I am not very sure if this dish is authentically Chinese, but from the way it is cooked, it does very much resemble the Chinese style of cooking. Nevertheless, sesame ginger chicken is definitely distinct from the more commonly available sesame oil chicken (I eat sesame oil chicken almost everyday in my staff canteen). It is a recipe that’s unique, yet simple enough to attempt; it is not as oily, yet strongly flavoured with its amalgamated injection of ginger and orange fragrance.
Lovely. Easy. Delicious. Try it!
Ingredients:
- Whole chicken: 1, chopped into pieces
- Light soy sauce: 1/4 cup + 1 tbsp
- Fresh orange juice: 1/4 cup + 1/2 cup
- Sesame oil: 2 tbsp + 2 tbsp
- Vegetable oil: 1 tbsp
- Light brown sugar: 2 tbsp
- Oyster sauce: 1 tsp
- Ginger: 1 thumb-length, finely chopped
- Water: 1/2 cup
- Cornstarch mixture: 2 tbsp cornstarch + 2 tbsp water
- White sesame seeds: 2 tsp
- Parsley: 1 stalk, finely chopped
Method:
- Marinate chicken overnight with 1/4 cup light soy sauce, 1/4 cup orange juice and 2 tbsp sesame oil.
- Heat up vegetable oil in wok.
- Fry chicken for 4 min on each side till golden brown.
- Remove and place in a medium-sized Corning saucepan or pot.
- Mix 1 tbsp light soy sauce, 1/2 cup orange juice, 2 tbsp sesame oil, brown sugar, oyster sauce, ginger and water in a small bowl.
- Pour sauce mixture over chicken and cook over low heat for 30 min.
- Turn chicken pieces over to transfer the top pieces to the bottom and the bottom pieces to the top.
- Cook over low heat for another 30 min.
- Remove chicken pieces and place in a bowl.
- Add cornstarch mixture into remaining sauce in pot. Stir till sauce is thickened.
- Switch off heat and pour sauce over chicken.
- Garnish with sesame seeds and parsley to serve with rice.
Tricks:
- Use fresh orange juice instead of packet orange juice to enhance the orange flavour without the additional sweetness.
- Frying the chicken first would help to give the chicken pieces a nice golden brown colour at the end of the stew.
Disclaimer:
- This recipe was kindly adapted from ‘MyRecipes.com‘. Instead of using a slow-cooker (as was recommended in the original recipe), I used the stewing method as I do not have a slow-cooker at home.
Serving:
4 – 5 persons as side dish
