese grocery stores. You can also purchase it on Amazon.
Mise en place
When you’re ready to cook, your table should have:
- Marinated chicken
- Mixed sauce
- Sliced aromatics (garlic and onion)
When you get everything ready beforehand, your cooking will take no time and you’ll be less likely to forget to add important ingredients.
How to make sesame chicken
Making sesame chicken is super easy:
- Pan fry the chicken until crispy
- Take the chicken out of the pan and let it cool slightly (very important, the chicken will keep crisping up as it cools)
- Saute the aromatics
- Add the sauce
- Add back the chicken and mix them together
- Garnish with a bit more green onion and serve
How to serve sesame chicken
Sesame chicken is very easy to make and it makes a great one-bowl meal served over steamed rice.
You can also serve it with other side dishes to make a multi-course dinner. For example:
Ready to make some killer sesame chicken at home? Happy cooking and I hope you enjoy the dish as much as I do!
More Chinese takeout recipes
- Chinese Beef and Broccoli (One Pan Take-Out)
- Sweet and Sour Chicken (Without Deep-Frying)
- Chinese Orange Chicken (Crispy Chicken without Deep Frying)
- General Tso Tofu (Crispy Tofu without Deep Frying)
- Real-Deal Beef Chow Fun
Crispy Sesame Chicken (without Deep Frying)
Ingredients
- 1 lb (450 g) chicken thighs (or breast) , cut to 1” (1.5 cm) pieces
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon peanut oil (or vegetable oil)
- 1 egg , beaten
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
Sauce
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons Chinkiang vinegar
- 4 tablespoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
Cook
- 1/4 cup peanut oil (or vegetable oil)
- 2 cloves garlic , minced
- 2 green onions , sliced (reserve some for garnish)
Instructions
- Combine chicken pieces and salt in a big bowl. Mix well and let marinate for 10 to 15 minutes while preparing the other ingredients.
- Mix the sauce ingredients together in a medium-sized bowl.
- When you’re ready to cook, add the oil and beaten egg into the bowl with the chicken. Stir to mix well. Add cornstarch. Stir to coat chicken, until it forms an uneven coating with little dry cornstarch left unattached.
- Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add the chicken into the skillet with minimal overlap. Separate chicken pieces with a pair of tongs or chopsticks to ensure even searing.
- Cook without touching the chicken for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the bottom turns golden. Flip to brown the other side, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer chicken to a big plate and remove the pan from the stove. Let the chicken cool for 2 to 3 minutes (it will increase the crispiness of the chicken).
- Wipe the extra oil from the pan using a few layers of paper towel held in a pair of tongs (if needed), leaving about 1 tablespoon of oil in the pan. Add the garlic and green onion. Stir fry for a few seconds to release the aroma.
- Stir the sauce again to thoroughly dissolve the cornstarch. Pour it into the pan. Stir immediately to thicken the sauce. When the sauce is bubbling and thickened, add back the cooked chicken and turn off the heat. Stir quickly to mix everything well. Transfer to a plate and serve hot over steamed rice as a main dish.
Hello! This recipe looks really, good, but I think it might be missing a step? You have “Stir the sauce again” in step 6, but you don’t actually mention combining the sauce ingredients in the first place anywhere? I assume you just whisk all the ingredients together in a bowl and set aside until then, but I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t missing something. Thanks!
Hi Hawk, thanks so much for pointing out my mistake! Yes I forgot to write down the step of combing the sauce ingredients together. Will update the recipe now. Happy cooking 🙂
Dank recipe Maggie XD
Dank means good for me, I hope I didn’t offend u
Dank is one of the only two German words I know so you’re totally fine 😉
Happy cooking and hope your dish turns out great!
At least once a week I try one of your recipes. This was a huge success and left us wishing there were leftovers! Thank you for sharing your wonderful recipes!
So happy to hear you enjoyed the dish Jennifer! I love this one as well. Hope you have a great day 🙂
Hi, great site! This looks delicious. Maybe you can help me – I’m cooking for somebody who isn’t eating eggs or dairy currently; is there a good substitute for the eggs? Thanks!
Try using 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine to marinade the chicken and skip the egg. When you’re ready to cook, add enough cornstarch to coat the chicken. I believe it will turn out pretty well. Happy cooking and hope the dish turns out great 🙂
Thank you! I’ll let you know!
Love Chinese cuisine and am a big fan of shallow frying, Will definitely try your recipe.
Making this is superb! So delicious like I ordered it from a real Chinese restaurant…but I think much better. Will land in my favorites! Thank you.
A quick question regarding Step 1, when you said ‘vegetable oil, do you mean sasame oil?
Hi Jess, no, I usually use vegetable oil or peanut oil to make this dish and use toasted sesame seeds to add the nuttiness. If you want a more intensive sesame flavor, you can add a small drizzle (like 1/2 teaspoon) of toasted sesame oil (the dark type) at the end of cooking. Adding sesame oil at the beginning of cooking is not the best option because the high heat during cooking will cause it to lose the nutty taste.
Happy cooking and I hope you enjoy the dish 🙂
Hi Maggie
Sounds delicious! I’m a type 2 diabetic – is there a way that I can avoid the sugar?
Hi Robert, you can try to use 1/2 tablespoon stevia or 6 packets splenda to replace the sugar. The sweetness is very important in this recipe, otherwise your dish will turn out too sour.
Let me know if you have more questions. Hope you’ll able to cook this one at home 🙂
Hi Maggie! I am a huge fan of your blog! If I want to make this chicken the day before, how do I reheat it to get the crunchy flavour again? Would I bake it?
Thank you thank you thank you!
This recipe is a keeper, the technique is perfect for home cooks
Delicious and surprisingly easy considering the wonderful flavor!
And a thousand times better than takeout
I willwith pork to make ,is ok?
Hi Erika, yes, pork will totally work!
Where have you been all my life? I am a former Beijinger (Lao wei) and I ‘ve missed these dishes!!! Thank you so much. I understand your methods clearly.
Hi Maggie. 🙂 Thank you for sharing this awesome recipe! We cooked it this morning and we love this so much!
Ok, I did not make this with chicken but used the sauce for a sesame salmon instead. It was very yummy! I added a TBSP of Hoisin and a TBSP of miso paste in the sauce. I started with a cup of chicken broth because we like more sauce, and reduced the sugar (will reduce even further in the future), double the cooking wine and the cornstarch. Pan seared the marinated salmon (Ponzu sauce and a little sesame oil), put aside, cook all my vegetables in order of cooking time (onion, garlic, celery, carrots, zucchini, yellow bell pepper, fresh corn, bock choi and green onion), before pouring in the sauce for a few minutes of simmering. Served over Jasmine rice. So good and healthy!
Thank you for this recipe! The family loved it, unanimously ranking it #1 in the ‘please make this again’ list. We like things spicy so I did add some Sambal Oelek to the sauce. I also chopped some cilantro for garnish before serving. Next time I would also reduce the sugar a bit as well, but still great as is. I look forward to trying more of our recipes!
Hi thank you for your recipes. Salt and pepper chicken was amazing.
For the above recipe could insubstitte sugar or anything else, instead if the dry sherry
Thank you
Hi Lisa, you can use some chicken broth to replace the dry sherry.
I’m new to your recipes but this was the second one we tried. They were both great but this one was spectacular!! I love sesame chicken done *right* so this will definitely be a regular in our meal rotation! Thank you SO much for this deliciousness!
Not much of a cook but this recipe made me look like I know what I’m doing in the kitchen. My wife and daughter were very complimentary at the dinner table last night. The only thing I changed with the recipe was cutting the sugar in half and using rice vinegar over the Chinkiang vinegar. Kudos to me though for having the Shaoxing wine on hand since there really is no equal substitute for that.
Thank you Maggie Zhu!
I loved this recipe so much. My husband loves it as well. Will be making this again with my grandkids!!!
Hey Maggie! Loved this recipe. My first attempt was merely so-so, I didn’t have any sesame oil so I substituted some Tahina which made it gritty and awful. Would NOT recommend! However, I gave it another try (without the Shaoxing wine, but I used Vermouth I had on hand) and the result was spectacular! It’s hard to find Shaoxing wine in my area. I added some drops of sesame oil to the marinade, and after cooking, and it gave it all a deep sesame flavor. Really good, simple recipe for a fantastic dish. Thanks!