My New Year’s Resolution was to publish a blog post at least 3 days a week. FAIL. But hey, I’m here today & I have a pretty easy dinner to share. If you know me through the blog or in real life, you know that I have three kids that keep me running constantly from one end of the county to the other with all their extracurriculars. Who has time to plan & execute elaborate meals? Not me. However, I still want to cook decent meals for my family, so quick & easy is where it’s at. Who’s with me?
I love Asian inspired food, as does my oldest daughter. I like making it at home because I can make it so much healthier than take-out. Plus, we have one local Chinese place…and it wasn’t very good the one time I’ve been. This Baked Sesame Chicken is fairly simple to make, just takes a few ingredients, and is baked instead of fried – which makes this a healthier (and less messy…I hate frying) option.
Ingredients
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons water
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs (this was 8 thighs for me)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Combine the ginger, garlic, soy, water, oil and sugar in a small sauce pan and bring to a boil over medium heat.
- Reduce heat and let simmer.
- Place chicken in a baking dish and pour sauce over chicken.
- Bake for 15 minutes, turn chicken, then bake for an additional 15 minutes or until chicken has cooked through.
- *OPTIONAL: once chicken is done, you can baste with sauce and broil for a few minutes to give it a darker color and help caramelize the sauce. You can also thicken the sauce by adding cornstarch per directions on box and heating in a sauce pan.
Recipe adapted from
Even though I would have liked a nice thick sauce to add at the end, I didn’t want to use the sauce that the chicken cooked in because it contains so much chicken fat (thighs are fatty), but it is certainly an option (just thicken with cornstarch). I think next time I may reserve some of the sauce, thicken it, and baste it on, under the broiler at the very end. That would give it a sticky sauce, kind of like my Slow Cooked Sticky Chicken. The chicken has a good flavor & is good with rice or sesame noodles. We also had egg rolls, which I normally make from scratch, but these were super convenient!
What’s your favorite Chinese food? I want to try some other dishes at home. This Bourbon Chicken is one of my favorites!
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OOOhhh… this baked sesame chicken looks most excellent! I have everything but the thighs. Thanks, Kim!!!
Thanks Lin!
That chicken is beautiful. My mouth watered when I looked at it. =) Thanks for sharing another great recipe with us at Weekend Potluck. Hope you have a wonderful weekend…and you can catch your breath from running those kids around. *-*
Thanks so much!