Sesame Chicken / Sweet and sour sesame chicken

A crowd pleasing sweet and tart sticky delicious chicken with just two basic sauces. 

If you are lucky u will get two pieces to taste :) it is that scrumptious! 

Sesame chicken is a very popular take out dish from Chinese restaurants in the US.  I am sure its a fast food that has nothing to do with the original Chinese cooking style.  the taste of chicken and ease of making it the restaurant quality dish with inexpensive ingredients will definitely get you hooked to it.

Making it at home ensure freshness of ingredients, control on amount of oil and sauce intake.Above all the thrill of seeing food disappearing fast now that's fast food :)

This recipe comes from Sara's -Yes I can cook .

Her inspiration came from  here where another dozen or so have made it at home endorsed loving it. So I decided to give it a taste test and reaction test :) So over to a Friday evening scene.

Live recorded :Friday scene Nov 2013 : (saved in drafts since then :))
I decided to make the sweet and tangy chicken today for our Friday movie night snack. Made it slightly early so I could take some you know..my pics:)) and put it back in the oven to keep it warm until we eat. Surprisingly daughty was ready for it, the deal was to pick  one and after the click  it would go straight into her mouth :))) She knew that way mom would finish off clicking fast :))
The light was not great I was not happy with pics so I uploaded immediately to see how they turned out.
Thought I will post it right away before the movie blares my head off.

Donoo what I am writing now as I am not getting any concentration hearing the conversation going on in the background....
As I am typing this I can hear a heated argument going on in the kitchen. Daughts is calling at the top of her voice,"Moooomm ........Dad is finishing all of it."
Daughty:" U cannot finish it off all by yourself!"
The Boss:" Hey someone needs to eat it while it is still hot !"
"oh noonooo..thats not how it works Dad"
Oh Yes..goes the Dad in self defense.
Seriously these guys have been in the kitchen for quite a long time one guarding the chicken while the other is trying to filch from the plate.
Was that not disturbing enough for a foodie like me.. Donoo if I will get any at all other than all the taste testers gone down earlier.Wait a minute pl!
Phew! I am back... managed to get two last pieces and some crumbs :))

Can you believe it these guys did not even let the chicken reach the table and they ask me how much time will it take to make it again . I am in no mood to watch the movie now !!

Ingredients :
Chicken thigh pieces - 500 grams, boneless, skinless
Corn flour - 1/2 cup, use as much as required
Egg - 1- use only white
Oil for shallow frying - 6 Tablespoons (sesame oil to make it pure sesame chicken)
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Sugar - 1/4 cup 
Tomato ketchup - 2 Tablespoons
White vinegar - 1/4 cup
Soy sauce - 1/2 Tablespoon
Garlic powder - 3/4 Teaspoon
Red chilli flakes a pinch
Sesame seeds - 1/2 Tablespoon or more
Spring onion - a few chopped neatly 

Method :
1. Wash and cut chicken pieces into square pieces.Drain off all the water and pat  with a paper towel.
Add salt and pepper mix well then add cornflour mix well again until all the pieces are powder coated well.
now add the egg white and coat the pieces by running ur fork evenly.
2.Heat some oil and shallow fry the chicken pieces until half cooked then remove directly into an aluminium foiled lined tray That way you wont have to grease the pan.(Remember the sauce is very sticky and will simply burn at the bottom if the tray is not greased well) Fry the chicken in batches so they crisp up well.
3.Meanwhile mix sugar,tomato ketch up,vinegar,soy sauce,garlic powder,red chili flakes, salt and pepper. Reserve 1/3 of it for last.
4. Coat the chicken pieces one by one in the sauce mix and bake in the oven at  350° F for half an hour turning every 10 minutes so it does not burn or stick to the bottom.Pour the reserved sauce (plus little more ketchup if you want the red color)  in the last 5 minutes mix well and return it to oven.This ensures the pieces are crisp and coated with sauce.
5.Just before serving sprinkle some roasted /raw sesame seed on top.(I like it raw)
Serve hot as appetizer or with rice as side dish.

Here is another family favorite fast vanishing chicken dish 

CHICKEN 65 -RECIPE HERE

 

So what do you think !!
Let me know if u liked it  :))

Meena

Here are some more chicken dishes from Food Network friends:
Feed Me Phoebe: Grilled Buffalo Chicken Quesadillas
The Lemon Bowl: Indian Spiced Grilled Chicken
Jeanette's Healthy Living: Fajita Spiced Beer Can Chicken
Dishing With Divya: General Tso's Chicken with Indian Jeera Rice
Weelicious: Breaded Chicken Cutlets with Pea Salad
Sweet Life Bake: Chicken Fajitas
Napa Farmhouse 1885: Farmhouse Fried Chicken
Red or Green: Spicy Chicken Provencal with Peppers and Heirloom Tomatoes
Elephants and the Coconut Trees: Sweet and Sour Sesame Chicken
Domesticate Me: Cilantro-Lime Grilled Chicken with Strawberry-Jalapeno Salsa
Devour: 5 Sizzling Skewers
Swing Eats: Long John Silver's Style Fried Chicken Planks (Gluten-Free)
Food for 7 Stages of Life: Best Tandoori Chicken Recipe
Taste With The Eyes: Perfect Chicken Dish to Serve to a Crowd
FN Dish: Chicken is Better with Grill Marks