I've always had a soft spot for Chinese takeout, but ever since we started following a Whole30/Paleo diet, we have limited our intake to very infrequent occasions. It would always taste great in the moment, but later on we would feel sick to our stomach and wonder why we ordered it to begin with. This recipe, however, is equally delicious and leaves you feeling great and ready to continue on your health journey with no interruptions, no tummyaches, and no guilt.
The last couple of weeks I've been experimenting with using Coconut Aminos to create a clean, guilt free sauce I could use for quick stir fry dinners. The taste reminded me of Chinese takeout so I started to research how to make "Chinese Style Chicken" recipes like sweet and sour, orange, and sesame chicken. I took a little bit from a couple of different recipes and landed with this deliciously clean, Paleo, and Whole30* approved version of what reminds me of Sesame Chicken.
*If you have a serious obsession with Chinese takeout, this could be considered "swypo", as per the Whole30 guidelines. To me, it's just a healthier version of a popular dish and I would have no problem eating it during a Whole30 along side plenty of veggies or over some salad greens. Your call though.
The method to making this dish taste legit may sound a little labor intensive, but it's actually quite easy. I decided to show the steps in pictures, so you can get a good idea of what is happening along the way. Succinct instructions will follow at the end :)
Paleo Sesame Chicken Recipe - Step by Step!
1. Make your sauce: in a food processor or blender, combine coconut aminos (soy sauce substitute), orange juice, fresh garlic, and fresh ginger. Set aside.
| Use a piece of fresh, peeled piece of ginger the size of about your thumb or 1 inch. |
| Coconut Aminos, garlic, ginger, and orange juice about to be blended up! |
2. Prep Chicken: cut about 2 lbs of boneless, skinless chicken thighs into bite sized pieces and place into a large ziploc bag. I was able to cut each chicken thigh into about 6 pieces.
| I know, raw chicken isn't pretty, but you get the idea. |
3. Coat chicken: Add 1/2 cup of arrowroot flour/starch to the chicken pieces, zip up the bag, and shake what your mama gave ya until all pieces are well coated.
| This is the kind of arrowroot flour I buy - it's relatively inexpensive compared to other flour substitutes and works perfectly for this recipe. |
| This is what your chicken pieces should look like after a good shake with the arrowroot flour. |
4. Heat up a bit of avocado oil (or other healthy oil of your choice) over medium to medium high heat in a large heavy pan. You want the oil pretty hot, but not burning.
5. Egg bath: While the oil is heating, in a shallow dish, beat 3 large eggs and toss the chicken pieces, in batches, to coat on all sides. Once each batch is coated with the egg, you'll want to proceed to step 6 and then back again to step 5 for each batch.
| Coat each chicken piece in the egg on all sides, working in batches, and proceeding to the next step. |
6. Once the oil is hot, fry each chicken piece until golden brown on each side, about 30 seconds a side. You are not trying to fully cook the chicken, just create a nice crust. Work in batches and repeat Step 5 & 6 until all pieces are fried.
| You're looking for that nice golden brown, crispy but chewy crust. |
| Transfer each batch to a plate and continue to repeat steps 5 and 6 until all pieces are fried. |
7. Clean your pan: I'm a big fan of limiting the number of pans to wash, so I recommend you carefully wipe out the pan you were working in so that you can use the same pan for the rest of the recipe.
| I use a pair of tongs and some paper towels to wipe out any excess oil left in the pan. |
8. Combine everything: Over medium heat, pour in the sauce we created in Step 1. Let it come to a simmer and then nestle all of the fried chicken pieces back into the pan.
| Fried chicken pieces simmering in the sauce. |
9. Simmer and watch sauce reduce: Simmer chicken, uncovered, over medium heat for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until chicken is cooked through and sauce has reduced to the nice thick sauce you would expect from Chinese takeout. Then, liberally sprinkle sesame seeds over cooked chicken.
| Here the chicken is completely cooked through and the sauce has reduced to a nice thick sauce. I then sprinkled the sesame seeds all over. |
10. Spoon your Paleo Sesame Chicken into a bowl with roasted vegetables or on top of a salad for a complete meal. Garnish with fresh scallions and enjoy!
Paleo Sesame Chicken Recipe
Recipe Ingredients:
1.5 - 2 lbs of boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite sized pieces
1/2 cup of arrowroot flour
3 large eggs
Avocado oil
, enough to coat a pan and fry all pieces
For the Sauce:
3/4-1 cup Coconut Aminos
(Use the lesser if you have 1.5 lbs instead of 2 lbs of chicken, and/or you prefer things a little less salty)
1 cup orange juice, no sugar added, all natural
4 garlic cloves
1 inch fresh ginger, peeled, about the size of your thumb
Garnish:
Sesame seeds
Chopped fresh scallions
Recipe Directions:
1. Make your sauce: in a food processor or blender, combine coconut aminos (soy sauce substitute), orange juice, fresh garlic, and fresh ginger. Set aside.
2. Prep chicken: cut about 2 lbs of boneless, skinless chicken thighs into bite sized pieces and place into a large ziploc bag. I was able to cut each chicken thigh into about 6 pieces.
3. Coat chicken: Add 1/2 cup of arrowroot flour/starch to the chicken pieces, zip up the bag, and shake what your mama gave ya, until all pieces are well coated.
4. Heat up a bit of avocado oil (or other healthy oil of your choice) over medium to medium high heat in a large heavy pan. You want the oil pretty hot, but not burning.
5. Egg bath: While the oil is heating, in a shallow dish beat 3 large eggs and toss the chicken pieces, in batches, to coat on all sides. Once each batch is coated with the egg, you'll want to proceed to step 6 and then back again to step 5 for each batch.
6. Once the oil is hot, fry each chicken piece until golden brown on each side, about 30 seconds a side. You are not trying to fully cook the chicken, just create a nice crust. Work in batches and repeat Step 5 & 6 until all pieces are fried.
7. Clean your pan: I'm a big fan of limiting the number of pans to wash, so I recommend you carefully wipe out the pan you were working in so that you can use the same pan for the rest of the recipe.
8. Combine everything: Over medium heat, pour in the sauce we created in Step 1 into the cleaned out pan. Let it come to a simmer and then nestle all of the fried chicken pieces back into the pan.
9. Simmer and watch sauce reduce: Simmer chicken, uncovered, over medium heat for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until chicken is cooked through and sauce has reduced to the nice thick sauce you would expect from Chinese takeout. Then, liberally sprinkle sesame seeds over cooked chicken.
10. Spoon your Paleo Sesame Chicken into a bowl with roasted vegetables or on top of a salad for a complete meal. Garnish with fresh scallions and enjoy!
Try this recipe and let me know what you think!
Until next time!
XOXO,
SMP
Sara-Marie
I'm passionate about fueling my body and my family with real, nutrient-dense foods. Follow our journey for healthy meal ideas for kids and adults alike.
