If your family is anything like mine, the "what's for dinner" debate usually ends with someone suggesting Chinese takeout. This Honey Sesame Chicken is the recipe that finally made me stop ordering take-out on my way home from work.
You get those crispy, smallI pieces of chicken that that hold their crunch even after tossing in that sticky sweet glaze we all crave. It's a budget friendly, and there won't be a single bite left in sight once the family gets a taste!
Jump to:
Why This Chicken is a Keeper
Better than Takeout: Frying this at home means the chicken stays crispy and fresh instead of getting soggy in a cardboard container.
A Real 30-Minute Meal: Bite-sized chicken pieces cook up in minutes, making this a great option for busy weeknights.
Pantry Staples Only: You likely have the honey, ketchup, and soy sauce in your cupboard right now, so there's no need for a special grocery run.
What You'll Need To Pull This Together
See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and instructions.
- Boneless skinless chicken breasts or chicken thighs: Cut into bite sized pieces for quick cooking.
- Corn starch and all-purpose flour: Combines to coat the chicken and keep it crispy when fried.
- Soy Sauce: Provides the deep, salty base, use a low-sodium version to control the saltiness.
- Cooking Wine: Helps tenderize the chicken and adds flavor.
- Sesame Oil: adds flavor to the sauce that marinates the chicken pieces and should not be skipped.
- Sweet Chili Sauce: You can find this in the grocery store near the hot sauces.
- Ketchup: Provides the tangy zip in the sauce giving it that classic "takeout" reddish glow.
- Honey: The star of the show! It provides the sticky sweetness that balances the savory flavors and glazes the chicken.
- Oyster Sauce: Gives the recipe it's authentic "takeout" flavor with an umami punch that you can't get from soy sauce alone.
Shelby's Kitchen Note: If you have shellfish allergy in the family, don't worry about finding a complex substitute for the Oyster sauce. You can simply leave it out.
Make It Your Own: Easy Swaps
- Substitute raw medium shrimp for the chicken.
- Low-sodium soy sauce or coconut aminos can be used in place of regular soy sauce.
- Seasoned rice wine vinegar can be substituted for cooking wine.
- Maple syrup or brown sugar can be used in place of honey.
- Stir ½ to 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes into the sauce mixture to add some spice to the sweet sauce.
Shelby's Secrets for Success
- Monitor Your Oil: Use a candy thermometer to stay at 350°F; if the temperature dips between batches, let it reheat so your chicken stays crispy instead of greasy.
- Don't Skip The Soak: Marinating the chicken for at least an hour is the key to getting that tender, flavorful bite that tastes just like the restaurant version.
- Fry and Drain: Work in small batches to avoid crowding the pan, then move the golden-brown pieces immediately to a paper towel-lined plate to shed excess oil
Your Questions Answered
Rice flour, potato starch, or arrowroot starch are good substitutes and will give the same crispy results as cornstarch.
Yes, you can. Strain any sediment from the oil and store it in an airtight container. After about 3 uses, the oil should be discarded.
What I've Learned
Dark meat has more flavor than white meat and usually less expensive. For this reason I recommend using chicken thighs over chicken breasts. This recipe can be made with both types of chicken, whatever your preference may be.
3-4 inches of oil is all you need to deep fry the chicken pieces.
Can I Make This Ahead of Time?
To make this ahead of time, the chicken can be fried and stored in the freezer up to 3 months. Just reheat the thawed, cooked chicken in the oven or air fryer and coat with the sauce when ready to serve.
Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge up to 3 days.
Serving Suggestions
Serve this Honey Sesame Chicken recipe with a side of Garlic Scallion Noodles or brown rice, crab rangoon, Venison Potstickers, and air fryer egg rolls.
More Takeout Recipes
If you can't get enough of better than takeout recipes to make at home, you may want to try my Bang Bang Chicken with Quinoa, Bang Bang Shrimp, Honey Walnut Shrimp, Vietnamese Caramel Chicken, and Crispy General Tso's Tofu.
I hope this becomes a new favorite in your house like it is in mine. When you try it, please come back and leave a comment rating below; it helps me so much! And, if you snap a photo of your dinner, tag @grumpyshoneybunch on Instagram so I can see those crispy chicken bites!
📖 Recipe
Honey Sesame Chicken
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Ingredients
for the chicken
- 12 ounces boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into bite sized pieces
- 1 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon cooking wine
- ½ tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 tablespoons flour
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 cups oil for frying , enough to bring level up to 2 inches of oil
for the honey sesame sauce
- 1 tablespoon sweet chili sauce
- 2 tablespoons ketchup
- 1 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce
- ¼ cup water
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds , optional
- 1 tablespoon green onions , green part only (optional)
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, wine, sesame oil, and sugar until combined. Add the chicken and marinate for 1 hour.
- In a small bowl, mix together the flour and cornstarch and place in a large ziplock bag. Drain the chicken and add to the flour mixture. Shake gently to coat.
- Add the oil to a deep fry pan and heat to 350 degrees.
- Gently place the chicken in the hot oil and fry until the chicken is cooked through and the batter is golden brown.
- Drain the chicken pieces on paper towels.
- In a small bowl, mix the sweet chili sauce, ketchup, honey, oyster sauce, soy, sauce, and water in a medium saucepan.
- Bring the sauce mixture to a boil, then simmer for 3 minutes, until the sauce begins to thicken.
- Toss the sauce with fried chicken pieces. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and green onions (if using).
Kels says
You mention water in the sauce instructions but not in the ingredients, how much water?
Shelby Law Ruttan says
Water is listed in the sauce ingredients list, it is 1/4 cup of water and is right below the soy sauce.
Teresa says
There appears to be an error in the sweet chili sauce measurement. How much sweet chili sauce?
Shelby says
3 Tablespoons. Thanks for letting me know. When I moved to a different printable recipe I must have cut that part off!
Brenda says
Was quite nice, but sauce had a too-strong flavour for us. I did double the sauce and used medium sherry in place of cooking wine. Probably would have to reduce soy and oyster sauces in the overall sauce. I think after those changes, this will be awesome! Will definitely be trying this again. Thanks for the recipe.
Kristin @ Dizzy Busy and Hungry! says
What a great recipe! I am glad you were on an Asian kick and came up with this great recipe!
Carlsbad Cravings says
This sounds incredible! I am loving all the flavors going on here - anything with oyster sauce is calling my name!
Life Tastes Good says
That picture makes me drool! The sauce sounds absolutely fabulous, Shelby! I love this recipe!!
Sheena @ Hot Eats and Cool Reads says
This looks wonderful!! I love anything Asian inspired!
From Valeries Kitchen says
This is one of my favorites on your site, Shelby. That picture is mouthwatering!
Renee Paj says
I must put this on my menu soon!! Looks fantastic!
Carrie R says
This sounds so delicious! I am always a fan of making our favorite take-out dishes at home. 🙂 Pinned!
The Food Hunter says
love Asian recipes...keep them coming!
The Food Hunter says
Adding this to my must try list
Linda Moore says
honey sesame chicken looks great and easy. will make it for dinner for my food critics.LOL
wade@avoiceformyson.com says
looks like a good recipe. i will give it a try. thanks.
craftypiggie says
I'm making this now is there a substitute for sweet Chili sauce I didn't notice this ingreident ty kat
honeyb says
Here is a recipe link for sweet chili sauce on allrecipes.com. Its great for a lot of things - like dipping your chicken or shrimp in. I even dip my fries in it 🙂 http://allrecipes.com/recipe/sweet-chili-thai-sauce/
陳悅琳 says
Thank you! It was perfect <3
Ale says
I just made it, OMG! it was incredible! please try it.
Thank you.
Unknown says
Yum! Just made this! Thank you for posting!
Anonymous says
I can't have shellfish, any suggestions on what to replace the oyster sauce with?
Shelby says
Here is a recipe for Vegetarian Oyster Sauce: http://www.recipecottage.com/vegetarian/oyster-sauce.html
Anonymous says
that looks scrumptious.
Shelby says
Thank you!
Pynk says
Asian food is my fav & yours looks very yummy. Will definitely be trying out this recipe! =]
Shelby says
Hope you enjoy!
Roxane says
how did you make the cheaters fried rice and egg rolls? i can't wait to try this it sounds yummy! thanks for sharing! 🙂
Shelby says
Hi Roxane 🙂 I made "cheaters" fried rice and egg rolls by buying them at the grocery store already made. The grocery I shop at has pre-made fried rice and egg rolls in their deli section - you just warm up and eat 🙂
Anonymous says
Hi Shelby,
I was wondering how many tsp. of sugar you put in the recipe? Thanks.
Shelby says
That is 1 teaspoon 🙂
Chalece says
Made this tonight and everyone loved it. I substituted the cooking wine for 1 tbsp white wine vinegar and some honey (to take away from the acidic taste of the vinegar). I also omitted the oyster sauce. It was fabulous! I'll definitely be making this again.
Shelby says
Chalece, glad you enjoyed it!
Anonymous says
Thanks for the recipe! My daughter LOVES Chinese food and she ate this up! She also said that it was better than take out Chinese! I will continue to make recipes from your blog!
Shelby says
Yay! and thank you!
Veronica Miller says
This sounds REALLY good. Pinned!
Shelby says
Thanks Veronica!
Nikki says
Just made this for my scholarship hall of 50 women. They loved it! Thanks for the recipe! 🙂
Shelby says
Your welcome Nikki! Glad it was loved!
Anonymous says
just had for dinner tonight....very yummy, better than takeout
Shelby says
Happy to hear it! 🙂
Anonymous says
This recipe is amazing! so simple and tastes sensational! I have made its several times already. Thanks so much!
Shelby says
Your welcome and I'm glad you enjoy it!
Shelby says
Allyson, I'm sorry to hear that...you can always cut the ketchup down and use more chili sauce or use hoisin sauce instead. Play around a little to see what flavors work for you. If the sauce doesn't simmer long enough it will be thin. If you want it to thicken quicker, just thicken it with a teaspoon of cornstarch mixed with 1/8 cold water (mix together) and whisk it into the sauce while it is simmering. It should thicken. The chicken should be slightly damp to hold the flour/cornstarch mixture and you don't want the coating to be too thick. I'm not sure how your chicken cme out so I'm not sure what to tell you about a solution. Good luck and if you do try it again, I hope it works out for you.
allysoncroxton says
I just made this and I don't know what I did wrong but that sauce just ended up being an over powerful, very thin ketchup-y tasting sauce. I followed the recipe exactly, so I don't know where I went wrong. My chicken doesn't look anything like your picture:(
Thomas Family says
What kind of cooking wine is used for this recipe?? I have never cooked with it and I'm not a drinker so i'm not sure what to use!! Any advice?? Thanks!
Shelby says
You can use just regular cooking wine you would find in the grocery store or just use chicken broth or even just leave it out entirely. I sometimes use Mirin in place which is a sweet Japanese cooking wine.
Shelby says
I don't think it taste fishy, but if your worried about it you could probably cut the oyster sauce to 1/2 tablespoon. The combination of the other sauces help cut the strong flavor of the oyster sauce.
Anonymous says
It looks delicious! But does the oyster sauce make it taste fishy at all?
Anonymous says
This recipe was the first thing i have ever cooked in my whole entire life and im 16!! and it turned out great!! thanks for the recipe 🙂
Andrew's Mom says
I love Asian foods and especially sesame chicken! Yummy.
Deliciously Organic says
This looks fabulous! No need to order Chinese out when I can make something this fantastic at home. Thanks!
Sherlly says
I made this for dinner today and it came out really delicious! hassle free, easy, and of coarse flavorful!
Katy ~ says
Shelby, this looks good! I think I'll have to give this a try, without sesame seeds because of food allergies.
Heavenly Housewife says
Yummy! I havent eaten this in a long time. My mouth is watering at the thought of this.
*kisses* HH
Tupper Cooks! says
Hey I just saw your in Hermon- cool. Nice to meet another North Country neighbor!
Tupper Cooks! says
Very nice- I've been on a bit of a chinese kick lately. Ran across a recipe for General Tso's at Recipe Rhapsody a couple of weeks ago and made it again last night- it's my wife's new favorite. Yours looks great-I'll try it next time-thanks for the inspiration.
comfycook says
I love Asian food. This chicken stikes a chord. I am off to get the recipe.
comfycook says
I love Asian food. This chicken stikes a chord. I am off to get the recipe.
Tami says
That looks amazing. A lot of Asian recipes I make at home just don't taste as good as the restaurant versions but this is one I have to try!
Thank you so much for sharing. Your photos are awesome.
Leslie says
I have been on an Asian kick too. I suppose I need to get posting!
teresa says
this looks so delicious!! i love that shiny sauce!
Megan says
Yes, I'm seeing a pattern. I have also found myself thinking of you and your Asian kick during the day. I'm thinking I need to make some of this with the crack noodles!
Megan says
Yes, I'm seeing a pattern. I have also found myself thinking of you and your Asian kick during the day. I'm thinking I need to make some of this with the crack noodles!
Cristine says
That is how I do my menu plans. I just make a menu for the week and choose as I go what I will make each day. 🙂
This looks SO good! I will definately be making this!
noble pig says
Thsi looks amazing!!
Jessie says
being from NYC, I am such a huge fan of chinese food. We eat it at least 3 times a month lol. This looks great!
Jill's Comfort Zone says
I sure do notice the pattern! This looks yummy!
Deeba PAB says
I see the trend and I love it...truly delicious. Simple too!!
Glenna says
Mmmmmmmmmmmmm....now I really want that for lunch!
Cajun Chef Ryan says
Oh my, once we finish our first six weeks on ETL, we are going to treat ourselves to some form of animal protein. This is an all time favorite for my son whenever we visit oriental restaurants. Sesame chicken!
Bon appetite!
CCR
=:~)
ICook4Fun says
Hi there, thanks for the mentioned and trying this recipe. Glad that you like it.
Suzanne a.k.a. vivisue says
Finding Asian food - GOOD Asian food is like finding a needle in a haystack. This looks wonderful and is a much needed recipe since we love Asian food but have few places to eat it "out". This will be showing up on my menu!
Barbara Bakes says
Sounds like a delicious kick to be on. This looks like a recipe my family would love too.
Lana @ Never Enough Thyme says
I love Asian food and this recipe looks like a winner to me! Thanks for sharing.
Amanda says
Oh for pete's sake! Wrong link LOL Here's the correct one for Cooking with Kai http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=ltkman#g/u
Amanda says
I'm a total sucker for many Asian dishes, I love them. I've made several from a You Tube video series called Cooking with Kai, here's the link if you want to try some https://grumpyshoneybunch.com/are-you-seeing-pattern-here-lately/
Yum!!
pegasuslegend says
I seriously think your a mind reader, this is the only chinese food I can eat and we like due to no onion in it, as I am allergic, have never figured out whats in it. now my dear friend you are a genius, I love this recipe and am printing it out right now! thank you so much!
Frieda says
ooooh, yummy! If you like General Tsao's (you can make it mild for Grumpy), come on over and check out my recipe....so good! I'm looking for an orange chicken recipe that is like Panda's.....
Tangled Noodle says
I have absolutely no complaints about your recent Asian kick! This looks perfectly delicious - love that sweet sauce. 😎