DISH RESEARCH · Main dish
sesame chicken
Maggie Zhu’s selected sesame chicken fries thigh pieces in an egg-and-cornstarch coating, then tosses them in an own sweet savoury sauce with toasted sesame seeds. Reserved scallions finish the hot chicken, served over separate steamed rice.
About sesame chicken
Research draft based on the references below. These notes describe particular recipes and presentations; ingredient connections are still being reviewed.
Maggie Zhu’s sesame chicken has crisp chicken pieces in a sweet, savoury sesame sauce. Her selected thigh version follows the Chinese takeout style she describes, with the coating fried before the sauce is added.
Salt, an egg, a tablespoon of selected peanut oil and cornstarch coat the chicken. A separate quarter-cup peanut-oil quantity fries the pieces until golden; they move onto a plate while the pan is prepared for the sauce.
Chicken broth, Shaoxing wine, soy sauce, selected Chinkiang vinegar, sugar and sesame oil form the own sauce. Its separate cornstarch portion thickens the liquid, while toasted sesame seeds are mixed directly into it.
About a tablespoon of the frying oil remains in the pan to cook chopped garlic and most of the sliced scallions. The sauce then simmers until thick enough to coat the chicken, which returns to the pan for a final toss.
Reserved scallion slices finish the chicken. Zhu serves it hot over steamed rice, pairing a crisp coating with the glossy sesame sauce.
Ingredients in sesame chicken
Recorded ingredient connections, rather than a complete recipe. Explore an ingredient for more detail.
Ingredient connections are still being added.
Ingredient connections awaiting review. Versions and preparation vary.
Origins & food traditions
Explore the countries and cooking traditions associated with this dish. These connections do not establish a single birthplace or limit where the dish is eaten today.
Countries
Country connections are still being added.
Cuisines & regions
Cuisine and regional connections are still being added.
Associations in the cited sources
These describe source-specific cultural or geographic connections. Catalogue links may still need review.
- Cooking traditions
- Chinese takeout-style