Lighter Sesame Chicken satisfies a craving for Chinese take-out, without all the calories, sugar, and gluten. Easy and satisfying!
I’ve got another Take-Out Fake-Out recipe for you today — Lighter Sesame Chicken.
Sesame Chicken is my all-time favorite Chinese dish. Fried, savory, sweet…along with all the calories that comes with eating something fried…savory…and sweet!
That is to say, while candied chicken tastes good on the tongue, it doesn’t look so good on the hips, which is why I am ecstatic about this lightened up version.
Lighter Sesame Chicken is just sweet enough, and you’ll flip over the faux-batter technique that gives each piece of chicken a delicate and satisfying crunch without the need for deep-fat frying.
Furthermore, you can make this recipe in under 30 minutes, and I bet you have most, if not all, of the ingredients already on hand.
Start by making the lightly-sweetened sesame chicken sauce.
Combine 2-1/2 Tablespoons gluten-free Tamari (or soy sauce if not GF) and 2 Tablespoons sesame seeds in a bowl.
Next add 1/4 cup honey which naturally sweetens the Sesame Chicken sauce.
Finally, add 1 minced garlic clove then stir everything up and set aside.
Next, prep the chicken. Slice 2 small chicken breasts into 2″ pieces then season with salt and pepper.
Add the chicken pieces to 1 egg white whisked with 2 Tablespoons cornstarch in a large bowl, then toss to coat.
This is the faux-batter I was talking about! It’s amazing how the egg white and cornstarch combine to mimic a tempura-like batter, minus the gluten.
Time to cook! Heat 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil in a large skillet, then add the battered chicken and cook for 3-4 minutes a side, or until the chicken is golden brown and cooked through.
Turn off the heat, remove the skillet from the burner, then add the pre-made sauce and 2 chopped green onions. Toss everything to combine.
Finally add 2 cups steamed broccoli into the skillet then toss again to combine.
Serve the Lighter Sesame Chicken over cooked brown rice for a super-satisfying, quick and easy, take-out fake-out dinner!
This dish comes with all the flavor of sesame chicken, just without the ridiculous amounts of calories and fat.
Plus, like I said, each bite is blissfully gluten free. Enjoy every last drop!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup brown rice
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 Tablespoons sesame seeds
- 2 Tablespoons gluten free reduced-sodium Tamari, or soy sauce if not GF
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 egg white
- 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 chicken breasts, 1lb, cut into 2" pieces
- salt and pepper
- 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
- 2 green onions, chopped
- 2 cups broccoli florets
Directions
- Prepare rice according to package directions.
- In a small saucepan, steam broccoli until crisp tender then set aside.
- Combine honey, sesame seeds, Tamari, and garlic together in a small bowl then set aside.
- In a separate, larger bowl, whisk together egg white and cornstarch until smooth. Season chicken pieces with salt and pepper then add to egg white mixture and toss to evenly coat.
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, then carefully add chicken in one layer. Cook for 3-4 minutes per side, or until cooked through. Turn off heat then remove skillet from burner. Add prepared sauce and green onions then toss to coat. Stir in broccoli then scoop mixture into bowls over cooked rice.
Nutrition
Nutritional values are estimates only. Please read our full nutrition information disclaimer.
I was catching up on blogs right before I was supposed to be making something a lot more complicated for dinner and I was totally not feeling like spending that much time cooking today, so I decided promptly to make this instead! Oh yum, it was so good!! I used about 1.5 times the chicken, but doubled the sauce cuz we love sauce here. I hate broccoli so I just subbed cubed zucchini instead and that worked great. The kids loved it. I will make again!
So glad everyone enjoyed! :)
Oooh, this looks good. We, too, are Hy-Vee Chinese fans, so any healthier alternative is appreciated! :)
~R.
straightfromthepages.com
This looks delicious! Will try soon. Tonight I have your scalloped potatoes and ham in the oven. LOVE your crockpot spaghetti sauce too. Thanks for all of the great recipes. :)
Loooooove that meal – hope you enjoy!
Looks quick, easy, and delicious! I’m trying it! :)
Always on the look out for delicious and easy recipes. We have a favorite Asian restaurant we go to and sesame chicken is our fav! I am love the lighter version..like you said- much easier on the thighs! :) Looks so yummy as always.
That looks so delicious and easy!
We moved away from Iowa four years ago and live where there is no Hy-vee. :( Their sesame chicken was my husbands favorite meal. Can’t wait to make this as a suprise for him. Whenever we are back in the Quad Cities we hit up a Hy-vee to get him some so hopefully this will calm his cravings for a while. Thanks a bunch!
Looks delicious!
Do you use local honey? It is supposed to have a ton of great health benefits if you eat honey that is made within 30ish miles of where you live.
I do! Thought it was going to help with my summer allergies, but no dice… :/
Bummer! I used it and noticed a difference, but didn’t work as well for the husband. Maybe you just have to drink it is mass quantities??!
Love this. Esp that it serves two.
Wow, Kristin, I definately have to do this in the next few days. Do you also have a take out fake out recipe for Orange-Chicken. When I was younger, I loved orange chicken, but gave up eating it because its so unhealthy!
I actually do! Here you go: iowagirleats.com/2011/04/12/what-happens-in-vegas/
Thanks so much for your quick answer! I used the searched your blog for “organge chicken” but unfortunately the “what happens in vegas..”-article did not show up.
Now I can do orange- and sesame-chicken this week! :D
Keep up the great work!!!
Oh my gosh, I seriously have to wonder why I used to name posts the way that I did! ;) Hope you enjoy!
Yum! Can’t wait to try this one at home! My brother makes some awesome Asian dishes but he fries his chicken :( It is delish tho!
Yum! Yesterday some friends and I made six batches of freezer-meal honey sesame chicken… I hope it turns out like this!
The pictures look really great, btw — did any of your set-up come from your time in Japan?
Yummy, that sounds awesome! The chopsticks actually did come from a 100 yen ($1) store there! :)
I swear we have a lot of the same food aversions.. I could never eat the canned tomato soup, and something about raw honey irks me too!
This sounds really good. My brother eats at Panda Express probably 3x per week…I’d love to cook him some take out fake out some day and see how he likes it :D