Honey Sesame Chicken 蜜糖芝麻鸡

Does my honey sesame chicken look 'hot'? If you agree, most probably I had you fooled. The sauce itself is one simple combination of four readily available everyday sauces and a dash of honey. Yes, it is that easy. But most likely people wouldn't know about this when they look at those glazy chicken. No, not even when they bite into those tender juicy chicken laden with sticky sauce. Therefore, I credit this glorious yummy dish to....erm, instant sauces.

Although said to be a Chinese dish, this dish is more popular in western countries. If you do a quick google on Honey Sesame Chicken, you would find most of the contributors for this recipe are non-Chinese. The Chinese are more into roast sesame chicken (another yummy recipe!). Maybe this dish is a spin-off from there but it really doesn't matter. All I know is Honey Sesame Chicken is insanely popular and absolutely delicious.

There are many recipes out there but the fundamental is the same. It has to be sweet, slightly soured and generously coated with toasted sesame seeds. The key here is to find a good balance of these tastes. My recipe uses chicken pieces instead of breast as it is a preferred choice in my household. You could always replace this with chicken breast that is cut into strips or chunks.

Honey Sesame Chicken 蜜糖芝麻鸡

Ingredients

1 kg chicken, cut into small pieces
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp rice flour
1/2 egg

Marinade

1 tbsp soya sauce
1/2 tbsp sugar
1/4 tbsp salt
1 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine
1/4 tbsp sesame oil
pepper

Sauce

3 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
3 tbsp honey
2 tbsp tomato sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp soya sauce
1/4 cup (60 ml) water
2 1/2 tbsp toasted sesame seed

Cooking Instruction

1. Combine all marinade ingredients and chicken in a large bowl. Marinade for at least 1 hour. When about to fry, drain excess liquid. Add egg, cornstarch and rice flour. Mix well.

2. Heat oil until smoky hot, reduce fire to small and put in chicken. Fry until just cooked and crispy. When about to remove from oil, increase the temperature again. Remove from fire and drain oil.

3. Meanwhile,combine all the ingredients for sauce into a pan. Simmer until slightly thickened.

4. Add chicken into sauce and coat chicken thoroughly with sauce. Lastly, sprinkle sesame seeds and coat before removing. Plate and serve.