Honey Sesame Chicken

This Honey Sesame Chicken Recipe will rival your favorite takeout dish! It’s super crispy thanks to frying the chicken twice! The crunchy chicken then get’s tossed in a sweet and tangy honey garlic sauce. You won’t want to eat takeout again after trying this recipe!

If you love making your own takeout food at home, then you’ve got to try my honey garlic chicken stir fry and my Mongolian beef!

Honey Sesame Chicken Recipe

I love making take-out dishes at home. From Crispy Asian Chicken Bites to Beef and Broccoli or my popular Fried Rice Recipe! Making these Asian inspired dishes at home is so much better and healthier for you! I love that you can control the sweetness, saltiness and spice level when making it at home!

This honey sesame chicken is sweet, tangy with tons of garlic flavor. If you like it a little spicier (like me) add some crushed red pepper flakes, Sriracha or chili oil before serving!

This honey garlic sesame chicken recipe takes about 40 minutes to put together from start to finish. It’s the perfect meal for a busy weeknight! It’s also super kid friendly.

Ingredients

• Chicken: Cut into bite-sized cubes. You can also use boneless, skinless thighs (like I did) or boneless skinless chicken breast.
• Cornstarch and All purpose Flour: I chose to do equal parts of each to keep the breading light and crispy.
• Cold water: Is added to thin out the batter. It is important to use COLD water when making this batter. Warm or room temperature water will make the batter tougher and not as crisp.
• Baking Powder: Makes the batter light and airy.
• Egg White: Is used instead of a whole egg. Egg yolks have more fat in them and don’t get the batter as crispy.
• Sugar: A touch of granulated sugar adds sweetness and also helps the chicken to caramelize and get a golden brown color.
• Honey: The majority of this sauce is honey! That’s where it get’s it’s name and it’s sweetness. But don’t worry this honey sesame chicken isn’t that sweet! Balanced with the acidity from the soy sauce it makes the perfect sauce to coat the chicken. This is also the reason why I don’t go too heavy on the sauce. I make just enough sauce to coat the chicken so it’s not too sweet and doesn’t dry out.
• Sesame Oil: Adds a nice toasted nuttiness to the sauce.
• Soy sauce: Make sure to use low sodium soy sauce if possible. This keeps the sauce from being too salty. If you don’t have low sodium soy sauce just substitute some of the soy sauce for water.
• Rice Wine Vinegar: Adds more acidity to balance out the honey and also adds a hint of sweetness.

How Do You Make Honey Sesame Chicken

• Add the chicken to a large bowl and pat the chicken dry with paper towels to remove excess moisture. This helps the batter stay on the chicken!

• Add 2 tablespoons of cornstarch to the chicken and toss to combine. Let the chicken marinate while you are making the batter.

• In a separate bowl add salt, pepper, sugar, egg white, flour, cornstarch, water and baking powder. Whisk until combined and lump free.

• Add in the chicken and toss to coat.

• Add 3 inches of oil to a large wide pot or deep saucepan.

• Preheat oil to 350 degrees. Fry chicken in batches cooking about 8 or so at a time for 4-5 minutes.

• Remove from the oil and transfer to a baking sheet topped with a cooling rack.

• Once all of the chicken is cooked fry the chicken again in batches (starting with the 1st batch you fried this will be the coldest) Fry for 3 minutes or until the outside is a nice golden brown. Remove from the oil and place back on the cooling rack.

Why double fry?

The best thing about this honey sesame chicken is that it stays crispy for a while! Typically when you only fry your chicken once the chicken gets soggy and no longer crisp after it cools. Double frying ensures the outside of the batter gets and stays golden brown and crispy! I like to use this method for french fries and fried chicken too!

How to Make Honey Sesame Sauce

• Add oil to a large skillet. Add in garlic and cook for one minute. Stir in honey, soy sauce, sesame oil and rice wine vinegar. Cook the sauce over medium high heat until thickened making sure to stir often (the honey can burn). This should take 2-3 minutes.

• Keep warm until ready to toss with the chicken. If you want saucier chicken double the sauce recipe. I like to do less sauce so the chicken stays ultra crispy!

Storage Instructions

• This recipe is served fresh or the day of however you can store any cooled leftover honey sesame chicken in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. To reheat leftovers I find they heat up best in the microwave or oven. You may have to add a splash or two of water so the honey does not burn when reheated.
• I do not recommend freezing this recipe.

Serving Suggestions

• White or brown rice
• Chow mein noodles
• Lo mein
• Mongolian Beef
• Cauliflower Fried Rice
• Chinese Fried Rice
• Air Fryer Fried Rice
• Zucchini Noodle Stir Fry

More Delicious Chicken Recipes

• Easy Chicken Marsala
• The BEST Chicken Parmesan
• Easy Chicken Shawarma
• Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken
• Easy One Pan Bourbon Chicken
• Easy Thai Chicken Satay