Sesame chicken
Golden, crispy chicken in a sweet honey soy glaze with toasty sesame seeds, served over rice with bright green broccoli.
- 45 min total
- 35 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 4
- About $2.44 a serving
- 680 calories
- Good the next day
- Dairy-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 1½ cups long-grain white rice, rinsed
- 3 tbsp honey
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1¼ lb chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp sesame seeds
- 12 oz frozen broccoli
From your pantry
- 2¼ cups water
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- ⅓ cup cornstarch, divided
- ½ tsp salt
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
Each serving has about 680 calories, 41 g protein, 88 g carbs and 18 g fat, and costs about $2.44 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No long-grain white rice? Jasmine rice or basmati rice works.
- No honey? Maple syrup works.
- No chicken breasts? Boneless chicken thighs or chicken tenderloins work.
- No frozen broccoli? Broccoli works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Put the rice and water in a medium and bring it over high heat.
Rinse. Rinsing means running cold water over rice or canned beans in a strainer while you swish them around. It washes off loose starch and can liquid, so rice cooks up fluffy and beans taste clean.
How you’ll know: The water running out goes from cloudy to mostly clear; it doesn’t have to be perfect.
Saucepan. A saucepan is a pot with tall, straight sides and one long handle. It’s for things that need depth, like rice, sauces or a few boiled eggs.
How you’ll know: The food fills it about halfway, leaving room to bubble without spilling over.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heat
once, cover, turn the heat to low and cook 18 minutes, then take it off the heat with the lid on.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Low heatTimer: 18 min
the soy sauce, honey, brown sugar, vinegar, sesame oil, 1 teaspoon of the cornstarch and ¼ cup of water together.
Whisk. Whisking means beating quickly with a whisk or a fork to blend things together. It smooths out lumps and mixes eggs, oil or sauces evenly.
How you’ll know: It all looks one even color and texture, with no streaks or lumps.
the chicken with the rest of the cornstarch and the salt until coated, and wash your hands and board.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Food safety: Wash your hands, the board and the knife with hot soapy water after touching raw meat, and don’t rinse raw chicken in the sink.
Heat the oil in a large over medium-high until it . Cook the chicken in two batches, 5 to 6 minutes each, turning, until and the biggest piece reads 165°F.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Shimmering oil. Oil shimmers when it’s hot enough to cook: its surface looks rippled and wavy, like heat over a road. That’s your cue to add the food, just before the oil would start to smoke.
How you’ll know: The oil looks wavy and runs thin like water when you tilt the pan, with no smoke yet.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Medium-high heatTimer: 5 min 30 sec
Dolly’s tip: Two batches keeps the pan hot. A crowded pan steams and the coating goes gummy.Food safety: Chicken and turkey are done at 165°F in the thickest part. A thermometer is the only sure check. Without one, cut into the thickest piece: it should be white all the way through, with no pink.
Pour off all but a thin film of oil, add the garlic, and 30 seconds over medium heat.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Medium heatTimer: 30 sec
the sauce again, pour it in, and let it bubble 1 to 2 minutes, until thick and glossy.
Whisk. Whisking means beating quickly with a whisk or a fork to blend things together. It smooths out lumps and mixes eggs, oil or sauces evenly.
How you’ll know: It all looks one even color and texture, with no streaks or lumps.
Medium heatTimer: 1 min 30 sec
Add the chicken and sesame seeds and to coat.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Microwave the broccoli as the bag directs and serve it with the chicken over the rice.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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