Ingredients
Equipment
Method
Start your rice
- Before you start prepping anything, don't forget the rice! Cook white or brown rice according to your favorite method.
For the Marinade
- In a medium bowl, mix together the cornstarch, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, and baking soda.
- Slice the chicken breasts into thin strips against the grain. This means that you want your knife to go perpendicular to the visible muscle fibers. I usually cut the chicken breasts into three equal pieces the short way, and then slice against the grain. This is important for the texture of the chicken.
- Add the sliced chicken to the marinade, and mix together well. Set aside.
For the Vegetables and Aromatics
- Clean your cutting board and slice the onion in half through the root end, then slice the root and stem end off of each half and then slice them thinly from pole to pole. This means slice the onion so that your knife runs the same direction as the lines you can see on the onion.
- Slice the red bell pepper so that the slices are the same size as the onion slices.
- Place the onions and peppers in a medium prep bowl. Set aside.
- Chop the garlic and place in a small prep bowl. Set aside.
- Grate your ginger into the medium bowl for your sauce.
For the Sesame Chicken Sauce
- In to the same bowl that has the ginger, add the cornstarch, light and dark soy sauces, Shaoxing wine, vinegar, water, sesame oil, and sugar. Whisk to combine and work out any lumps in the corn starch. Set aside.
Stir-Frying
- Before you start, arrange all of your bowls so that they are easy to reach. Also, make sure your wok spatula is handy. Place your serving bowl next to the stove.
- Put your seasoned wok on your burner and turn it up to high. If you find that this is too hot, or you feel out of control, turn the heat down to medium-high.
- When you see small tendrils of smoke coming from the wok, add about 2 Tablespoons of oil around the sides of the wok. Carefully add the sliced onion and pepper and stir-fry, tossing and moving with your spatula, until the veggies are done to your liking, probably 2-3 minutes. Keep the food moving. Transfer the peppers and onions to your serving bowl.
- Put the wok back on the stove, wait for smoke tendrils again, and add another 2 Tablespoons of oil. Carefully add half of your chicken. The chicken should ideally be done in 2 batches. Let the chicken sear on the bottom of the wok for about 20 seconds, then start stir-frying, constantly moving the chicken so it doesn't burn. Cook until cooked through, about 4 minutes. Transfer the cooked chicken to the serving bowl with the veggies. Repeat with the other half of the chicken.
- If chicken sticks to your wok, very carefully remove the chicken and pour about a cup of water around the sides of the wok. Let this water boil. While it boils, carefully scrape up the stuck on bits with your wok spatula. While not burning yourself, dump this water in the sink, rinse the wok, heat, and continue.
- Add one more Tablespoon of oil to the wok, and add the garlic. Stir-fry for about 20 seconds.
- Give your sauce a whisk to re-combine and add it around the sides of the wok. Stir the sauce while it comes to a boil, making sure you don't get sauce burning to the bottom. Let the sauce boil until it becomes translucent instead of cloudy and thickens. It will also darken in color. Add the vegetables and chicken back in and stir to coat. Transfer your sesame chicken to your serving bowl and garnish with sesame seeds and sliced green onions, if desired.
- Serve over white rice and pat yourself on the back!
Notes
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days and re-heated in the microwave.