Tonight’s dinner is a take on one of my favorite take out dinners, Sesame Chicken. It’s one of my favorite from Chinese takeout and I have tried to duplicate it, but this recipe seems to do it the best. This recipe calls for deep-frying the chicken, but I put it in the oven instead and cook it to try it make it a little healthier. it comes out with just as good results as deep-frying, if you ask me.

Sesame Chicken

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce

1 tablespoon dry sherry

2 tablespoons water

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

1 dash sesame oil

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast meat – cubed 

1 cup chicken broth

1 cup white sugar

2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons sesame oil

1 teaspoon chile paste

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/2 cup water

1 quart oil for frying

2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

 Sift flour, 2 tablespoons cornstarch, baking soda, and baking powder into a bowl. Pour in low-sodium soy sauce, sherry, 2 tablespoons water, vegetable oil, and a dash of sesame oil; stir until smooth. Stir in chicken until coated with the batter, then cover, and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring chicken broth, sugar, vinegar, dark soy sauce, sesame oil, chile paste, and garlic to a boil in a saucepan over high heat. Dissolve 1/4 cup cornstarch into 1/2 cup of water, and stir into boiling sauce. Simmer until the sauce thickens and turns clear, about 2 minutes. Reduce heat to low, and keep sauce warm.

Heat olive oil in a deep fryer or large saucepan to a temperature of 375 degrees. Drop in the battered chicken pieces, a few at a time, and fry until they turn golden brown and float to the top of the oil, 3 to 4 minutes. Drain on a paper towel lined plate. To serve, place fried chicken pieces onto a serving platter, and pour the hot sauce over top. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds to garnish.

If you want to bake the chicken instead of frying, follow all the steps of the recipe except when it comes time to put them in the oil, put them in a baking pan with all the marinade (which made for a nice breading), drizzle 1/4 cup of oil over top, and bake at 375 for 45 minutes.Turn the chicken half way through baking so it crisps up all over.

I am serving this with fried rice, which I have made before and blogged about here. If you would like my method for making fried rice, you can check it out right here. I am also serving steamed broccoli with the meal, since it seems to go well and does come with a lot of Chinese take out meals.

That’s all there is to this meal. The cooking time is a little longer if you want to bake instead of fry, but I didn’t want all the fat from the oil in this meal so it was a good way to go for us. Tomorrow is Friday, so it will be a fish meal tomorrow night. I’ll have to see what looks good at the market in the morning, but I already have a really good idea of what I want to cook. There was a great recipe in the New York Times yesterday for Calamari with Herbs and Polenta, so I think that is what I am going to cook. You’ll have to check back tomorrow to see if that’s what I got. I am also going to show next week’s meal plan if you want to see what I’ll be making next week. If you want to use your own meal plan, you can click family_meal_planner to follow the sheet I use each week. Until then, have a great evening and enjoy your meal!