30 mins
+ waiting
Chicken With Sesame Seeds
Recipe by Graham
Chicken with Sesame Seeds relies on the use of various Chinese oils and sauces. These are now commonly available in good food stores and will keep for a long time, so will not be wasted. As with almost all Chinese style cooking, the preparation takes considerably longer than the cooking. This recipe is no exception, but you can turn this to your advantage by preparing everything well in advance. It then takes only minutes to cook!
In the Sichuan province of China, this dish is known as "Strange Taste Chicken" because of its wonderful variety of flavours and textures. It is spicy, sweet, hot, salty and sour all at the same time. The chicken is tender whilst the sesame seeds have a slightly crunchy texture. Also, it can be eaten hot or cold, so any leftovers can be consumed at room temperature the following day.
Chicken with Garlic Cloves 
Chinese Chicken Salad Ingredients for Chicken With Sesame Seeds
Currently displaying quantities in US Imperial Measurements
How to Cook Chicken With Sesame Seeds
- Break the egg and separate the white from the yolk (The yolk an be added to the noodles in our Chow Mein recipe or to the beaten eggs in the Chinese Fried Rice recipe if you plan using one of them as an accompaniment to this dish). Remove any skin from the chicken breasts and cut them into fine shreds about 3" (7.5cm) long. Place them, along with the egg white, salt and cornflour (cornstarch or wheat starch) into a small bowl, blend together and place in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes.
- Heat the groundnut oil in a large frying pan until it is moderately hot. Add the chicken mixture and stir-fry it quickly in the oil to keep it from sticking to the pan. Cook this for about 1 minute until it turns white. Remove the chicken with a slotted spoon and drain in a sieve (strainer) or colander.
- Remove all but 1 tablespoon of the oil from the pan and set aside to cool (it can be reused in other stir-fry dishes that use chicken). Reheat the oil remaining in the pan until it is hot then add the sesame seeds and stir fry them for about 1 minute until they turn slightly brown.
- Add the soy sauce, cider, vinegar, chili bean sauce, sesame oil, dry sherry and finely chopped spring onions to the pan and bring this mixture to the boil. Return the cooked chicken to the pan and stir-fry for a further 2 minutes making sure that the chicken shreds are coated completely with the sauce and the sesame seeds. Serve with either Chow Mein or Chinese Fried Rice.
- ** Groundnut oil enhances the flavour of any stir-fried food. You can, however, substitute corn oil if necessary.
GRAHAM'S HOT TIP:
Because there are many small quantities of ingredients that make up the sauce, you will find it useful to have all your ingredients already at hand. This way, nothing will be missed and this recipe will be very simple to follow.
Reviews of Chicken With Sesame Seeds
| August 27 2014 My 3rd time making it and this recipe has always comes out perfect! The kids helped make it the last time and everyone had two-three helpings, so thumbs way way up. If there are leftovers (as if!!) it's good reheated or I’ve even eaten this straight out of the fridge. It's just as delicious when cold! Definitely a 5 star choice. Doucette (3 reviews) |
March 18 2014 Seriously good stuff. My husband practically purred when he ate it. He went back for second and thirds. In fact, it has become a family favorite. This is a real keeper. swanV (6 reviews) |
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