Sesame Chicken

Winner winner chicken dinner! 

Continuing with my asian recipe kick, I whipped up a batch of this sesame chicken. Decadent, satisfyingly chewy, and lower in sodium than the stuff from your favorite take-out place, I think this dish will rest in my collection of favorite recipes.

Growing up in the south, you'd think that I would have perfected the art of frying chicken...false. I've only made it one other time before this. The first time, none of the flour mixture adhered to my chicken, leaving us with all the 'good stuff' on the side. For this dish, I did my research. Turns out if you add cornstarch to the mix, not only will everything adhere to the chicken, but also you don't have to put as much flour on every individual piece. Win! I decided to try this out on my sesame chicken dish.

I usually make this without using any breading, but I figured, hey - let's make this dish look legit. 

Excuse me while I stuff my face...

The chicken came out perfect! I made just the right amount of sauce. I hate when restaurants add so much it pools into everything on your plate. It's just enough to cover the chicken and add a little flavor to your rice. The great thing about this dish is that it also kept well. We were able to eat leftovers for 3 days with this dish and it tasted just as great each time we reheated it. What does that mean for you, ladies? No more hangry husbands or kiddos. Even better? More time to relax on the couch with a glass of wine. 

Keep this recipe in your bag of recipe tricks as a quick, long-lasting weeknight option. 

Sesame Chicken

Preparation:  15 min

                  Cook Time: 15-20 min  Total Time: 30-35 min                       

Ingredients

        

        Chicken:

          3 chicken breasts

          10 tbsp flour
          3 tbsp cornstarch

          2 eggs, beaten

          1-2 cups broccoli (depending on your preference)

           Vegetable oil
           1/2 tsp salt & pepper

           2 tsp paprika

           1/2 tsp garlic salt
           1 tsp sesame seeds

           Chopped green onion for garnish
           1/2-1 cup rice (depending on portion - we used 1/2 cup for 2 people)          

          Sauce:

          1 tbsp sesame oil

          2 cloves garlic
          1 tbsp rice vinegar

          2 tbsp honey

          1 tbsp sweet chili sauce (bought at the grocery store)

           2 tbsp brown sugar
           4 tbsp soy sauce

           3 tbsp ketchup

           

Instructions

         1. Cook rice according to manufacturer's instructions. Rinse rice before use.

         2. Cut raw chicken into strips or chunks. We did ours in strips.

         3. Prepare three bowls for chicken. One with the eggs, one with the cornstarch, and one with flour, 

              salt, pepper, garlic salt and paprika.

          4. In a deep pan, pour vegetable oil until high enough to fry chicken and heat over medium heat.

          5. Take chicken strips one at a time and dunk into the cornstarch,  then eggs, then flour. Then  

               place each piece of chicken into the oil.

           6. After all the chicken you can fit is in the skillet, turn occasionally over medium/low heat and allow to 

                brown (golden brown). About 8-10 minutes.

           7. While chicken is frying, begin making sauce mixture. Add all ingredients to a small sauce pan and 

                 heat over medium-low heat until combined. Once the sauce begins looking caramelized, remove it 

                 from the heat.

          8. Once chicken is golden brown, remove a piece and cut into it to make sure the chicken is cooked 

              thoroughly. If cooked, remove each piece and place onto a plate with paper towels under to collect oil.

          9. While the oil is still hot, turn heat off and add in broccoli and allow to cook until steamed. 

               About 2 minutes. Add broccoli to plate with chicken.

         10. In a large bowl, combine chicken, broccoli and sauce and toss until well coated. Serve the mixture 

                 over rice and garnish with sesame seeds and chopped green onions.