Chef notes

Sesame chicken is most assuredly not what anyone would claim as “traditional” Chinese food but in the context of Chinese-American takeout, I would argue it’s a staple. Platters piled high with glistening chicken pieces coated in a sweet sticky sauce and dotted with sesame seeds sound fantastic to me. The dish is super easy to make at home but I’ve made one additional tweak that will save you even more time and effort by taking out the deep-frying step and making this a one-pan meal. I included the broccoli in the baking process to make this a two-birds, one oven situation where we get almost the whole meal finished cooking with only one pan (and a few bowls for breading).

To maximize chicken crispability, I added cornstarch to the flour mixture because it reduces the overall gluten content in our coating, higher gluten content equals a chewier coating on the chicken. Cornstarch also lowers the amount of moisture and oil absorbed, keeping the panko coating extra light and crisp. Instead of using a basic beaten egg as glue for the coating, I added soy sauce for flavor and drumroll, mayo for fat, which helps the panko breadcrumbs coating the chicken get extra crispy. I also added sesame seeds to the breading to double down on the sesame flavor and crunch factor. All of these choices ladder up to the crispiest chicken you can possibly get in an oven.

As for the sauce, that’s an amalgamation of classic Chinese flavors such as scallion, ginger, garlic and sesame oil but with classic American ketchup thrown in there for a sticky-sweet consistency.

Technique Tip: Create an assembly line for breading the chicken—flour first, followed by the egg mixture and finally, the breadcrumbs—with a prepared parchment-lined sheet pan at the end of the line.

Swap Option: Potato starch is a fantastic swap for cornstarch. You can absolutely play around with the vegetables used in this meal, too. Use green beans, carrots, or asparagus as a substitute for, or in addition to, the broccoli. I’d recommend always using fresh vegetables in this recipe so the chicken doesn’t get soggy as the frozen vegetables defrost.