Sesame Chicken

I love Chinese take-out. There are only a few places that I think make great Chinese food in town here- curse of living in a semi-small town in Michigan. We’re not exactly prime location for ethnic foods up here. However, we did have one favorite takeout place that made great Sesame Chicken and Sweet and Sour chicken. Unfortunately, they were shut down for tax…err… issues. (PS. if you’re a business owner, paying taxing is really helpful.) Since the restaurant that went in after them is pretty blah I’ve been Chinese food-deprived for quite a while now. You can imagine how thrilled I was when I found this recipe and it actually turned out so much like my favorite take-out place! This baby is staying in our dinner rotation!

Ingredients:
3 whole boneless chicken breasts
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp Chinese rice wine or dry sherry (I skipped this since I didn’t have any)
1/8 tsp sesame oil
2 tbsp flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 tbsp water
6 tbsp corn starch, divided
1 tsp vegetable oil
1/2 cup water
1 cup chicken stock or broth
2 tbsp dark soy sauce (I didn’t have dark soy sauce so I used regular)
1/2 cup vinegar
2 tsp chili sauce with garlic (I think next time we’ll a touch more)
1 large clove of garlic, minced
1 tsp rice vinegar
3/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp sesame seeds
4-6 cups oil for deep-frying

Directions:

Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces. Combine the soy sauce, rice wine, sesame oil, flour, baking soda, baking powder, water, 2 tbsp cornstarch, and vegetable oil. Marinate the chicken in mixture for 30 minutes.

Mix together, in a medium bowl, 1/2 cup water, chicken stock, dark soy sauce, vinegar, chili sauce with garlic, garlic clove, rice vinegar, sugar and 4 tbsp cornstarch to make sauce.

Heat oil in wok to 350°. Deep-fry the marinated chicken until golden. Remove chicken from wok and set aside on paper towels.

Meanwhile, simmer the sauce on medium heat.

Raise the oil temp to 400°. Re-fry the chicken until deep golden brown.

Bring the sauce to a boil, then pour over the deep-fried chicken.

Garnish with sesame seeds. Serve with rice.

Source: Num Yummy Recipes