Do you remember take-out? My favorite thing to order was Sesame Chicken! Some of my favorite dates with my husband included Chinese takeout and a good movie! Since going gluten-free I haven’t eaten Chinese takeout (clearly their soy sauce is NOT gluten free) even during two gluten-free pregnancies. After a few tries, I have finally gotten a recipe for Sesame Chicken that the family loves. Big Dan probably the most! He literally cried for a second and a third helping. That boy will surpass his big brother any day if he keeps this up.
And speaking of takeout, there is exciting news in the Raleigh area for those on special diets. Rosie’s Plate, a gluten-free catering company, just opened up in downtown Raleigh. Rose Waring decided to pursue this catering business after caring for her two young children with multiple food allergies. She realized that having to cook every meal was a daunting task! [I agree!] Her business model is an interesting one. She rotates her menus every two weeks and you have to give her company a day’s notice of your order. I am very excited about this new opportunity for the allergy community of Raleigh. Her prices are very reasonable.
When I visited Rosie’s Plate on Wednesday, I met a woman who was picking up a menu for her teenager. Apparently, she used to order all her child’s baked goods from Babycakes in New York City. She said that the thing her child missed the most was fried chicken. When I told her it would be relatively easy to make fried chicken, she laughed and said that cooking just wasn’t her thing. Hmmm…maybe her teenager wants to swap babysitting for gluten-free cooking lessons?!
Here is the link to the article in the Raleigh News & Observer (yours truly is quoted) about Rosie’s Plate.
I am submitting this sesame chicken recipe to Weekend Herb Blogging hosted by Kalyn’s Kitchen. This blog event invites bloggers to write about a vegetable, herb, or flower. My sesame chicken recipe includes green onions, which are my absolute favorite. I LOVE that you can actually use your leftover bulbs to grow even more green onions.
SESAME CHICKEN
1 1/2 lbs of chicken tenders (cut into thirds/bite size pieces)
1/4 cup plus 1 Tablespoon of San-J’s Wheat-Free Tamari Sauce
2 1/2 Tablespoons of rice vinegar plus 1 teaspoon (you can substitute another if you don’t have it)
1 cup gluten-free chicken broth
1/2 cup sugar (don’t faint; I am trying to mimic the take-out sesame chicken, so reduce if you feel you must)
1/4 cup cornstarch plus 2 teaspoons
2 egg whites, lightly beaten
1/2 cup oil
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
3-6 dried hot pepper pods
1/4 cup sesame seeds
green onions, chopped
cooked jasmine rice
DIRECTIONS:
In a medium bowl, combine sugar, 1/4 cup of the tamari sauce, vinegar, and chicken broth. Set aside. In a separate bowl, combine chicken pieces, remaining 1 Tablespoon of soy sauce, and 1 teaspoon of vinegar. Marinate chicken for at least 30 minutes. Once the chicken has marinated, add egg whites and cornstarch and stir until well-blended.
In your wok, heat oil over med-high heat. Cook chicken (in about 3 batches) until golden on both sides- this will take 3-5 minutes. Remove chicken from wok with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Cover with foil to keep the chicken warm. If you have more than a couple tablespoons of oil left in the wok, discard the remaining oil( leave just a few tablespoons in the wok). Reduce the heat to med. Cook the garlic and pepper pods for about a minute. Then add soy sauce mixture. Increase heat to med-high and cook sauce for about 15 minutes. Stir two teaspoonfuls of cornstarch into a little water and whisk it into the sauce. Once the sauce is thickened and bubbly, add the chicken and sesame seeds. Top with green onions and serve over jasmine rice.
Serves 4-6
Notes: Don’t faint when you read the amount of sugar! I tried to make this recipe with less, but it just didn’t feel as much like the take-out version. If you do decide to reduce the sugar or use agave syrup, you may need to use more cornstarch to thicken the sauce. I suggest just thinking of it as dessert!
You could also try adding a tablespoon of dry white wine to the sauce.
Note: Tamari Sauce is well worth the money and completely delicious. If you use soy sauce consider backing off the amount as it has a stronger flavor.
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Posted by Natalie
Filed under: Chicken Recipes
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There’s a restaurant near where I work that makes a great version of this, although I haven’t had it for quite a while. Yours looks yummy, and probably much healthier, even with the sugar!
Just made this tonight- SO yummy! I too have missed Chinese food since going gluten free with my newborn- 2 1/2 years ago. I couldn’t stop “mmmm”-ing all throughout dinner tonight. Thank you! We used agave instead of the sugar- and it was perfect.
I’ve been a silent reader of your blog for a while. Thanks for the inspiration!
Sesame chicken is the DH’s FAVORITE food in the world. I’m making a “Sesame tofu” version for him tonight. Wish me luck!
-Sea
Mamatojack- I am glad! How much agave did you use?
That looks so good Natalie! It’s great to have a recipe like this to satisfy that Chinese takeout craving. I don’t get it often, but once every few months. My standby is General Tso’s, but I think I might have to branch out.
I am also interested to know how much agave mamatojack used… right now i only use it in my hot tea in the mornings, but want to start substituting it in recipes but am not sure how much to use. also, is light agave okay to use for this?
I’m definitely making this this week! YUM! Thanks Nat!
I’ll definitely copy this recipe and serve this to my girlfriend. She just love chicken wings.
I found your blog through a link in the N&O article. My children have Asperger’s Syndrome, which is mild form of Autism. They are on gluten free and casin free diets. I thought I’d pass along a recipe software that helped me keep recipes and ingredients organized. It’s called Living Cookbook and it was a life saver for me. It was so hard to rethink ingredients when I made the switch. This software lets me see at a glance which recipes I can make, based on what I have in my cupboards. And I can print out a grocery list that shows me what I’m low on and at I’m out of. http://www.livingcookbook.com is the website where you can read about it. I am not affiliated, just a happy customer.
It takes longer to cook things from scratch, but I’m trying to have fun with it. Fortunately I can be a stay at home mom. I bought a Kitchenaid mixer and I can make my own pasta with it!
Thanks for sharing your recipes! I’ll copy several of them.
We used a bit less than 1/2 cup agave in place of sugar- didn’t need to add any extra corn starch. The sweetness level was perfect. Generally, when I sub agave for sugar I use pretty much equal amounts. And yes, any kind of agave is fine- the light is just the color, kind of like grade/colors of maple syrup. Baked goods I make that I sweeten with agave do tend to taste not as sweet, so keep that in mind if you’re really looking to fix your treat craving with a chocolate cookie or something!
That looks sooo good, though I did almost faint at the sugar
This looks delicious Natalie! Yum, yum. Thanks for the Rosie’s link, I sent it to Jon as a “hint” for when he needs to get something for me (since he can’t cook very well
). I’d try this with agave like you mentioned just because I like agave, hehe. I wonder if Stevia (powder) would sub for sugar? Huh, I will experiment. Hey a lil sugar is okay too- all in moderation. I just don’t like sweet foods at the moment, I’m stuck on salty and spicy (surprise). The gf/df Chinese takeout here looks fantastic though… how much do you charge?
xoxo
C
Sea- Thanks! I can’t wait to see the vegetarian version.
Karen- You will have to try it!
Christine- Welcome and thanks for commenting. I appreciate the link! I have never been to that site before.
Alisa- LOL. ME too! Use agave. However, I really wanted that syrupy takeout goodness. Trust me on this one- it is so good!
Cindy- Let me know if you try it with stevia- hilariously enough, I am very allergic to Stevia. Agave Syrup rocks though, so use that!
The chicken looks gorgeous. Like you, I avoid take-aways, and am currently re-creating a few of my favourite chinese dishes …. slowly!
Yum. Yum. Yum.
Sesame Chicken was also one of my favorite things to order as well!
Can’t wait to try that recipe, thanks!
This looks and sounds delicious!
I like the sound and look of this. I shall mark this on my to do list.
OH HOLY YUM!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you so much for sharing this. I have missed sesame chicken so much for the past few years.
This dish makes my mouth water. So much for those of us who have to be soy-free, too! I do miss Chinese food. Anyway, great job on the subs—yum!
This is on my menu for next week. I’m feeling the need for a little indulgence, and for me that means Chinese and a good romance novel. I can’t wait!
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Hello and thank you for this website. I stumbled across it as I sat in my recliner crying because I’m 14 weeks pregnant and starving all the time because I just don’t have a ton of expericence with gluten free. Plus I found out that I could miscarry if eat things with gluten, so I’m terrified to eat. It’s only been a year since I was diagnosed with celiacs and I didn’t have this problem with my 1st two children, so this is a whole new world for me. Thanks so much for taking the time to research, share this info, and for this recipe. I bought the few things I didn’t have and will be making it tomorrow for dinner. My husband is very excited to try it! I will let you know how it turns out.
I have celiac and sesame chicken was my FAVORITE before I went gluten free. It’s funny that I don’t miss desserts because there are so many yummy gluten free treats, but I do miss SESAME CHICKEN, so I am excited to try this recipe.
Thanks!
Had this last night and it was so good. Thanks for sharing!