Sesame Chicken Bowls
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30 minute sesame chicken bowls! 1000x better than takeout and delivery. Super saucy and crisp-tender chicken, served with rice and broccoli!
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Why you’ll love this sesame chicken recipe
- Takeout favorite. You can make your favorite takeout dish right at home, tasting even better using fresh, better-quality ingredients. And it has the perfect balance of flavors – sweet, tangy, and savory!
- Weeknight-friendly. Homemade sesame chicken comes together lightning fast, and even faster than takeout or delivery using everyday pantry staples. It’s also an easy stovetop recipe, yielding crisp-tender chicken bites in all the saucy goodness. No hot pot of deep-frying oil required here!
- Excellent for picky eaters. Serve with any and all of the veggies, including broccoli, carrots, snap peas, and bell peppers. Once they’re coated in the sauce, you won’t have any leftovers (even among the pickiest of eaters!).
- Flexible, versatile recipe. Sesame chicken can be served with lentils, brown rice, quinoa, wild rice, fried rice, chow mein, you name it. Because at the end of the day, the saucy bits from the chicken can be served on top of anything and everything.
What is Sesame chicken?
Sesame chicken is a popular Chinese-American takeout dish made with crispy bite-sized chicken pieces tossed in a sweet, savory, slightly tangy sauce, finished with a sprinkle of sesame seeds.
how to make sesame chicken bowls
- Cook the rice. Rinse the basmati rice, then cook according to package instructions in a large saucepan.
- Steam the broccoli. Steam the broccoli florets in a steamer or colander until bright green.
- Prep the sauce. Mix together the chicken stock, orange marmalade, orange juice, soy sauce, vinegar, ginger, garlic, Sriracha, and cornstarch until well combined and smooth.
- Prep the chicken. Dice the chicken into bite-sized pieces and season with salt and pepper. Then toss the chicken with the cornstarch until lightly coated.
- Cook the chicken. Heat a splash of oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat, then cook the chicken until golden brown and cooked through. Pro tip: work in batches to avoid an overcrowded pan which will steam the chicken instead.
- Add the sauce. Stir in the sauce, letting it simmer for a few minutes until it thickens into a glossy sauce. Stir in the sesame seeds.
- Assemble the bowls. Divide the cooked rice and top with chicken and broccoli.
what to serve with sesame chicken bowls
Tools For This Recipe
Sesame Chicken Bowls: Frequently Asked Questions
Sesame chicken is generally mild with sweet and savory flavors whereas general tso’s is a mix of sweet, tangy, and spicy using hot chili peppers.
Yes, chicken breasts can absolutely be used here, but chicken thighs have more dark meat and a higher fat content, which will yield juicier, more flavorful chicken.
Broccoli, carrots, bell peppers, green beans, and snap peas are all favorited options, tossed directly in the sauce or steamed separately for serving.
You can easily make your own using regular sesame seeds! Place a dry skillet over medium heat and stir the sesame seeds every 15-30 seconds until they turn golden brown, cooling immediately.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days, gently reheating on the stovetop with a splash of water to help loosen the sauce.
Sesame Chicken Bowls
Video
Ingredients
- 1 cup basmati rice
- 12 ounces broccoli florets, about 2-3 cups
- ½ cup chicken stock
- ¼ cup orange marmalade
- ¼ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
- 2 ½ tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon Sriracha, optional
- 4 ½ tablespoons cornstarch, divided
- 1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-size pieces
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 3 tablespoons canola oil
- 2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
- In a large saucepan of 1 1/2 cups water, cook rice according to package instructions; set aside.
- Place broccoli florets into a steamer or colander set over a pan of boiling water. Cover and steam for 5 mins, or until cooked through and vibrant green; set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk together chicken stock, orange marmalade, orange juice, soy sauce, vinegar, ginger, garlic, Sriracha, if using, and 1 tablespoon cornstarch.
- Season chicken with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper; sprinkle with remaining 3 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch until evenly coated.
- Heat canola oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Working in two batches, add chicken and cook until golden brown, about 6-8 minutes. Stir in chicken stock mixture until thickened, about 2-3 minutes. Stir in sesame seeds.
- Serve chicken immediately with rice and broccoli.
Equipment
Notes
- Use reduced sodium soy sauce. Reduced sodium has less sodium and less salt without compromising flavor.
- Chicken thighs will have more flavor. Chicken breasts can certainly be substituted but chicken thighs will be much more juicier (and will cook much faster here).
- Serve with your favorite grains or noodles. White rice, brown rice, cauliflower rice, fried rice, and chow mein are all great options.
- Meal prep as needed. Sesame chicken is an excellent high-protein recipe to meal prep for the week ahead, stored in airtight containers up to 4 days.
- Serve with a sprinkle of sesame seeds. For even more sesame flavor, add the finishing touches with a hearty sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds. Can’t find toasted sesame seeds? They can be DIY-ed and toasted in a hot skillet for a few minutes without oil.
Did you make this recipe?
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We loved this. I followed the recipe exactly and did add the sriracha. I’m not a huge fan of orange, which is the predominant flavor, but I must admit that I DID devour the entire dish. It was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside…so good. And I liked the fact that you can prep everything in advance and then just cook it up quickly when you are ready. I cooked the broccoli during the last few minutes that the chicken was in the pan and then served everything piping hot the second it came off the stove. By the way, I found that the amount of food specified in the recipe was enough to feed myself, my husband, and my 16 year old…with no leftovers. Thank you again, Chungah, for another wonderful recipe!
This is fabulous. It hits all my buttons fast, fabulous and every smiles when I serve it. I have to make a double batch because we all want left overs for lunch.
This turned out great! I added a splash of toasted sesame oil. My family loved it. Will make again.
This recipe is amazing!
This was damn delicious. Followed recipe exactly using the sriracha. No changes necessary. Call it sesame chicken or orange chicken, who cares!! It was DAMN DELICIOUS!!
This was delicious! Definitely adding it into my rotation of meals and absolutely not too spicy for my family.
So good! Not orange-y flavored at all. This was quick to put together and a hit with kids and hubby, and I added the Sriracha. I accidentally added all the corn starch to the chicken instead of dividing for the sauce and sauce still thickened up well after the 3 minutes.
Delicious! I pretty mulched followed the recipe but make a couple of minor changes:
I made the chicken and sauce in advance, put it in a casserole and stuck it in the refrigerator until dinner time, then reheated it in the microwave and added the toasted sesame seeds just before serving to keep the from getting too soggy. I also cut up the broccoli in advance and cooked it just before serving, along with the rice.
As for the sauce, which is the heart of this recipe, I added two teaspoons of toasted sesame oil to kick up the flavor a bit, and I minced the ginger root and increased both it and the garlic to about 2 tablespoons. Also used the Sriracha (it did not make the sauce too hot). And I agree that the orange flavor is not overly strong. All good!
BTW, the one green onion must be a misprint! I minced one BUNCH of green onions (about 7), using just the white and light-green portions. (Yeah, I love onions!) 😉
Could I have the calorie value please
There are a lot of websites that you can use to calculate calories.
We have made this 3 times since I found the recipe. My family LOVES it. Thanks for the great share!!!
Amazing! The whole family loved it! We will definitely make this again and again. Thanks for sharing!
The food looks so delicious
I made this tonight and it was so yummy!
I was hesitant to make it because of all of reviews saying it was too orangey. I disagree completely. It tasted just like the sesame chicken I get from my local takeout spot.
I stayed true to the recipe except for 2 things. I used chicken breast instead of thighs (only because that’s all I had) and I used some sesame oil when cooking the chicken. I don’t think it made a difference.
Would make this again. 5 stars!
This was absolutely delicious!! I made it tonight and entire family loved it. I used zucchini and yellow squash because it was what I had in the fridge. I will definitely make it again.
We made this the other night using chicken breasts instead of thighs because that’s what we had. I cut the chicken into quite small pieces. The whole family loved it except all felt the orange flavor was too strong. I agree and would make again definitely but would not add the marmalade. I did add extra siracha as we like the heat.
Making takeout at home is my favorite! Sesame chicken is definitely one of my favorites this look so good!
So good! Used chicken thigh fillets to make it more kid-friendly, and my picky eater loved it! Thanks for this!
I enjoyed this recipe, but it didn’t taste like sesame chicken that I am used to. The orange flavor is very prominent. I would consider making it again, but maybe with less orange marmalade.
This was AH-MAZING. I took advice from some comments below and used sesame oil to cook chicken. I kinda cheated and used Steam Fresh microwave broccoli (cooked 4 minutes, instead of 5..for some crunch). I topped it with some dry roasted peanuts and some fresh chopped cilantro.
Next time I”m going to double recipe so there are some left overs.
So good!! No leftovers here