When I was in India, my family used to enjoy Indo-Chinese cuisine almost every week. We used to order in from a hole in the wall kind of place, where the food was so addictive. Our standard menu for years included the Indian version of Sesame Chicken. Yesterday, I wanted to replicate that dish and bring to life my memories. I was so happy with the result, it was not only tastier than the store bought one but I did not have to deep fry anything. That’s right, it was baked and then sautéed! We enjoyed this with some vegetarian fried rice. The combination is brilliant 🙂

Time: 

• Prep time – 30 minutes 
• Cook time – 20 minutes 

Ingredients for the Chicken and its Marinade: 

• Boneless Chicken Thighs (Cut into Medium Sized Pieces) – 500 g 
• Cornstarch – 1 tbsp 
• Sesame Oil – 1 tbsp 
• All Purpose Flour – 1/4 cup 
• Toasted Sesame Seeds – 2 tbsp 
• White Pepper – 1/8 tsp 
• Shaoxing Wine – 1 tsp (Substitute with Dry White Wine or Dry Sherry)

Ingredients for the Sesame Sauce: 

• Olive Oil – 1 tbsp 
• Garlic – 1 tsp 
• Shaoxing Wine – 1 tbsp (Substitute with Dry White Wine or Dry Sherry)
• Sesame Oil – 2 tsp 
• Chicken Stock – 3/4 cup 
• Kecap Manis – 1 tbsp (Substitute with equal portions of soy sauce mixed with brown sugar)
• Rice Vinegar – 1/2 tsp 
• Dark Brown Sugar – 3 tbsp 
• Low Sodium Soy Sauce – 1 tbsp 
• Green Onions (Chopped) – 2 stalks 
• Cornstarch Slurry – 1.25 tbsp Cornstarch mixed well with 1.75 tbsp of water  

Method:

1. Mix the chicken with the cornstarch, Shaoxing wine, sesame oil, and the salt. Set aside for 20 minutes 
2. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 475 F and prepare a baking sheet, lined with aluminum foil 
3. In a separate bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, white pepper powder, and toasted sesame seeds 
4. Once the chicken has marinated, dredge each piece in the mixed dry ingredients from Step 3 and place evenly on the prepared baking sheet
5. Bake the chicken in the preheated oven for 8 minutes. Then take out of the oven, change the setting of the oven to BROIL at 250F. Flip all the pieces of chicken and place it back in the oven for 5 minutes. Once done, take it out of the oven and let it cool 
6. In a separate bowl, start to prepare the sauce. Combine the sesame oil, chicken stock, kecap manis, rice vinegar, dark brown sugar and low sodium soy sauce. Set aside 
7. Heat the olive oil in a wok on medium heat. Add the garlic and saute for 30 seconds 
8. Add the Shaoxing Wine. Mix for 5 seconds 
9. Add the sauce prepared in Step 6 and turn the heat up till it starts to boil
10. Once boiling, turn the heat down to medium-low and add the cornstarch slurry slowly and keep mixing till the sauce coats your spoon 
11. Add the chicken and green onions. Mix so that the sauce coats the chicken
12. Let it cook for 5 minutes on medium-low heat. Stir occasionally 
13. Enjoy warm with noodles or fried rice 🙂