Published: Last updated: by Shelby Law Ruttan · As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
This Honey Sesame Chicken recipe is crispy pieces of chicken coated in a sticky sweet honey sesame sauce sprinkled with sesame seeds.
This Honey Sesame Chicken recipe is made of bite-size crispy chicken pieces that are battered, fried and then coated in a sweet Asian sticky sauce sprinkled with sesame seeds. If you are a Chinese food lover, then next time you want take out, I highly recommend you make this homemade version instead.
This Honey Sesame Chicken is at the top of my family's favorite list! It is better than Chinese takeout and fare more budget friendly.
Jump to:
- ❤️ Why I Love This Recipe
- Ingredients
- 🔪 Instructions
- 🙋 Recipe FAQ's
- 💭 Top Tips
- 📖 Variations
- 🍽 Equipment
- Storage
- 🏫 What I've Learned
- Serving Suggestions
- Related Recipes
- 📖 Recipe
- 💬 Comments
❤️ Why I Love This Recipe
✔️ This Crispy Honey Sesame Chicken recipe is an easy-to-make, budget-friendly, finger-licking favorite!
✔️ These delectable bites are coated with an easy to make savory honey sesame sauce that the whole family will love.
✔️ The sticky honey sesame sauce makes this a family favorite!
Ingredients
Boneless skinless chicken breasts or chicken thighs.
Corn starch and all-purpose flour to coat the chicken.
Cooking Wine, helps tenderize the chicken and adds flavor.
Sesame Oil: This is an important ingredient, it gives a certain flavor to the sauce that marinates the chicken pieces and should not be skipped.
Sweet Chili Sauce: You can find this in the grocery store near the hot sauces.
Oyster Sauce: No substitutions recommended. If you cannot use Oyster Sauce due to fish allergies, I just recommend leaving it out without a substitution.
🔪 Instructions
To batter the chicken
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, wine, sesame oil, and sugar until combined. Add the chicken and marinate for 1 hour.
- In a small bowl, mix together the flour and cornstarch and place in a large ziplock bag. Drain the chicken and add to the flour mixture. Shake gently to coat.
To fry the chicken
- Add the oil to a deep fry pan over medium high heat and bring to 350 degrees.
- Gently place the chicken in the hot oil and fry until the chicken is cooked through and the batter is golden brown.
- Drain the chicken pieces on paper towels.
To make the sauce
- In a small bowl, mix the sweet chili sauce, ketchup, honey, oyster sauce, soy, sauce, and water in a medium saucepan.
- Bring the sauce mixture to a boil, then simmer for 3 minutes, until the sauce begins to thicken.
- Toss the sauce with fried chicken pieces. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and green onions (if using).
🙋 Recipe FAQ's
What can I substitute for cornstarch?
Rice flour, potato starch, or arrowroot starch are good substitutes and will give the same crispy results as cornstarch.
Can I reuse the oil the chicken was fried in?
Yes, you can. Strain any sediment from the oil and store it in an airtight container. After about 3 uses, the oil should be discarded.
💭 Top Tips
- Use a candy thermometer to keep track of the oil temperature. It should not go higher than 350. If it drops below 350, allow the oil to reheat before resuming frying the chicken.
- Marinating the chicken pieces imparts the flavor you want and will helps to tenderize the meat.
- Use a paper towel lined dish to drain the chicken pieces on allowing it to absorb excess oil.
📖 Variations
- Substitute medium shrimp for the chicken.
- Low-sodium soy sauce or coconut aminos can be substituted for regular soy sauce.
- Seasoned rice wine vinegar can be substituted for cooking wine.
- Maple syrup or brown sugar can be a substitute for honey.
- Stir ½ - 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes into the sauce mixture to amp it up to a spicy sauce.
🍽 Equipment
Storage
Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge up to 3 days.
To make this ahead of time, the chicken can be fried and stored in the freezer up to 3 months. Just reheat the cooked chicken in the oven or air fryer and coat with the sauce when ready to serve.
🏫 What I've Learned
Dark meat has more flavor than whit meat and usually less expensive. For this reason I recommend using chicken thighs over chicken breasts. This recipe can be made with both types of chicken, whatever your preference may be.
3-4 inches of oil is all you need to deep fry the chicken pieces.
Serving Suggestions
Serve this Honey Sesame Chicken recipe with a side of Garlic Scallion Noodles or brown rice, crab rangoon, Venison Potstickers, and air fryer egg rolls.
Bang Bang Chicken with Quinoa
Honey Walnut Shrimp
Vietnamese Caramel Chicken
Crispy General Tso's Tofu
Don't forget to check out my Amazon storefront for some of my favorite products!
When you make this recipe, please comment below and let me know what you think. I'd love it if you tag me on Instagram @grumpyshoneybunch or #grumpyshoneybunch so I can see your photos!
If you love this recipe, please leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating
📖 Recipe
Honey Sesame Chicken
Shelby Law Ruttan
This Honey Sesame Chicken recipe is crispy pieces of chicken coated in a sticky sweet honey sesame sauce sprinkled with sesame seeds.
4.25 from 8 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe Save
Prep Time 15 minutes mins
Cook Time 30 minutes mins
Total Time 45 minutes mins
Servings 4
Calories 309 kcal
Equipment
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Ingredients
for the chicken
- 12 ounces boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into bite sized pieces
- 1 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon cooking wine
- ½ tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 tablespoons flour
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 cups oil for frying , enough to bring level up to 2 inches of oil
for the honey sesame sauce
- 1 tablespoon sweet chili sauce
- 2 tablespoons ketchup
- 1 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce
- ¼ cup water
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds , optional
- 1 tablespoon green onions , green part only (optional)
Instructions
In a medium bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, wine, sesame oil, and sugar until combined. Add the chicken and marinate for 1 hour.
In a small bowl, mix together the flour and cornstarch and place in a large ziplock bag. Drain the chicken and add to the flour mixture. Shake gently to coat.
Add the oil to a deep fry pan and heat to 350 degrees.
Gently place the chicken in the hot oil and fry until the chicken is cooked through and the batter is golden brown.
Drain the chicken pieces on paper towels.
In a small bowl, mix the sweet chili sauce, ketchup, honey, oyster sauce, soy, sauce, and water in a medium saucepan.
Bring the sauce mixture to a boil, then simmer for 3 minutes, until the sauce begins to thicken.
Toss the sauce with fried chicken pieces. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and green onions (if using).
Notes
Nutrition fact take into consideration oil absorbed by deep frying.
Nutrition
Calories: 309kcalCarbohydrates: 14gProtein: 20gFat: 19gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 5gMonounsaturated Fat: 11gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 54mgSodium: 1345mgPotassium: 380mgFiber: 1gSugar: 8gVitamin A: 61IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 32mgIron: 1mg
Keyword Honey Sesame Chicken, Honey Sesame Chicken Recipe
Tried this recipe?Mention @grumpyshoneybunch or tag #grumpyshoneybunch!
More Chicken Recipes
- Peppermint Vodka: Flavored Homemade Liquors
- Cheesy and Creamy Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole
- Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Mushrooms
- Buffalo Chicken Casserole
About Shelby Law Ruttan
Shelby is the author/owner of Grumpy's Honeybunch. Established in 2007, she shares and preserves family recipes as well as recipes for cooking light and keto. She has authored the One-Pot Paleo Cookbook and The Pescatarian Keto Cookbook. She is an experienced, self-taught home cook who loves to share recipes with others. She also authors the websites Honeybunch Hunts and The Best Vegetarian Recipes. You can see her work on websites such as Veal Made Easy, Parade, Community Table, SoFab Food, Yummly, and FoodGawker.
Subscribe
for your weekly recipe fix.
Reader Interactions
Comments
Teresa
There appears to be an error in the sweet chili sauce measurement. How much sweet chili sauce?
Reply
Shelby
3 Tablespoons. Thanks for letting me know. When I moved to a different printable recipe I must have cut that part off!
Reply
Brenda
Was quite nice, but sauce had a too-strong flavour for us. I did double the sauce and used medium sherry in place of cooking wine. Probably would have to reduce soy and oyster sauces in the overall sauce. I think after those changes, this will be awesome! Will definitely be trying this again. Thanks for the recipe.
Reply
Kristin @ Dizzy Busy and Hungry!
What a great recipe! I am glad you were on an Asian kick and came up with this great recipe!
Reply
Carlsbad Cravings
This sounds incredible! I am loving all the flavors going on here - anything with oyster sauce is calling my name!
Reply
« Older Comments
Leave a comment
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
