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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.
I’ve made this many times and love it! Thank you for the recipe. The chicken always comes out very tender.
Since I rarely use pomegranate juice and end up tossing what’s left after making this dish, I tried a small boxed juice with a mix of pomegranate, apple and cherry instead. It was equally good, maybe not as sticky or tangy but it worked well.
Hey Sandra,
Happy Monday! Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad it turned out well for you! Thanks for your comment! xT
Could the chicken be air fried??
Hi Allie,
Sure, I don’t see why that wouldn’t work for you! Please let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope it turns out well for you! xT
Hi! I was wondering – do you use 100% juice, like Pom brand that you find in produce section? Or do you use like a pomegranate “juice” from the juice aisle that’s made from concentrate and is a juice cocktail, like Langers? I have Pom in the fridge, but I think normally Pom by itself tastes like gross prune juice, so just wondering if that will be good in the recipe or if I should buy some Langers? Thanks! I’ll leave another review with a rating once I try the recipe, can’t wait! :::))
Hey Tori,
I only buy Pom juice:) I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
Thanks so much for the quick response!! I made this last night, with the Pom juice :), and it was DELICIOUS, my husband and I both lovvvvved it and I plan to make it again soon. I thought the sesame seed crunch really made it perfect! Thank you for sharing all these recipes, they are always so enjoyable 🙂
Hi Tori,
Perfect!! Love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for making it! Happy Wednesday! xx
In the Middle East, especially Iran, the custom is to use pomegranate molasses, which you can find in many stores. The syrup can be combine with honey, mustard/vinegar or other ingredient. It makes for really toppings, especially for chicken but also pork and turkey (https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/bobby-flay/black-pepper-pomegranate-molasses-glazed-turkey-3362188).
This was what I was thinking! but I don’t know if 1/2 a cup of molasses would be too much. Maybe half molasses half water?
For the ginger rice, how much approximately is 1 inch of ginger?
Hi there,
I would say it’s about 1 tablespoon. I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
I used pomegranate/cherry juice because the only pomegranate juice I could find was organic and it was $15.99 a bottle. And I halved the recipe because I am cooking just for me. Otherwise, I followed it exactly. I thought it had just the right amount of sweet to spicy. Very tasty but no one taste was overpowering. It was quick and easy to make. I prepped a few hours before cooking it. This is definitely going into my Recipe Box for future.
I have enjoyed most of your recipes Tiegan, and if anything went wrong with others that I have tried it’s because I substituted something I shouldn’t have.
Hi Laura,
Happy Monday!! Thanks a lot for making this dish and sharing your review, I am so glad it was enjoyed! Have a great week! xx
Delicious recipe! Pretty easy too. My only quibble is I wish the rice directions had been at the beginning because we finished the whole dish and then realized we needed to make rice lol. Oops. Overall excellent
Hi Felicia,
Wonderful! Thanks so much for making this dish and sharing your feedback, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! Sorry about the rice! xTieghan
So good! Wish I had even more sauce! I used orange juice instead of pom and omitted the shallot and it was delish!
Hey Kristin,
Wonderful!! Thanks a bunch for trying this recipe out, I am so glad it was enjoyed! xTieghan
Delicious! I couldn’t find Pom juice so used the juice of a lemon instead. I also subbed coconut aminos (~1/3 cup) for the soy sauce and it did great!
Hi Kelsey,
Awesome! Thanks for making this recipe and sharing what worked well for you! xTieghan
The kid in me (and apparently the adult too!) loves basic, steamed basmati or jasmine rice for every single Asian inspired dish, just like a typical restaurant would include with ordering there or taking out. Is the ginger rice a deal breaker here or do I have a green light to indulge my pedestrian preference? Can’t wait to make this!
Hey Xander,
You can use any rice that you like:) Let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xTieghan
Sounds like it could be a winner. Can I substitute brown rice for basmati rice?
(Cannot eat white rice).
Hi there,
Totally, I would just cook the rice according to package directions as brown and white rice cooks differently. I hope you love the recipe, let me know if you give it a try! xx
Did not like anything about this recipe. I followed it exactly and made the ginger rice too. The flavor wasn’t great, and the rice was very sticky and too much ginger for me and I love ginger.
This was the first recipe from Half Baked Harvest that I tossed the leftovers. Everything else I have tried from this site has been great!
Hi Debbie,
Thanks for giving the recipe a try, so sorry to hear it was not enjoyed. xTieghan
I think this recipe is amazing. I just had to change a few things for family preferences. (Also, a side note for any other cooks out there…chinese 5 spice is a great substitute for star anise. Star anise is super expensive here.) For my family, pomegranate molasses is not a favorite; however, I had some left over in the fridge and decided to try this recipe. For the most part, I stuck with everything as said, except we already know we don’t like our broccli made in the oven, so we steamed it instead. And the shallots I just substituted onion, sautéed them in a little avacodo oil and then added the sauce ingredients to it. Once done, I ended up adding about 1/4 cup brown sugar and 1/4 cup Sriracha. For the rice, I used so chicken stock for the water, brown rice, a T minced garlic, 1 T minced ginger and made it all in a rice cooker. The family liked the extra sweet and spicy, plus still received all the benefits of the pomegranate and ginger. Happy cooking!
Hey Trich,
Thanks so much for making this recipe, I am so glad it was enjoyed!! Thanks so much for sharing what worked well for you. Have the best week:) xTieghan
Thank you so much for all your recipes Tieghan!! I think you are an absolute genius. 🙂
I appreciate the nutrition/calorie info – annnyyyyyy way you could add the serving size that correlates to the calories listed on new recipes? 🙂 Just a thought.
Hey Katie,
Thanks so much for your kind message and sharing your feedback, yes this is definitely something that we can look into!! xTieghan
Loves the recipe but my brother wished it was a little sweeter. Can you share what I can add next time to see if we like it sweeter please
Thank you.
Love all your ideas
Hi there,
Happy Sunday!! Love to hear that you have enjoyed this recipe, thanks so much for making it!! You could add honey to the sauce. xx
Wow wow wow this rice is just another level and such a great way to get ginger into toddlers especially when immunity is low. Chicken was great too! I didn’t have the pomegranate juice which I think would have taken it to another level but it was delicious none the less and my family thoroughly enjoyed this dish. I did make double the quantity of rice for leftovers but we gobbled it all up. Divine thank you!
Wow wow wow this rice is just another level and such a great way to get ginger into toddlers especially when immunity is low. Chicken was great too! I didn’t have the pomegranate juice which I think would have taken it to another level but it was delicious none the less and my family thoroughly enjoyed this dish. I did make double the quantity of rice for leftovers but we gobbled it all up. Divine thank you!
Thanks again Sherry!!
Hi Sherry,
Wonderful!! I love to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks a bunch for trying it out! Have the best weekend❄️ xTieghan