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 am making this as I write and it is yummy! My kids and hubby love it. Just had to comment and let you know. :)
I made this tonight but with a few changes. First, i doubled the sauce so that i could mix it all with the rice. Delicious. Also in the sauce i put 2 tablespoons of sesame oil. Then along with the broccoli, i added sliced red and yellow peppers. This dish was fantastic!
This recipe looked so good, saw it on Pinterest and had to try it. I made it tonight for my husband and he loved it!! It is definitely a keeper. I love your website, being an Iowa Girl who has left her home and is now out in Plymouth, MA.
I loved this recipe! On my list of things to make when I can home from my boarding academy, this was at the very top! I tried this a couple days into my spring break vacation at home and double the recipe, since there would be 4 in total I had to cook for. From the pictures, mine looked exactly like your example, and tasted AWESOME. My family loved it, and it was just the right serving size for everyone! I do, however, recommend that you cut the pieces a bit on the smaller scale of 2″. Other than that, this recipe is the best I’ve ever known for sesame chicken! :D
I loved this, I made it for my parents and they loved it too! this was a great Idea!
I made this last night. It was awesome. Thanks for the recipe. In fact, I will use the faux batter method from now on. It will be great on salads.
I made this dish today and I must say it’s delicious!!!! :)
The chicken wasn’t dry as always, but really soft, sweet and melted in my mouth.
From now on I will always prepare the chicken like that. Thank you soo much!
I made this for dinner tonight, I added more vegetables to mine but it was still so delicious, and really easy! So glad to have found this recipe! It will definitely go into the rotation!
I made this last night and my super picky husband LOVED it. He said it was probably his favorite meal that I’ve ever made. I also thought it was great.
I found your blog earlier this week and have spent the last two days going through it (shhh…don’t tell me boss). I cannot wait to try some of your other recipes. I’ve found so many that I want to make.
Thanks!!
What a great weeknight meal! I made this last night! Even cheated a little by using frozen broccoli. This was so tasty, and didn’t leave with that “post take out stomach ache.” Thanks for such a great recipe! Will add this one to the rotation!
This was really yummy! I added red bell pepper, doubled the meat and broccoli, and quadrupled the sauce — absolutely delicious! Nice work!
I have made it the other day and hubby loved it :) and I loved it to ! Yeay! I hope you do not mind that I posted it to my blog : http://polish-ed.blogspot.com/2012/11/sesame-broccoli-and-chicken-fakeout.html
:) thank you again for posting this great recipe
Hi Kristin. Found this recipe on pinterest and made it tonight. Was excellent, Thanks!