I don’t know about you but I love a good take-out meal. The only problem is where we live, sometimes it’s faster (and easier) to make some dishes at home than to spend 40 minutes (round trip) to pick up dinner. We adore Asian food some of our favorites are: Pad Thai, Kung Pao Chicken, General Tso Chicken, and Spicy Garlic Shrimp. And, well now, Sesame Chicken is on my top list of favorite dishes!
Sesame Chicken
Sesame seeds are one of the stars of this sesame chicken dish. The Sesame seeds just pop with the sweet, savory, crispy, and sticky yumminess of this dish. It’s one of those dishes that make you smile. I mean you will literally want to lick the plate…or at least we did !!!
Normally the chicken is deep-fried. We found by air frying the chicken it still has a great crispy texture without any of the oil flavor from deep frying. The sauce still coats nicely to the chicken and you don’t even notice that it’s not traditionally fried. Also, bonus, we found this dish is just as good as leftovers.
A lot of people think Sesame Chicken is the same as General Tso’s Chicken. There are similarities but General Tso’s is spicy whereas Sesame Chicken is sweet and savory and not spicy. Both dishes are so delicious.
How to make Air Fryer Sesame Chicken:
Cut Chicken breast into bite-size pieces and toss in breading. Let it sit for a few minutes. This step can be done as much as a day in advance. Then all that needs to be done to complete the sesame chicken is to air fry and make the sauce.
When ready, air fry the chicken until crispy.
When the chicken is nice and crispy. The next step is to toss it in the sauce. Always measure all the sauce ingredients prior to starting the sauce.
Then, the best step of all, serve and ENJOY!!!
TIPS:
- Use Chicken Breast. It cuts a few calories and has great flavor.
- Serve the chicken with sticky rice or, to really save calories, make Cauliflower rice.
- All Air Fryers are a little different. Make sure to check the chicken towards the end of cooking so you ensure it gets crispy enough.
- Always measure all the ingredients prior to starting the recipe. This step just makes everything easier.
Air Fryer Sesame Chicken
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: Dinner, Lunch
- Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients
Marinade for Chicken
- 1 ½ Pounds Chicken Breast
- 2 Egg Whites
- 1 ½ Tablespoons Light Soy Sauce
- ½ Tablespoon Rice Vinegar
- 1 ½ teaspoons Sesame Oil
Coating
- ¾ Cup Cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon white pepper can use black pepper
- Olive Oil Spray
Sauce
- 1 Cup Chicken Stock
- 2 teaspoons Chili Garlic Sauce
- 1 Tablespoons Rice Vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons Dry Sherry (or Chinese Rice Wine, or Sake)
- 3 Tablespoons Soy Sauce (Lite Soy Sauce works also)
- 3 teaspoons Hoisin Sauce
- 1 teaspoon Sesame Oil
- ½ Tablespoon Sugar
- 3 teaspoons Cornstarch
Satay Oil, Garlic and Ginger
- 1 Tablespoon Vegetable Oil or Peanut Oil
- 2 Cloves Garlic minced
- 2 teaspoons Ginger minced or finely grated
Sesame Seeds
- 2 Tablespoons Sesame Seeds
Instructions
- Cut Chicken Breast into bite size pieces
- Mix together Marinade – egg whites, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sesame oil.
Pour Marinade over the chicken. Stir to coat the chicken
- Mix together cornstarch, salt, white pepper, and baking powder. This is for the coating on the chicken.
Add cornstarch coating mixture to the chicken. Stir to combine
- Set Chicken aside for at least 10 minutes
Air Fry Chicken
- Spray Air Fryer with cooking spray (We use Olive Oil spray)
- Place a layer of the marinated chicken in the Air Fryer
- Air Fry chicken at 375° for 8 minutes
- Toss and cook for an additional 6 minutes at 375°
Sesame Seeds
- Sauté Sesame Seeds in a pan for 30 seconds to one minute, stirring constantly. NOTE: Be careful they can burn quickly. Set sesame seeds aside
Sauce
- Mix together all the sauce ingredients (chicken stock, rice vinegar, rice wine/sherry, chili garlic sauce, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, sesame oil, sugar, and cornstarch)
- Heat 1 TBS of vegetable oil in a large sauté pan.
- Add minced garlic and ginger to the pan. Sauté for 30 seconds
- Add the sauce to the pan with the garlic and ginger, and bring to a boil. The sauce will thicken. (NOTE add additional cornstarch if the sauce is not thick enough. Add ½ teaspoon at a time. Mix the cornstarch with a teaspoon of water to make sure it will not clump before putting it into the sauce)
- When the sauce has thickened (about 4 minutes) stir in the air fried chicken
- Serve and enjoy.
