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Home Quick and Easy

Easy Chinese Honey Sesame Chicken

By:Nagi
Published:22 Feb '16Updated:16 Dec '20
113 Comments
Recipe v

Easy crispy oven baked Chinese Chicken tossed in a sticky honey sesame sauce. Who needs takeout Honey Sesame Chicken when it’s faster and so much healthier to make at home?

Plate of Chinese Honey Sesame Chicken

Chinese Honey Sesame Chicken isn’t huge in Australia. In fact, I rarely see it on Chinese restaurant menus. My first experience was at a hotel buffet (don’t judge me!) in New York. Then in Vegas. (Ok, judge me!)

To this day, I remain perplexed why Honey Sesame Chicken hasn’t made it to our shores. Along with Kung Pao Chicken, which still isn’t huge here though I have seen it on the odd menu in Chinatown.

I mean, crispy chicken tossed in a sweet salty sauce loaded with sesame flavours. Hello. Australia. What is wrong with us? We need to start a Honey Sesame Chicken Revolution.

Honey Sesame Chicken is usually deep fried which gives it a lovely crunchy coating. I don’t deep fry for midweek meals. Too much effort, too much mess, and my waistline can’t afford it.

So this is how I make Honey Sesame Chicken for a midweek meal – by baking it. MOST of the crunch. All of the flavour. Don’t you think this looks lovely and crispy??

Easy Chinese Honey Sesame Chicken - BAKED, not deep fried, this chicken is coated in a gorgeous sticky irresistible sauce!

Dusted Chinese Honey Sesame Chicken before and after baking

One key thing I do to make this nice and crispy – I use chunky strips of chicken rather than small pieces. This way, I can bake and broil/grill it long enough to make it crispy without the chicken shrivelling up into miserable dried chicken.

Then you toss it in the gorgeous sticky sauce….

Pouring sauce over Chinese Honey Sesame Chicken

…then you sprinkle over more sesame seeds (this is Sesame Chicken after all!) and a fresh sprinkle of shallots/scallions….(PS excuse the very pudgy Baby Hands, exceptionally hot muggy day in Sydney today)

Finishing garnishes of sesame and scallions for Chinese Honey Sesame Chicken

And then we have this.

Finished Chinese Honey Sesame Chicken with rice

This recipe has the ultimate validation – from a member of my family.

I have a lot of willing taste testers in my life. But I rarely get helpful feedback from them. (“OMG, everybody loved it!” does not count as constructive feedback!)

On the other hand, we have my family – mother, brother and sister. Always respectful, always appreciative when someone cooks. But…..we definitely don’t hold back if we have….erm….. thoughts. 😉

Trust me, it goes both ways. I give it as good as good as I get it!

So yesterday (Sunday), my sister happened to drop by and I sent her home with takeaway containers filled with this Honey Sesame Chicken as well as Kung Pao Chicken (coming soon!). That evening, I got a text.

“The chicken was really nice.”, my sister wrote. “But your rice needs work. It was dry.”

Gasp! My rice, dry? Offensive. And so began a string of fiery text messages back and forth about the rice.

But this isn’t about my rice. It’s about the Honey Sesame Chicken. It has my sister’s stamp of approval. Go forth and enjoy! – Nagi x

Overheard photo of Chinese Honey Sesame Chicken

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Easy Chinese Honey Sesame Chicken - BAKED, not deep fried, this chicken is coated in a gorgeous sticky irresistible sauce!

Easy Chinese Honey Sesame Chicken

Author: Nagi | RecipeTin Eats
Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 20 mins
Total: 30 mins
Dinner
Chinese
4.85 from 20 votes
Servings3 -4
Tap or hover to scale
Print
Crispy oven baked chicken chicken with a sesame crust tossed in a sticky sauce. Really easy and absolutely irresistible! If you can't find sesame paste or tahini, substitute with peanut butter. Seriously! (Refer to Note 2)

Ingredients

Chicken

  • 1 lb / 500g chicken thighs , cut into 1.2cm/ 1/2" slices (Note 1)
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp sesame paste OR tahini (Note 2)
  • 2 tsp soy sauce
  • 1 1/2 tbsp sesame seeds , toasted
  • 1/2 cup plain flour
  • Oil spray

Sauce

  • 1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine (Shaoshing / Shaoxing wine) or sherry (or use chicken broth/stock)
  • 3/4 cup chicken broth / stock
  • 1 tsp rice wine vinegar or Chinese black vinegar (or ordinary white vinegar)
  • 3 1/2 tbsp honey
  • 1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce , all purpose ordinary (Note 3)
  • 2 tsp sesame oil

Cornstarch

  • 1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch / cornflour mixed with 2 tbsp water

To Cook

  • 2 tsp oil (vegetable, canola, peanut)
  • 2 garlic cloves , minced

Garnish

  • 1 scallion/shallot stem , sliced
  • 1/2 tbsp sesame seeds , toasted

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 200C/430F with shelf placed on the highest level. Spray baking tray with oil.
  • Mix sesame paste and soy sauce in a bowl (to loosen it up, easier to coat chicken). Add chicken, salt and sesame seeds.
  • Place flour in a separate bowl and coat chicken in flour, shaking off excess. Place chicken on baking tray.
  • Bake for 12 minutes. Remove from oven.
  • Flick to broiler/grill as high as it will go with shelf about 15cm/6" from the heat source.
  • Turn chicken. Broiler/grill for 5 minutes until golden and quite crispy (Note 4), then remove.
  • Meanwhile, mix together Sauce in one bowl and Cornstarch in another.
  • Heat oil in a wok or skillet (I used a skillet) over medium heat. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant but not browned.
  • Add Sauce and bring to bubble. Add Cornstarch and cook for 30 seconds until it thickens into a thick syrup.
  • Remove the Sauce immediately from the stove and pour over the chicken.
  • Toss chicken in Sauce then sprinkle over Sesame Seeds and Shallots/Scallions to serve. Serve with rice.

Recipe Notes:

1. The chicken is sliced rather than diced so that way they are larger pieces that dry out during the cooking period. I use chicken thighs because they are juicier than breast. It can be made with breast but the flesh will be slightly drier.
2. Sesame paste is a Chinese ingredient that can be found at Asian grocery stores. I honestly cannot tell the difference between it and Tahini (the sesame paste used for hummus). PEANUT BUTTER is also an adequate substitute. I promise! It adds a bit of nutty flavour and acts as the same binding agent.
3. Please do not use LIGHT or DARK soy sauce. Use an all purpose ordinary soy sauce. I use Kikkoman. You will know it is an all purpose one because it won't have "light", "dark" or "sweet" soy sauce on the label. Light soy sauce is too salty for this dish and the flavour of dark soy sauce is too intense.
4. Fact is, baking chicken will not be as crispy as deep frying. But it's far healthier and it is still crispy! If you want to go all out, use the same coating but deep fry the chicken in oil. For extra extra crunch, fry it twice.
5. I used to have my own recipe from scratch but then I saw this one from Woks of Life. It tasted even better so this recipe is a bit of a mash up of mine and theirs! 🙂
6. Nutrition per serving, assuming 4 servings. Rice not included.
Chinese Honey Sesame Chicken_Nutrition

Nutrition Information:

Serving: 222gCalories: 425cal (21%)Carbohydrates: 26.3g (9%)Protein: 40.1g (80%)Fat: 17.2g (26%)Saturated Fat: 3.8g (24%)Cholesterol: 111mg (37%)Sodium: 1043mg (45%)Potassium: 420mg (12%)Fiber: 1g (4%)Sugar: 13.5g (15%)Vitamin A: 50IU (1%)Vitamin C: 0.8mg (1%)Calcium: 60mg (6%)Iron: 3.1mg (17%)
Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @RecipeTinEats.

Closeup of Chinese Honey Sesame Chicken

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113 Comments

  1. Mary Pasley says

    January 15, 2021 at 12:23 am

    I love all your recipes. I have to laugh because I am from Texas and my favorite enchilada recipe is from an Asian Australian 🤗
    Anyway, I am going to try your sweet and sour pork and sesame chicken recipes. Have you ever attempted these in the air fryer?

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      January 15, 2021 at 9:30 am

      Hi Mary, I’m so glad you’re loving them!! You can’t make the sweet and sour pork in an air fryer sorry – you need the hot oil to set & cook the batter quickly. The sesame chicken may work – love to know if you give it a go! N x

      Reply
  2. Anita says

    November 16, 2020 at 4:57 am

    5 stars
    This is the second time I’ve made this recipe and just as tasty as first time! Today I accidentally baked the chicken thighs whole, instead of slices as per recipe. But it worked, it’s easier to slice cooked chicken vs raw in my opinion. Instead of tahini I used runny smooth peanut butter. Also next time I will fry the chicken in the air fryer. Other than that, the recipe is perfect and I will be cooking this regularly. Thanks Nagi for another great recipe and all the detailed tips! 🙂

    Reply
  3. Claire Stronge says

    September 23, 2020 at 5:06 pm

    4 stars
    Got a thumbs up from the crew last night as an alternative to taco Tuesday. They did say it was too sweet so I will reduce the honey next time and add in some more greens. Really easy and quick to make. I “dunked” the chicken in the sesame separately so it had a great coverage

    Reply
  4. Naomi says

    August 27, 2020 at 3:31 am

    5 stars
    Wow! Once again a winning meal for the whole family. My 3 and 6 year old couldn’t get enough of this, I should have made double! Will definitely be making it again. I love all of your recipes Nagi, so easy to follow and the notes are super helpful. Thank you!

    Reply
  5. Sheena French says

    August 21, 2020 at 10:14 pm

    I made this for dinner last night, exactly as written. I did substitute peanut butter for the tahini/sesame paste. It was delicious! I have two autistic boys who have a difficult time when it comes to food due to sensory challenges, so dinner time is hard. One of my boys is in therapy for feeding because of his extreme sensitivity to food. I tell you all this because BOTH of my boys tried and ate your Honey Sesame Chicken for dinner last night! I literally cried. Thank you, Nagi, for an incredible recipe!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      August 22, 2020 at 10:46 am

      Woah that’s the best Sheena!!! I love hearing this – I’m so glad it was a hit! ❤️ N x

      Reply
  6. Anastasia Aurelia says

    August 8, 2020 at 11:10 pm

    Hi Nagi, I’m currently in lockdown in Victoria (rip) and I’ve tried a few of your recipes, all of which turned out great!! But I just tried this one and it turned out a bit tasteless, I wonder why? Did i use too little salt or was my sesame paste bad..? 🙁 Any ideas?

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      August 9, 2020 at 6:51 am

      Hi Anastacia! The “salt” in this comes from the chicken stock, soy and Chinese wine – did you use all three of these?? 🙂 N x

      Reply
      • Anastasia says

        August 9, 2020 at 5:50 pm

        Hi Nagi, wow thank you for the quick reply!! Yes I did — I used Campbell’s chicken stock, kikkoman all-purpose soy sauce, and a random brand shao hsing wine. Could it be that I let the sauce bubble for too long? ☹️ Or used too much flour? (There were still tiny bits of white particles — just a bit — when the chicken came out of the oven)

        Reply
      • Anastasia says

        August 9, 2020 at 5:51 pm

        Wait i did use chicken breast instead of thigh though — could that be why? Sadly my local woolies ran out of chicken thighs

        Reply
  7. Lynsey says

    July 21, 2020 at 8:06 pm

    5 stars
    OMG every recipe I have made so gar has been AMAZING!@ Your recipes are incredible, my whole family loves you. This was something else.. brilliant

    Reply
  8. Linda Stone says

    April 27, 2020 at 1:22 am

    5 stars
    My family loved this recipe! Made it exactly as written (ok, I added more sliced scallions to the sauce as I tossed it with the chicken). The chicken had great texture. We only broiled it for maybe 2-3 minutes, 5 would have been too long as it was getting dark on top.

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      April 27, 2020 at 10:21 am

      I’m so glad you enjoyed it Linda! N x

      Reply
  9. Marnie says

    April 26, 2020 at 8:04 am

    5 stars
    The sauce is the magic and Nagi knows how to do this. For followers you have learned her trinity to make amazing sauce and you will see them missing in other recipes that have gobs of soy sauce. This is a hit…I fried it…we’re in isolation and I wanted it fried LOL

    Reply
    • Linda Stone says

      April 27, 2020 at 1:25 am

      Hi Marnie, looks like we both made this last night! Nothing wrong with a little indulgence in these stressful times, treat yourself!

      Reply
    • Nagi says

      April 27, 2020 at 2:04 pm

      Wahoo! Even better Marnie!! N x

      Reply
  10. Nienke says

    February 20, 2020 at 3:34 am

    Nagi, this was another winner for adults and kids! My 5yr old finished his meal by licking his plate clean! Thanks!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      February 20, 2020 at 12:45 pm

      That’s the best!!! 😂

      Reply
  11. Sarah Luck says

    February 11, 2020 at 2:08 am

    5 stars
    Yum. A hit with 3yo and 7yo AND the in-laws!

    I didn’t have tahini so just left this stage out and instead sprinkled the sesame seeds on when I transferred chicken from the oven to the grill (and it saved me having to toast the sesame seeds).

    Served with stir fried veg and basmati rice. Have been asked to cook this again next week!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      February 11, 2020 at 5:59 am

      Perfect Sarah! I’m so happy it was a hit! N x

      Reply
  12. Grace says

    August 10, 2019 at 6:36 am

    I have bone in thighs. Do i need to take out the bone?

    Reply
  13. Terry Friedrichs says

    April 13, 2019 at 5:51 pm

    Cooked this for dinner this evening, I found the paste and sesame seeds too thick to coat the chicken properly so ended with chunks, next time I would probably add some extra water and a bit of honey to spread the paste. My wife absolutely loved it, I found the sauce a tad bland.

    Reply
  14. Leora says

    April 13, 2019 at 4:18 am

    5 stars
    I’m resubmitting this comment because I think I forgot to rate this 5 stars and it deserves it. This is the fifth recipe I’ve used on this blog and they’re all incredible. I moved to Israel and I’ve missed American Chinese takeout and this was absolutely perfect. Thanks for all the amazing recipes.

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      April 13, 2019 at 5:54 pm

      Thanks so much Leora!

      Reply
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I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative! Read More

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