Sesame Chicken

Sesame chicken is made by marinating chicken breast pieces with salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika powder, all purpose flour and corn starch and frying it in a pan. This fried chicken is then sauteed in a sesame flavoured sauce made with butter, soy sauce, oyster sauce, tomato kethup and brown sugar. The use of sesame seeds furnishes an auxiliary nutty flavor that is delicate to the tongue. While the use of sesame seeds in dishes is oftenly associated with Korean recipes, this chicken dish is adapted from the Chinese cuisine. Sesame chicken is best served on top of a big bowl of hot steaming rice.

SESAME CHICKEN RECIPE

Ingredients:

For the chicken:

• 500 grams chicken breast (sliced into cubes)
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon paprika powder
• 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• ¼ cup cold water

For the sesame sauce:

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• ½ cup soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
• ¼ cup tomato ketchup
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• sesame seeds

Directions:

1. Wash and prepare the chicken breast. Slice them into medium cubes and then transfer to a bowl. Season them with salt, black pepper, garlic powder and paprika powder. Add the all purpose flour, cornstarch and ¼ cup of cold water. Mix until well combined. Set aside and let this marinate for at least 30 minutes.
2. Heat a lot of oil using medium heat. Add the coated chicken one by one and deep fry until crispy and golden brown. Do this by batches and do not overcrowd the pan. Transfer them to a strainer or paper towel to drain excess oil. Set aside.
3. Melt the butter in a heated pan using low heat. Add the soy sauce, oyster sauce, tomato ketchup and brown sugar. Mix well to dissolve the sugar. Stir continuously until the mixture thickens.
4. Add the fried chicken breast to the sauce. Toss them gently a few times to ensure that each piece is well coated by the sauce. Sprinkle some sesame seeds on top.
5. Transfer the sesame chicken to a serving plate. Enjoy these as it is or pair it with some hot steaming rice. Yum!

WHAT ARE SESAME SEEDS?

Sesame seeds are tiny seeds which came from the sesame plant. They are rich in oils and is a good source of antioxidants, proteins, fiber and healthy fats. They are often added as garnish to different breadn and pastries. The Philippines is so lucky to have a tropical climate since the sesame plant can only grow in these type of environment.

Aside from using the whole seed, the sesame seeds can also be process into oils which is know becoming popular not just for cooking but also as a condiment. Sesame oil has now been a part of many famous dishes due to its added quality to the aroma and delicate nutty flavor to any dish.

Fun fact: Did you know that sesame seeds have always been included in our favorite Bahay Kubo song! Can you guess which among those vegetables is the sesame? Yes, you got it right! It’s the linga! Linga is the Tagalog term for sesame seeds.

SESAME CHICKEN

I grew up knowing sesame seeds are those tiny seeds on top of the hamburger buns or from the binangkal we buy from the local bakery. Little did I know, it would have a special place in my heart when I used it in the culinary world.

Since the Korean food invasion in the country, I have been in love with sesame seeds. It was just now tha I always make sure I have some of this at home. I would admit I was kind of late in appreciating sesame seeds, but as they all say, “better late than never”. During my peak love with sesame seeds, I even snack with just roasted sesame seeds with sugar mixture.

As a chicken lover, I always have a marinated bite size boneless chicken sitting on the fridge, waiting for it to be cooked. I never ran out of ideas on the different sauces I can coat my chicken. But it was really surprising how sprinkling just a few sesame seeds on my coated chicken will instantly hype its flavor. And most especially, sesame seeds made my chicken (and other dishes) extremely appetizing! If you cannot think of a garnish, white and black sesame seeds will automatically make your dish look like it came from a 5-star restaurant.

While there are many other uses of the sesame seeds, adding them in my coated crunchy chicken is one of my personal favorites. If you wanna know how to make sesame chicken at home, read and follow the simple recipe below. Happy cooking!

HOW TO MAKE SESAME CHICKEN

Making sesame chicken at home is super straightforward. All you need is to gather all the ingredients and the sesame chicken will be prepared in no time.

Lets start with the chicken. You can use any part of the chicken, but for this recipe, the chicken breast would be so ideal to have that bite size boneless perfection. The first part of this recipe is simply coating the chicken with spiced breading. You can use ready to use breading or make one from scratch at home to customize the flavors.

To make the crust extra crunchy, the hack is to use cold water instead of warm water in making the wet batter. If you cannot maintain the coolness of the batter while marinating, you can simply put them in the fridge first while making your sauce.

To make the sauce, simply melt the butter and then add the rest of the ingredients. Once thick, it is ready.

Deep fry the chicken until golden brown and crispy. Once the excess oil has drained, put them directly in the sauce to coat them. Lastly add the sesame seeds generously. If you want to keep the chicken crunchy, you can simply serve the sauce separately. But make sure to add sesame seeds to the sauce. 

I love having my sesame chicken on top of a big bowl of hot steaming rice. I sometimes add some chilies for some kick, especially when I’ll devour this as a snack. Yum!

Sesame Chicken Recipe in Tagalog

Mga Sangkap:

Para sa manok:

• 500 grams pitso ng manok (hiniwa ng cubes)
• ½ kutsaritang asin
• ½ kutsaritang paminta
• 1 kutsaritang garlic powder
• ½ kutsaritang paprika powder
• 2 kutsarang harina
• 3 kutsarang cornstarch
• ¼ tasang malamig na tubig

Para sa sesame sauce:

• 2 kutsarang butter (unsalted)
• ½ tasang toyo
• 1 kutsarang oyster sauce
• ¼ tasang tomato ketchup
• 1 kutsarang asukal na pula
• sesame seeds

Paano Lutuin:

1. Hugasan ang pitso ng manok at hiwain ito ng cubes. Ilipat ang mga ito sa bowl at timplahan ng asin, paminta, garlic powder at paprik powder. Sunod  na ilagay ang harina, cornstarch at ¼ tasa ng malamig na tubig. Haluin ito ng mabuti at imarinate ng 30 minuto.
2. Magpainit ng maraming apoy gamit ang katamtamang lakas ng apoy. Iprito ang mga pitso hanggang maging crispy at golden brown. Gawin ito ng batches at wag pupunuin ang kawali. Ilipat ang mga naprito na sa strainer o paper towel para tumulo ang sobrang mantika. Isantabi.
3. Tunawin ang butter sa kawali gamit ang mahinang apoy. Ilagay ang toyo, oyster sauce, tomato ketchup at asukal na pula. Haluin para matunaw ang asukal. Lutuin lang ito hanggang lumapot ang mixture.
4. Ilagay ang mga pritong manok sa sesame sauce. Haluin ito ng mabuti para malagyan lahat ng sauce. Budburan ito ng sesame seeds sa ibabaw.
5. Ilipat ang sesame chicken sa serving plate. Papakin ito o samahan ng mainit na kanin. Yum!