Bowl of sesame chicken on white rice with a fork.

This Sesame Chicken Recipe is one of my go-to dishes when I am craving Chinese takeout. I love getting a variety of dishes to share with my husband and one of our favorite things to order is Sesame Chicken. My favorite part is the sticky, sweet and salty sauce that generously coats each juicy piece of chicken.

I finally decided it was time to give Chinese takeout style sesame chicken a try at home. I was very pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to make! It was also SO tasty and I loved being able to control the ingredients and flavors to make it just the way I like it!

Are Sesame Chicken and Orange Chicken the Same Thing?

Nope! While both chicken dishes are dredged and fried, they differ slightly in their sauces. Sesame chicken has the addition of sesame seeds to the sauce, as well as a larger amount of soy sauce. Orange chicken has the addition of orange zest (and sometimes juice) in the sauce, giving it that distinct ‘orange’ flavor.

How Do You Make Sesame Chicken?

Sesame Chicken Sauce

Ingredients for sesame chicken sweet and sticky sauce.

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Ingredients to note:

Sesame Oil – This is a super flavor oil made from sesame seeds. In this dish, it really boosts the flavor! You can find sesame oil in most grocery stores near the olive oil.
Rice Wine Vinegar – Rice Wine Vinegar is less acidic and much more mild than other vinegars. You can certainly substitute for white vinegar if thats all you have on hand.

Process

Sesame Sauce

Combine Sauce Ingredients. First all the sauce ingredients are combined into a mixing bowl and set them aside.

Sesame Chicken

Prepare chicken and batter. Next, the cubed chicken is generously seasoned with salt and pepper.

Chicken thighs in a bowl with salt and pepper on top.

Combine Batter Ingredients. The batter ingredients are then combined into another mixing bowl and whisked together.

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Batter for crispy chicken thighs in a mixing bowl ready to be mixed.

A bowl of batter mixed for sesame chicken.

Dredge chicken. The oil is preheated in a large wok or pot and the chicken is dredged into the batter.

Batter for sesame chicken in a bowl with seasoned chicken thighs.

Fry the chicken. The battered chicken is then transferred to the hot oil and fried until they’re just cooked through and the coating is crispy. This may have to be done in batches to prevent overcrowding in the oil, which will prevent the pieces of chicken from crisping up.
Heat sauce. Once all the chicken has been fried, the oil is discarded and the sauce ingredients are added to the wok (or into a clean skillet) over medium-high heat.

Friend chicken for sesame chicken on a drying rack with paper towels.

Sweet and sticky sesame chicken sauce in a skillet with a wooden spoon.

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Toss chicken and sauce together. Once the sugar has dissolved and the sauce has thickened the chicken is quickly added back to the pan and tossed with the sauce until evenly coated.

A skillet of sesame chicken tossed in a sauce.

Garnish and eat! The sesame chicken is finished with a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds, and green onions. Serve with rice.

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Useful Tools for This Recipe

There are a couple of useful tools we recommend for this recipe. You can also check out our shop page to see all of the kitchen items we love and use everyday. For our Sesame Chicken recipe we have you frying the battered chicken pieces in order to get the juiciest and crispiest chicken possible. We love using a thermometer when we are heating the oil so we can make sure that the oil is the proper temperature for frying (350°), and that you maintain that temperature throughout the batches of crispy chicken. We also love this Spider Strainer that is really useful to fish out your crispy chicken when they are done cooking.

An image of a thermometer on a tan background. — Oil Thermometer

A spider strainer on a tan background. — Spider Strainer

Is Sesame Chicken Gluten-Free?

Sesame chicken is generally not gluten free because there is (wheat based) flour in the frying batter and wheat in the soy sauce used in the sauce. For a gluten-free version, you can simply replace the flour with gluten free flour and the soy sauce with tamari or coconut aminos.

Can You Freeze This Sesame Chicken Recipe?

Yes! Our recipe freezes and reheats quite well!

Freezing

Batter and fry chicken. Once the fried chicken has cooled, place the chicken onto a baking sheet, making sure the pieces aren’t touching one another. Once the pieces are frozen, transfer the chicken into a resealable bag. Pour sauce into a saucepan and heat until sugar dissolves. Pour sauce into an airtight container, separate from the chicken. Freeze everything for up to 3 months.

Reheating

Thaw sauce completely before using. Pour a thin layer of oil into a hot skillet and re-fry frozen chicken pieces (be careful of oil spatter). Remove chicken and drain oil. Add sauce to skillet and simmer until slightly thickened. Add chicken and toss together until well coated.

Variations

For a healthier version, you can omit the batter all together and pan fry the cubed chicken with a fraction of the oil. Once the chicken has cooked through, add the sauce ingredients and allow the sauce to thicken and coat the chicken. The sauce won’t stick to the chicken as well and the texture will be different, but the delicious flavors will all be there.
For a vegetarian version, try using cauliflower florets for an equally tasty dish!

I think the sesame seeds play an important role in this dish, as it adds a lightly nutty flavor overall. I really like using this brand of toasted sesame seeds. If you love copycat Chinese takeout style dishes as much as we do, you’ll also love our Mongolian Beef, Garlic Noodles, and our recipe for Potstickers. Enjoy!