Still in the midst of the COVID-19 Pandemic and we are seriously craving Chinese food. We have limited the amount of takeout we typically get and have been more adventurous trying to make things we love at home.
This recipe is quick and easy. I took some a shortcut for the sauce and used Minor's Sesame Sauce (available on Amazon in a 5 lb container). I am waiting for my misfits box to make this recipe again and incorporate some scallions to make it look even prettier than it already does. I have a feeling we are going to really get our money's worth out of this sesame sauce!
As a side note, this dish is easy but does require the use of several different pans, bowls and plates. I am writing up this recipe in an attempt to reduce the number of pans used, but feel free to come up with your own hacks that may help with this as well.
Additionally, I also recommend pre-heating the oven to 250 degrees so that when the chicken is done, it can remain warm in the oven until ready to serve. The chicken will likely be finished prior to the tempura so I highly recommend this step.
Also, the first time we made this I transferred the rice to a Wok which is what I cooked the vegetables and egg in initially. For the sake of using less dishes this time I added everything directly to the pot the rice was in and used the smaller pan for the vegetables and egg and just tossed those right in with the rice. The choice is yours!
Ingredients:
For the Rice
1 cup of white rice
2 tbsp. butter
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups water
1/4 cup diced carrots
1/4 cup peas
1/4 cup onion
3 tbsp. Soy Sauce
1 egg
For the Chicken
1 lb chicken cut up into cubes
1 cup flour
1 tbsp sesame seeds (you can omit this if you don't have any)
1 tsp chili flakes (or more if you want it extra zippy!)
1 tsp onion power
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tbsp sesame oil (you can omit this if you don't have any)
2 cups of vegetable oil (depending on the pan you are using, you want to make sure that at least half of the chicken cubes are in the oil so you can flip and cook evenly)
1/2 cup sesame sauce (note, if you do not have sesame sauce, you can substitute with any other Asian sauce you may have at home like Teriyaki, sweet chili sauce, etc. If you only have soy sauce, combine with some honey, ground ginger, onion powder, garlic powder and make your own sauce at home).
For the Tempura Broccoli
1-2 cups chopped broccoli with stems (feel free to use other vegetables such as sweet potato, asparagus, onion, etc.)
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp. chili flakes
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup of seltzer water
Instructions:
Step 1: In a medium size sauce pan, bring 2 cups of water and 2 tbsp. butter to a boil.
Step 2: Once the water has come to a boil, add white rice, reduce heat to low and cover for about 17 minutes. Be sure to stir periodically to ensure the rice is not sticking.
Step 3: In a medium pan on medium/high heat, add cooking oil and sesame oil.
Step 4: While the oil is heating up, combine flour, chili flakes, onion powder, garlic in a medium bowl and mix together.
Step 5: In another small pan, cook diced vegetables on medium/medium-low heat for about 6 minutes until cooked (chef hack: if you do not want to use a third pan you can bypass using the fresh carrots, onions and peas and use frozen vegetables which can be added to the rice once it's finished. The egg will still require cooking in a small pan or you can skip that as well)
Step 6: Toss chicken cubes in flour mixture until covered.
Step 7: When the oil is hot enough, add chicken and begin cooking. Chicken should cook until golden brown. Once chicken pieces cook, extract from pan and drain them of the oil on a plate lined with paper towel.
Step 8: While chicken is cooking, vegetables are likely ready so you can turn off the pan. Check on the rice and add vegetables and soy sauce to rice when ready. If you are going to add egg, now is the time to scramble that up so you can add it right to the rice. Use the same pan that was used for the vegetables to minimize dishes at the end of all this.
Step 9: Once all the chicken is done, add to serving bowl or dish of your choice and toss with the sesame sauce. I recommend using a dish that can go in the oven and pop it right in there. If you are not using the oven to keep chicken warm, move onto step 10.
Step 10: In a small bowl, combine flour, chili flakes, salt onion powder and garlic powder. Mix together and add the 1/4 cup of seltzer water. Mixture will fizzle and create a light batter.
Step 11: Toss broccoli into the batter and ensure all pieces are covered. Using the same pan as the chicken, begin tossing in the broccoli. Cook each side until golden brown (which seemed to be about 2 minutes per side but I didn't clock this).
Step 12: Once the broccoli is golden brown, remove from the pan and drain the same way you did the chicken.
At this point, you are pretty much done! The order of what comes next will vary. For me, I selected the plate I wanted, removed the sesame chicken from the oven, plated the rice, then chicken and lastly the tempura. I honestly cannot wait to make tempura again! I couldn't believe how easy it was and how much it tasted like what we usually get from our favorite restaurant (which we miss so much btw... is Corona over yet?).
I hope you enjoy this recipe! If you have modified it in any way, I would love to hear how you did that!