The Best Sesame Chicken

Step 1

In a large bowl, mix with the chicken with the salt, pepper and potato or corn starch by hand until each piece of chicken is totally coated. Set aside (NOTE: If using bite-sized pieces of breasts instead of wings, see Jeff's Tips for optimal results).

Step 2

Add the oil to a large skillet/frying pan and set the burner to high heat. Allow the oil to get hot for about 5 minutes. The oil will be fry-ready once you add a piece of the chicken and it begins to bubble (dip a piece of chicken in to test). Leaving the temperature on high heat, add as much as chicken to the pan as possible (you can do this in batches if you don’t have enough room). For wings, fry for 10 minutes total – turning the chicken over after 5 minutes on each side with tongs. For bite-size breast pieces, fry for 5-7 minutes, moving it around every so often. (NOTE: Be sure to occasionally move the chicken around for even cooking and to ensure the wings separate from one another as they will want to stick together due to the starch coating).

Step 3

Once the chicken is just ever-so slightly browned, remove the chicken from the skillet and place in a large paper towel-lined bowl for 2 minutes to rest. Turn the heat on the stove down to medium-high.

Step 4

Because we want the chicken VERY crispy, we will double fry it. Add the chicken back to the skillet and fry for another 2 minutes on each side for wings and 4 minutes if using pieces. They should be a more golden-brown color and have a hard, crispy shell when done. Use the tongs to remove the chicken and place in the paper towel-lined bowl again and let rest.

Step 5

Make the sauce by combining the sauce ingredients in a bowl, whisking until combined and then adding to a separate large frying pan/skillet on the stove over medium-high heat and stir until it bubbles (this will happen very quickly). Once it bubbles throughout, turn the heat off and once the bubbles die down, add the chicken to the pot and toss so all of it is coated n in the sauce (doing this in batches is fine if you used wings).

Step 6

Transfer the coated chicken to a serving dish and sprinkle sesame seeds (for sesame chicken) or dried red chiles/crushed red pepper flakes (for General Tso’s) on top. Enjoy immediately with my hibachi rice, white rice, or brown rice!