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This simple Spicy Sesame Chicken and Ginger Rice is about to become your new go-to meal. Easy homemade Asian inspired chicken, tossed in a gingery, sweet, spicy, and extra sticky soy pomegranate sauce with toasted sesame seeds and broccoli. Serve over gingery rice for sticky chicken made quicker than any take-out meal…and healthier too.
December is the busiest month of the year. The days might be short, but our lists are a mile long. Between, work, family, and holiday festivities, it’s a lot. And I know for so many that dinner can quickly become an after thought.
I get it, but that’s why I love recipes this. It’s sticky Asian inspired chicken, but made at home, and with very littler effort.
When my brother Red was visiting last week he asked for a spicy Asian dinner. I knew exactly what I wanted to make him. And fortunately, it turned out perfect and everyone loved it!
Here are the steps
I wanted to make sure my “sticky sauce” would really stick to the chicken. So start out by coating the chicken in a bit of flour.
This is a very, very light coating, but it’s just enough to help all that sticky sauce actually stick. Once you’ve coated the chicken in flour, arrange it to one side of a large greased baking sheet. Then drizzle generously with sesame oil or olive oil. This is your answer to really getting the chicken crispy and creating the perfect “oven fried” chicken.
Next, the broccoli. I kept the broccoli basic, just oil, salt, and pepper. You’ll want to get the broccoli roasted and extra crispy in the oven. And since the chicken cooks at such a high temperature, the broccoli has just the right amount of time to roast, soften, turn crisp, and lightly char on the outside.
Delicious, especially when tossed together with the chicken and sauce.
The sauce
The sauce is really the key to this chicken. It’s honestly so addicting. Sweet, tangy, a touch spicy, and once boiled down, super sticky. I love to use pomegranate juice for the perfect amount of sweetness. I know it might sound odd, but the pomegranate juice adds sweetness, tanginess, and a deep dark color too. It’s one of my favorite ingredients to use in Asian inspired recipes.
The sauce takes only a few minutes to thicken up on the stove. It’s usually ready by the time the chicken has finished cooking.
Then just toss the chicken into the sauce with sesame seeds and let the sauce thicken around the chicken.
While everything is cooking, make a quick pot of gingery rice and then serve the chicken over the rice.
Nothing fancy here, just simple cooking. A delicious take-out-style meal made at home in way less than an hour – which we love!
Looking for other Asian style recipes? Here are a few ideas:
Ginger Sesame Chicken Potstickers
Lastly, if you make this Spicy Sesame Chicken and Ginger Rice, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Crispy Sesame Chicken and Ginger Rice
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 450 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless chicken breasts, cut into 2 inch cubes
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (or gluten free all-purpose flour)
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 2 cups broccoli florets
- 2 shallots, sliced
- 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil or sesame oil
- 1/2 cup pomegranate juice
- 1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 4 cloves garlic, grated
- 1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, use more or less to taste
- 1 star anise
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds
- green onions, for serving
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 475° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or grease with oil.2. Add the chicken, egg, and a pinch of pepper to a bowl. Toss to combine. Add the flour to another bowl. Dredge the chicken in batches through the flour, tossing to coat. Place the chicken on one side of the prepared baking sheet. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of oil. Add the broccoli and shallots to the other side of the pan and toss with 2 more tablespoons of oil, salt, and pepper. Bake for 12 minutes. Toss the broccoli, flip the chicken, and return to the oven another 3-5 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through.3. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, combine the pomegranate juice, soy sauce, honey, rice vinegar, garlic, ginger, star anise, bay leaf, and red pepper flakes. Set over medium-high heat and bring the sauce to a boil. Boil 5-8 minutes, until the sauce thickens and reduces by about 1/3. Stir in the chicken, broccoli, and sesame seeds. Cook until the sauce coats the chicken. 4. Serve the chicken, broccoli, and sauce over bowls of ginger rice (recipe in notes) topped with green onions.
Notes
Ginger Rice: Combine 2 cups water in a medium pot. Bring to a boil. Add 1 cup basmati rice, 1 inch grated fresh ginger, 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil, and a pinch of salt. Stir to combine, cover, then turn the heat down to the lowest setting possible. Allow the rice to cook 10 minutes on low, then turn the heat off completely and let the rice sit, covered, for another 15-20 minutes (don't take any peeks inside!). Remove the lid and fluff the rice with a fork.
This was soooo tasty! Seriously, who needs takeout when you can make these kinds of flavors happen in your own home! Thanks for a great recipe!
Hi Megan,
Awesome!! Thanks a lot for trying this recipe out, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! xTieghan
Made this twice now, once with cauliflower since we didn’t have broccoli. So delicious!
Hi Steph,
Awesome!! Thanks a lot for trying this recipe out, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! xTieghan
Made this tonight and it was really good. It took longer than stated but very delicious. Will totally make it again.
Hi Rebecca,
Wonderful! I really appreciate you giving this recipe a try, I love to hear that it was enjoyed!! xTieghan
What could I substitute for the pomegranate juice?
Hi Audrey,
Cranberry or even orange juice would also work well. Please let me know if you give the recipe a try. I hope you love it! xTieghan
I tried with orange juice and it came out delicious! Also subbed green beans instead of broccoli which worked well.
Hey Audrey,
Happy Friday!! Thanks a lot for giving this recipe a go, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! xxTieghan
This was great I made it this evening. I didn’t have star anise so I added cinnamon and had to use a tiny bit of corn starch to thicken sauce, and subbed out soy for coconut aminos. Amazing!
Hi Katlynn,
Happy Sunday! Thanks a lot for making this recipe, I love to hear that it was a winner! xxTieghan
I followed the recipe to the T and really didn’t like it. The chicken wasn’t crispy and the sauce was bitter. Sorry
Hi Caroline,
Thanks for giving the recipe a try, sorry to hear it wasn’t enjoyed! xTieghan
I made this last night & it’s very good. I doubled the sauce batch. My only tweak was that I had no pomegranate juice, but I did have pomegranate molasses. I did half molasses and half orange juice. No star anise on hand.
I didn’t make the ginger rice because I had no basmati rice, but I did have some pre-made frozen brown rice which I fried with some sesame oil. It came together quickly which is good because I don’t have much time on the weeknights.
Hi Sharon,
Happy Friday!! Love hearing that you enjoy this recipe, I so appreciate you giving it a try! xxT
This dish was great! Full of flavor, easy and delicious!
Hi Leslie,
Awesome! I am so glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thank you for making it! xxT
Absolutely love this recipe. Made enough of the rice to use for another day.
Awesome!!
Hey Helena,
Happy Friday! Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! xTieghan
Sauce was so good and dish was easy to assemble. The chili flakes gave it a nice kick.
Great flavor. Thank you!
Hey Cynthia,
Happy Friday! Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! xTieghan
Delicious! I made the chicken, broccoli and shallots in an air fryer instead (chicken in one batch and broccoli in the other) otherwise all was the same. I would have liked more sauce – I don’t think I boiled it down too much but it was only enough to coat the chicken and veg, not to really drip into the rice like a sauce. But – still super delicious! Will make again and probably double the sauce recipe.
Hey Leanne,
Thank you so very much for trying this recipe, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! xxTieghan
Made as written. Very delicious with a great depth of flavor. However I would recommend doubling or tripling the broccoli. Also, I am a very experienced home chef and must say that the whole process takes longer than written!
Hi Nita,
Thank you so very much for trying this recipe, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! Sorry this took you longer than expected. xxTieghan
Everything turned out great except for the sauce was really strong and bitter. I followed the recipe except I did 1 tablespoon of the rice vinegar instead of two. Not sure what I did wrong.
Hi Hannah,
So sorry to hear this, was there anything you adjusted? I really don’t know why it would be bitter…Let me know how I can help! xTieghan
Help! I boiled the sauce for the recommended time but it turned into a candied paste that tasted burned. Any ideas on what went wrong?
Hi Susie,
So sorry to hear this! My only guess is that it was boiled for too high or too long. xTieghan
Lovely recipe! I had a little hiccup with the sauce. I tried to use a pom/cran 100% juice as a substitute. My sauce tasted very bitter and almost metallic. I prepared the sauce in a stainless steel sauce pot. It wasn’t smelling very good so I’m so glad I tasted it first. Any idea on what could have been a factor here? Everything else came out delicious!
Hey Brittany,
So sorry to hear this! I would think the pom/cran juice would be totally fine to use, was there anything else you may have adjusted in the recipe? I can’t think of why it may have tasted so bad! xTieghan
Made this last night for some friends and everyone enjoyed it. The chicken didn’t get as crisp as I’d like – wondering how to accomplish that without overcooking it & making it dry…. Will definitely make this again.
Hey Cheryl,
Fantastic! Thanks a lot for making this recipe, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! The cast iron skillet really helps to crisp the chicken. Happy New Year!? xxT