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Orange Sesame Chicken on top of green beans and white rice in an oval platter.

Sesame Orange Chicken

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This version of the Chinese-American takeout favorite, Sesame Orange Chicken, uses my beer batter for the chicken and a secret ingredient to create the perfect sauce. It’s sweet, slightly salty, and full of umami goodness!

  • Total Time: 45 minutes
  • Yield: 12 (4oz) servings 1x

Ingredients

Units Scale

Fried Chicken Pieces

  • 3 lbs Chicken (cut into 1-inch size pieces. See notes 1 for options)
  • Beer Batter Mix (See Notes 2 for details)
  • 12–16 oz Light Colored Beer (like a golden Ale (See notes 3 for substitutes))
  • Peanut Oil (Or vegetable oil for Frying)

Sauce

  • 1 Tablespoon Chinese cooking wine (AKA Shaoshing / Shaoxing wine (See notes 4 for substitutes))
  • 1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
  • 2 1/4 cups orange marmalade ( or an 18 oz jar)
  • 2 Tablespoons light soy sauce (see notes 5 for details on this)
  • 1 Tablespoon sesame oil
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
  • 3/4 cup chicken broth/stock

Topping

  • 1 Tablespoon sesame seeds

Instructions

  1. beer batter Make the [wprm-ingredient text="Beer Batter Mix" uid="8"] in a medium-large bowl
  2. Chicken Add the [wprm-ingredient text="3 lbs Chicken" uid="7"], folding the batter over the chicken pieces until well coated.
  3. fry Drop a few pieces into the [wprm-ingredient text="Peanut Oil" uid="14"] (you want a single layer as the float, I would say no more than 8-10 pieces at a time so you don’t cool the oil down too fast), fry until golden brown and float.
  4. cool Take out and lay on a cooling rack.
  5. sauce Then make the sauce (See notes 6 for details): Heat [wprm-ingredient text="¾ cup chicken broth/stock" uid="1"], [wprm-ingredient text="sesame oil" uid="5"], [wprm-ingredient text="1 Tablespoon Chinese cooking wine" uid="0"], [wprm-ingredient text="rice wine vinegar" uid="2"], and [wprm-ingredient text="2 Tablespoons light soy sauce" uid="4"] in a pan on medium-high heat in a wok or skillet (I’ve used either) until boiling, add the [wprm-ingredient text="orange marmalade" uid="3"] and continue heating for about 2-3 min. It will start to thicken.
  6. sauce continued Ladle a good amount of liquid into a small bowl, add the cornstarch, and whisk together until all clumps are gone (see note 7 for details on this step). Add this creamy-looking liquid into the pan, and cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute or until it thickens into a thick syrupy sauce. Remove the sauce immediately from the heat.
  7. toss in chicken Add the chicken into the wok/pan and toss until all pieces are completely coated.
  8. sesame seeds Transfer the chicken onto a platter/shallow bowl, and top with the [wprm-ingredient text="sesame seeds" uid="10"] of your choice.
  9. serve Serve with rice and veg of your choice (We like to put ours right on top, but you can have them in individual dishes).

Equipment

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Notes

  1. You can use breasts or thighs, just make sure they are boneless and skinless (otherwise, you will need to remove the bones and skin)
  2. My Beer Batter Mix is enough for all the chicken. If you choose store-bought, you’ll have to look at the cooking instructions and see how much meat (usually fish) is recommended. I find most boxes are for 1 pound, so you would need 3 boxes.
  3. If you don’t want to use beer you can use Mineral Water, Seltzer Water, N/A Beer, or even Plain Water (since I use baking powder, it will still create the lift for a puffy crunchy crust. However, the beer does add a wonderful taste to it, that you won’t get with water).
  4. If you can’t find Chinese Cooking Wine, you can use sherry or extra chicken broth/stock
  5. Light Soy Sauce is NOT low sodium or “lite”. It’s actually saltier than Soy Sauce and it is both saltier and thinner than Dark Soy Sauce.
  6. You can cook the sauce first and set it aside on warm until you’re done with the chicken. But honestly, the sauce doesn’t take long at all.
  7. This step is pivotal. If you don’t do it you’ll end up with white clumps and the sauce won’t thicken correctly.
  • Author: Jenn Giam Smith
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 30 minutes
  • Category: Dinner, lunch
  • Cuisine: Chinese American

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 4oz of chicken
  • Calories: 868
  • Sugar: 111
  • Sodium: 4275
  • Fat: 10
  • Saturated Fat: 2
  • Carbohydrates: 136
  • Fiber: 1
  • Protein: 61
  • Cholesterol: 174

Find it online: https://www.jenn-smith.com/orange-sesame-chicken/

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