Sesame Chicken

Although sesame chicken is a westernized Chinese take-out dish, nobody can say no to these crunchy, nutty little bites of chicken that are covered with a glossy sauce. This dish can be pre-prepped in a large batch and assembled with so little effort. You can make the sauce ahead of time. It will last a few weeks or 6 months in the freezer. You just use it as needed. The chicken can be breaded and deep-fried for the first time. It will stay good in the freezer for six months. Take it out of the freezer whenever you want to eat it again. Directly double fry it without defrosting. Of course, the frozen chicken will take a little longer to fry than when it is fresh.

INGREDIENTS (serves 3 with some white rice)

To marinate the chicken

• 1 lb (450g) of chicken breast or boneless chicken tight
• 2 cloves of garlic grated
• black pepper to taste (Amazon Link: https://geni.us/black-peppercorns)
• 1.5 tsp of soy sauce (Amazon Link: https://geni.us/light-soy-sauce)
• 1/2 tsp of salt (Amazon Link: https://geni.us/pure-sea-salt)
• 3/8 tsp of baking soda (Amazon Link: https://geni.us/baking-soda-cooking)
• 1 egg
• 3 tbsp of sweet potato starch (Amazon Link: https://geni.us/sweet-potato-starch)

For the sauce

• 2 tbsp of Honey (Amazon Link: https://geni.us/unfiltered-honey)
• 3 tbsp of brown sugar (Amazon Link: https://geni.us/brown-sugar)
• 2.5 tbsp of Soy sauce (Amazon Link: https://geni.us/light-soy-sauce)
• 2.5 tbsp of ketchup
• 1 tbsp of vinegar (Amazon Link: https://geni.us/distilled-vinegar)
• 2 tsp of starch (Amazon Link: https://geni.us/sweet-potato-starch)
• 3.5 tbsp of water

Others

• 1 cup (130g) of sweet potato starch to coat the chicken (Amazon Link : )

Enough oil to deep fry the chicken

• 1 tbsp of sesame oil (Amazon Link: https://geni.us/roasted-sesame-oil)
• 1.5 tbsp of toasted sesame seeds (Amazon Link: https://geni.us/white-sesame-seeds-w)

Diced scallion for garnish

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Cut the chicken into bite-size pieces. Marinate it with garlic, soy sauce, salt, black pepper, baking soda, egg white, and 1/2 tbsp of sweet potato starch. Mix thoroughly and rest for 40 minutes.
2. A quick method to make sesame chicken extra crunchy: 1. Spray a little bit of water on the starch.
3. Give it 10 seconds to allow some of the starch to clump up into little balls; 2. Fluff the starch by using a whisk; 3. Spray more water, wait for 10 seconds and whisk it again; 4. Do this four times in total. The starch lumps will give some extra crunch to the chicken.
4. Coat the marinated chicken with the starch. Make sure to shake off the excess flour. Let the chicken rest for 15 minutes before frying.
5. Heat the oil to 380 F. Split the chicken into two batches. Fry each batch for a few minutes or until lightly golden. Remove from the oil and let them rest for 15 minutes.
6. While waiting, remove the starch clumps from the oil by using a fine sieve.
7. Keep the temperature at 380 F. Double fry the chicken for 2-3 minutes or until golden brown. Take the chicken out and rest on the side. Double frying will stabilize the crunchiness so it last longer.
8. In a large bowl, combine the brown sugar, honey, soy sauce, ketchup, water, vinegar, and cornstarch.
9. Pour the sauce into a large wok and stir over medium heat until thickened.
10. Introduce the chicken back into the wok, along with a drizzle of sesame oil and 1.5 tbsp of toasted sesame seeds. Toss everything until the chicken is coated nicely.
11. Sprinkle some diced scallion as garnish. Serve with white rice.