Favorite Recipe: Sesame Chicken

I don't branch out very much when I go out to eat Chinese. I tend to stick with just a few favorites, and nine times out of ten, Sesame Chicken is my go to dish. I thought I would take a stab at trying to prepare it at home and stumbled upon the perfect recipe from BlogChef. With just a little bit of tweaking to match my tastes, I created a dish that is better than any I have had in a Chinese restaurant. Not only was the recipe very simple to follow, but I was able to find every ingredient in my pantry or refrigerator without making an extra trip to the grocery store. The Fred liked it so much that she asked me if I would make it again the following night...enjoy!

Sesame Chicken

Ingredients:
2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
2 tablespoons raw sesame seeds
2 green onions, sliced
Batter-
½ cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 egg, beaten
½ cup water (or as much as needed to make batter smooth)
3 tablespoons cornstarch
salt (to taste)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Sauce-
3/8 cup honey (or 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons for those that want to skip the math)
1/4 cup sugar
salt (to taste)
1/4 cup ketchup
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons white distilled vinegar
a pinch of ground black pepper


Directions:
1) Add 1-inch of peanut or vegetable oil to a skillet and heat to 325 degrees over medium-high heat.

2) In a large bowl, combine all of the batter ingredients and mix thoroughly. The batter should be thick enough to coat the chicken but thin enough to flow around the pieces. Set aside.

3) Add chicken to batter mixture and toss to coat. Using a fork or tongs remove the pieces of chicken from the batter and add to oil in skillet. Cook until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.

4) Combine the sauce ingredients in a saucepan and warm over medium heat. Bring to a simmer while stirring and cook until sauce slightly thickens.

5) Toss cooked chicken with prepared sauce in a serving dish and garnish with scallions and sesame seeds.