Why You’ll Love This this Crispy Honey-Glazed Sesame Chicken
This honey-glazed sesame chicken delivers that perfect sweet-savory balance you’ve been craving, with crispy golden pieces that practically melt in your mouth.
The light, airy batter creates an incredible crunch that holds up beautifully to that glossy honey glaze, while toasted sesame seeds add just the right nutty finish.
It’s like getting your favorite takeout dish, but honestly better because you control every delicious detail, from the five-spice seasoning to that final drizzle of golden honey.
Ingredients List
This honey sesame chicken comes together with simple ingredients you probably already have in your pantry, plus some fresh chicken and a few special touches that make all the difference.
- 500 g chicken thigh fillets
- 1/4 teaspoon five-spice powder
- 1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
- Cornflour (for dusting)
- Oil for deep frying
- 1 tablespoon oil, extra
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
For the Batter:
- 3/4 cup self-raising flour
- 1/4 cup cornflour
- 1 1/4 cups water
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
A Few Things to Keep in Mind:
- Using chicken thighs instead of breasts keeps things juicy and flavorful, though they do have a bit more fat
- The deep-frying method means this isn’t exactly a health food, but you can always use a lighter oil like canola
- Sesame seeds pack surprising nutrition with healthy fats and minerals, so don’t skip them
- The honey adds natural sweetness, which is better than processed sugar, though it’s still sugar at the end of the day
Step by Step Directions
Making this crispy honey-glazed sesame chicken involves preparing the chicken, creating a light batter, frying until golden, and finishing with a glossy honey coating.
Preparation Steps:
- Cut chicken thigh fillets into chunky strips and combine with five-spice powder and sesame oil in a bowl.
- Cover and let stand for 10 minutes to marinate.
- Make the batter by sifting self-raising flour and cornflour into a bowl, then gradually stir in combined water and beaten egg until smooth and thin.
- Toss marinated chicken strips in cornflour, shaking away excess.
- Dip each piece of chicken in batter to coat evenly.
Cooking Steps:
- Deep-fry battered chicken in hot oil until well browned and cooked through.
- Drain cooked chicken on absorbent paper.
- Heat extra tablespoon of oil in a pan and add honey, stirring until heated through.
- Add the fried chicken to the honey mixture and toss well to coat.
- Sprinkle with sesame seeds before serving.
Professional restaurants rely on high-quality commercial kitchen equipment to achieve consistent results when preparing dishes like this honey-glazed chicken.
Substitutions and Variations
- Sesame seed variations – Black sesame seeds look absolutely stunning and add a nutty depth, or toast your white sesame seeds first for that extra aromatic punch that makes your kitchen smell like a fancy restaurant.
- Heat things up – A drizzle of sriracha or chili garlic sauce mixed into the honey glaze transforms this into sweet-and-spicy perfection, because sometimes we all need a little kick in our comfort food.
- Coating alternatives – Panko breadcrumbs mixed with cornflour create an incredibly crunchy texture, though you’ll miss that classic light batter sensation we all crave.
Additional Things to Serve With This Dish
This dish practically begs for some stellar sidekicks to complete the picture.
- Steamed jasmine rice – The fluffy, fragrant grains soak up every drop of that honey glaze like little flavor sponges, and honestly, what’s Asian-inspired chicken without rice to anchor the whole meal.
- Quick cucumber salad – Thinly sliced cukes tossed with rice vinegar, a pinch of sugar, and sesame oil cut through all that crispy richness, giving your palate a revitalizing reset between bites.
- Stir-fried vegetables – Snap peas, bell peppers, or broccoli tossed in a hot wok with garlic add color and crunch, plus they make you feel slightly better about indulging in all that fried goodness.
- Asian coleslaw – Shredded cabbage and carrots dressed with rice vinegar, sesame oil, and a touch of honey creates a crispy, tangy contrast that somehow makes the whole plate feel more balanced.
- Steamed dumplings – Because if we’re going full comfort food mode, why not double down with some pillowy pork or vegetable dumplings on the side.
- Simple noodle salad – Cold rice noodles tossed with julienned vegetables and a light sesame dressing turn this into a more substantial feast, perfect for when you want to stretch the meal for extra guests.
Cooking Tips & Tricks (Chef’s Notes)
Getting this chicken just right takes a few sneaky techniques that’ll save you from disappointment.
- Don’t skip the marinating time – Those ten minutes with the five-spice and sesame oil might seem pointless when you’re hungry, but they’re what transform bland chicken into something that actually tastes like it belongs in a good restaurant.
- Double-coat for maximum crunch – Toss in cornflour first, then dip in batter, and if you’re feeling ambitious, you can even do a second cornflour-batter round for chicken so crispy it practically shatters when you bite it.
- Test your oil temperature – Drop a small bit of batter into the oil, and if it sizzles immediately and floats to the surface, you’re golden; too hot and your coating burns while the inside stays raw, too cool and you get soggy, greasy disappointment.
- Work in small batches – Cramming all the chicken in at once drops the oil temperature faster than your motivation on a Monday morning, plus overcrowded chicken pieces stick together like they’re forming some kind of batter alliance.
- Toast those sesame seeds – Raw sesame seeds are fine, but toasted ones in a dry pan for just two minutes add this nutty depth that makes people wonder what your secret ingredient is.
- Serve immediately – This isn’t the kind of dish that sits around gracefully waiting for everyone to gather; the coating starts losing its crispness the moment it hits room temperature, so have your sides ready and call everyone to the table.
Nutritional Facts
This honey sesame chicken delivers a satisfying balance of protein and flavor, though the deep-frying does bump up the calorie count.
Per serving (serves 4):
- Calories: 485-520 per serving
- Protein: 28-32g (primarily from chicken thigh fillets)
- Carbohydrates: 35-40g (from flour batter and honey)
- Fat: 25-30g (from deep frying oil and chicken thighs)
- Saturated Fat: 6-8g
- Fiber: 1-2g
- Sugar: 8-10g (mainly from honey)
- Sodium: 380-420mg
- Calcium: 45-55mg (from sesame seeds)
- Iron: 2-3mg
- Vitamin B6: 0.4-0.6mg (from chicken)
- Niacin: 8-10mg (from chicken)
- Healthy fats: Small amounts of omega-6 from sesame seeds and sesame oil
Nutritional highlights:
- High-quality complete protein from chicken supports muscle maintenance
- Sesame seeds provide calcium, magnesium, and healthy fats
- Five-spice powder contains antioxidants from star anise and other spices
- Moderate glycemic impact from honey compared to refined sugar
Fun “Did You Know?”
Ever wonder why sesame chicken became such a staple in American-Chinese restaurants?
It’s actually an American invention, not traditional Chinese cuisine!
Sesame seeds were considered so valuable in ancient times that they’re mentioned in “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves” – “Open Sesame” refers to their precious worth.
Here’s something cool: sesame seeds contain sesamin, a compound that helps your liver process alcohol more efficiently.
That’s why sesame-based dishes pair perfectly with drinks!
The light batter technique I’m sharing creates maximum crispiness while using less oil than traditional heavy batters.
Pretty neat, right?
