Quick but yummy!

This is just a short post today. I really wanted to share this recipe! It's one of our family's favorites!

We used to have a Chinese restaurant in our little town that served a Sesame Seed Chicken dish that we loved. It went out of business a few years ago and we've spent some time looking for a similar dish. Nothing even came close until we found this recipe, and it's pretty darn close to what the restaurant served. Now it's regularly on the menu in our home.

Sesame Chicken

Ingredients

* 3 whole boneless chicken breasts

Marinade

* 2 tablespoons soy sauce
* 1 tablespoon cooking wine or dry sherry or water
* 3-5 drops sesame oil
* 2 tablespoons flour
* 2 tablespoons cornstarch
* 2 tablespoons water
* 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 1/2 teaspoons brown sugar
* 1 teaspoon vegetable oil

Sauce

* 1 cup water
* 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
* 2 tablespoons brown sugar
* 4 teaspoons soy sauce
* 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
* 2 garlic cloves, minced
* 2 tablespoons cornstarch
* 1 green onion, thinly slice
* 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
* 3 1/2-4 cups peanut or vegetable oil (for frying)

Cut the chicken into small, approximately 1-inch cubes. Add the marinade ingredients and marinate the chicken for at least 20 minutes. While the chicken is marinating, prepare the sauce.

Mix together all of the sauce ingredients except for the green onion. Pour them into a small pot and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down to a low and keep warm while you are deep-frying the chicken.

Heat oil for deep-frying. When the oil is ready, add the marinated chicken a few pieces at a time, sliding them into oil carefully, and not to overcrowd. Deepfry until golden brown. Remove the cooked chicken pieces from the oil and drain on paper towels. Repeat with the remainder of the chicken.

Just before you are finished deep-frying, bring the sauce back up to a boil. Mix in the green onion. Place the chicken on a large platter and pour sauce over. Sprinkle with the sesame seeds. Serve over rice.

I thought I'd add this, in case you can't find hoisin sauce or think it's too expensive. We used this today and it was just as good as the bottled stuff.

HOISIN SAUCE

4 Tbsp. soy sauce

2 Tbsp. peanut butter ...or black bean paste

1 Tbsp. honey or molasses

2 tsp. white vinegar

2 tsp. sesame seed oil

1/8 tsp. garlic powder

1/8 tsp. black pepper

20 drops Chinese hot sauce (we didn't use this)

Mix all together until smooth, store in refrigerator.