Crispy Honey Sesame Chicken
Mouth-watering and crispy honey sesame chicken that STAY CRISPY FOR HOURS! Covered in a perfectly balanced sweet, savoury and tangy glaze. Perfect for entertaining or feeding a crowd.
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Servings: 4 -6 people
Calories: 341kcal
Ingredients
- 500 g (1 lb) chicken breast cut into bite-sized cubes
- 1 cup cornflour aka cornstarch
- deep frying oil eg. sunflower, canola, grapeseed or vegetable oil
Chicken seasoning
- ½ tablespoon soy sauce
- ½ tablespoon shaoxing wine
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper
Crispy batter
- ½ cup plain flour
- ¼ cup cornflour aka cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon white pepper
- 1 cup (8 floz) soda water (250ml), icy cold (straight from the fridge)
Honey sesame sauce
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
- ½ cup honey
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat deep frying oil in a large pot or fryer over high heat.
Season and coat chicken
- In a large bowl, combine chicken breasts with chicken seasoning and mix well.
- In a separate large bowl, add cornflour. With a pair of tongs, coat chicken pieces with the cornflour in batches of 2 or 3. Place coated chicken into a separate bowl or plate. Discard excess cornflour once finished coating the chicken.
Make the batter (only start this when ready to deep fry)
- In a large mixing bowl, add all crispy batter ingredients except the soda water. Mix with a whisk until combined (~5 seconds). Add icy cold soda water and whisk for about 20 seconds. The batter should be runny, bubbly and don't worry if there are tiny clumps (it won't matter).
Deep fry
- Using a pair of tongs, pick up 1 piece of cornflour-coated chicken and dip it into the icy cold thin batter then immediately add it into hot frying oil. Repeat until about ½ of the chicken has been added to the oil (note 1).
- Deep fry for about 2 to 3 minutes over high heat or until golden and crispy (note 2). Transfer crispy chicken onto a paper towel-lined plate. Repeat for the remaining half of the chicken.
Coat with honey sesame sauce
- In a large non-stick wok or frying pan, lightly toast sesame seeds over medium-low heat for about 1 -2 minutes or until it starts to turn lightly golden.
- Add remaining honey sesame sauce ingredients. Mix well with a spatula then increase the heat to medium until the sauce starts to bubble then reduce the heat to low. Constantly mix until the sauce has reduced to a thick consistency. About 3 to 4 minutes. Turn the heat off.
- Add all of the fried crispy chicken bites into the thick sauce. Toss well until each piece is well coated. Transfer onto a serving plate.
Video
Notes
1. Deep fry the chicken batches. Overcrowding or adding too much chicken into the fryer at once will lower the temperature of the oil. This means the chicken will take longer to crisp up and turn golden. As a result, the chicken can end up a little dry - which would be a shame!
2. Let the chicken deep fry undisturbed in the first 1 minute before separating - there is a high chance that the chicken pieces will stick together whilst frying. Don't worry, they come apart really easily. First, let the coating form/harden then gently separate each piece apart using chopsticks or tongs.
Make sure the frying oil is very hot before adding chicken - there are a few different ways to test if the oil is hot enough:
- Candy thermometer (aka deep-frying thermometer) method. Get the oil to about 180°C (360°F).
- Chopsticks method. Dip the tip of a wooden (must be wooden) chopstick into the hot oil over high heat. If the tip sizzles immediately then the oil is hot enough.
- In the absence of both of the above, drop a couple of drops of the batter into the hot oil. If it fizzles immediately at the top that means the oil is hot enough.
Tried this recipe?Mention @Casuallypeckish or tag #casuallypeckish!
Nutrition
Calories: 341kcal | Carbohydrates: 45.9g | Protein: 12.7g | Fat: 12.6g | Saturated Fat: 1.6g | Fiber: 0.7g | Sugar: 27.4g