Sesame chicken is a favourite at Chinese restaurants and takeout and it’s so easy to make at home! Normally the chicken is breaded and fried until crispy, which is always nice, but if you are looking for a lighter version you can skip the coating and simply saute the chicken until lightly golden brown. The sesame aspect of the chicken comes from the sauce, which is a sweet and salty sauce that is seasoned with toasted sesame oil, which is amazingly aromatic, along with a generous heaping tablespoon of toasted sesame seeds! This light sesame chicken comes together in about as much time as it takes to cook rice, which is prefect, since it goes so well over rice! Feel free to add a vegetable, like a diced bell pepper, snap peas, etc. to pan after sauteing the chicken or to steam some veggies while making the chicken!
It all starts with some light sauteed chicken!
20 Minute Skinny Sesame Chicken
A lighter version of the classic Chinese restaurant sesame chicken that is so quick and easy to make!
ingredients
- 1 tablespoon oil (peanut or vegetable)
- 1 pound chicken breast, cut into bite sized pieces
- 1 tablespoon garlic, grated
- 1 tablespoon ginger, grated
- 1/4 cup chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons ketchup
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar (or cider vinegar)
- 1 teaspoon chili sauce (such as sambal oelek)
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
- 4 green onions, thinly sliced
directions
- Heat the oil in a large skillet (or wok) over medium-high heat, add the chicken and saute until lightly golden brown.
- Add the garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant, about a minute.
- Add the mixture of the broth, sugar, honey, soy sauce, ketchup, vinegar, chili sauce and cornstarch, bring to a boil and simmer until it thickens a bit, about a minute.
- Remove from heat, mix in the sesame oil, sesame seeds and green onions and enjoy over rice or noodles
Option: Add a veggie like a diced bell pepper or snap peas, etc.
Tip: Start cooking the rice just before starting this recipe and they will be done at the same time.
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Yum! This is such a good quick and easy weeknight meal!
Paige
http://thehappyflammily.com
Why are the green onions divided?
They don’t need to be! 🙂
This looks yummy, I will try it over the weekend maybe.
Enjoy!
Oh my goodness, this was delicious! Thank you so much for a winner of a recipe! I made it exactly as written incl snow peas and the suggested bell pepper. Thank you, Kevin, for what you do. Yum!