Sesame Chicken Kebabs
Succulent chunks of chicken coated with a sticky, sweet & spicy glaze & crunchy sesame seeds. Easy, quick & bursting with flavour!
I love this time of the year at the Kitchen Shed, everything is bursting into Springtime green and the first of our many visitors are about to arrive. We try and eat Al Fresco as much as we can not least because there isn’t enough room for everyone to sit around the table inside the Kitchen Shed. I try to plan my menu ahead of visitors arriving with a view to include easy, healthy (most of the time) and quickly prepared recipes – that way I can spend as much time as possible with family and friends.
Over time, it’s become a bit of a tradition here at the Kitchen Shed to recreate a favourite takeaway for a Friday or Saturday night. As well as giving control over the quality of the meals’ ingredients, it’s also a lot cheaper and flavours can be tweaked to suit the diners. Our stay home takeaway nights have included curry nights, Turkish Chicken Kebabs in a pitta bread with pickled red cabbage and chips and pizza nights where everyone puts in an order for their own toppings.
This Spring I’ve decided to experiment with my version of an American Chinese Takeaway, Sesame Chicken. OH had this once when he was working in the US, and although he’s always fancied trying it again we haven’t seen it on the menu in an English Chinese takeaway. Whilst in France we haven’t tried a French Chinese as being in rural Brittany there aren’t any takeaways nearby and if you do want to drive to the nearest town to fetch a Chinese, your order is served cold to reheat when you get home.
After a bit of research, it seems Sesame Chicken is an American version of what Chicken Tikka is to the British – apparently you wouldn’t find Sesame Chicken on an authentic Chinese menu anymore than you’re likely to find Chicken Tikka on an authentic Indian menu. Based on what I’ve gleaned from OH, Sesame Chicken is a spicy and more tangy version of sweet and sour chicken “sort of”. It is over fifteen years since OH tried what he remembers as Sesame Chicken so please feel free to let me know if he’s mis-remembering. My version needed to be minus the deep fried coating but still keeping the sweet and sticky sauce and crunchy sesame seeds. I used sweet chilli jam, ginger and garlic with soy sauce and rice wine vinegar to give a tangy spicy flavour to the marinade. If you are State side, you’ll have to forgive my Anglicised version.
Griddle or BBQ is one of my favourite low fat cooking methods because it’s quick, easy and uses a minimum amount of oil. For this recipe, you can prepare this Sesame Chicken Kebabs in less time than you can order from a takeaway and it tastes so much better and is certainly healthier.
I served our Sesame Chicken Kebabs with my crunchy Oriental Sesame Slaw and a sweet chilli dipping sauce for which I added a touch of cider vinegar to my Sweet Chilli Jam. The marinating of the chicken kept it succulent and I brushed the cooked kebabs with sesame oil before coating with sesame seeds. Sesame Chicken Kebabs has been declared a winner for our weekend takeaway nights and will stay on the menu throughout Winter, cooked indoors on the griddle and served with a bowl of fluffy white rice.
Sesame Chicken Kebabs are so easy to make:
Simply marinate.
Assemble your skewers.
BBQ or cook on the griddle.
Baste with sesame oil and sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve!
I hope you enjoy Sesame Chicken Kebabs as much as we do. Here’s the recipe in quick printable format so you can have it to hand while you try it out.
Sesame Chicken Kebabs
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Sesame Chicken Kebabs Succulent chunks of chicken coated with a sticky, sweet & spicy glaze & crunchy sesame seeds. Easy, quick & bursting with flavour!
Author: Tales From The Kitchen Shed
Recipe type: BBQ or Griddle
Serves: 4 kebabs
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts or 8 chicken thighs cut into 3 to 4 cm chunks
Marinade:
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar (I used Shaoxing)
- 2 garlic cloves - crushed
- 2 cm piece freshly grated ginger
- 1 to 2 tablespoons sweet chilli jam or sauce (I used my homemade sweet chilli jam)
Basting & coating:
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
Instructions
Marinate your chicken:
- Whisk the marinade ingredients together. Place the chicken in a container and coat the chicken pieces with the marinade.
- Cover and leave to marinate in the fridge for 30 minutes to 2 hours.
Assemble your skewers:
- Remove the chicken from the fridge and thread 4 to 6 pieces of chicken on to a skewer, don't thread them too closely.
Cook your chicken kebabs:
- Cook your kebabs on a preheated griddle or BBQ for about fifteen minutes, browning on all sides until cooked through with no pink showing.
- Remove from the BBQ or griddle and baste with sesame oil and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
- Serve with sweet chilli dipping sauce and Oriental Sesame Slaw or a bowl of fluffy white rice.
Notes
Total time doesn't include marinating time.
LOVE KEBABS?
Then take a look at my delicious Homemade Chicken Kebabs Take Away Style.
Pin Sesame Chicken Kebabs for later:
I’m entering Sesame Chicken Kebabs into a few challenges this month:
- Charlotte’s Food Year Link Up over at Charlotte’s Lively Kitchen.
- Credit Crunch Munch created by Camilla from Fab Food 4 All & Helen over at Fuss Free Flavours & hosted this month by Michelle at Utterly Scrummy.
I’m also linking Sesame Chicken Kebabs to: Fiesta Fridays
these are lovely – I love that crunchy sesame coating.
Thanks for sharing with #CreditCrunchMunch
Thanks Helen, a pleasure to share with #CreditCrunchMunch
We’re getting in to the outdoor cooking, eating and entertaining too – so nice to have the option! This looks really tasty.
Thanks Caroline, hope you have a lovely summer of outdoor cooking and entertaining.
You have just made me realise that I haven’t had lunch yet – and now nothing will even come close to the delicious sounding kebabs! #BloggerClubUK
Hehe, thanks for popping by Sarah 🙂
These sound and look really yummy I can’t wait to try them
Thanks Jacqui, let me know how you get on 🙂
Oh yum – I used to love sesame chicken in the US! How cool that you recreated it. I love cooking bbq this time of year so this is right up my ally. I’m pinning to try later! Thanks so much for linking up with us at #BloggerClubUK x
Thanks Becky, I hope you enjoy sesame chicken kebabs, do let me know how they compare to the real thing x
I’ve not seen that in British takeaway’s either which is a shame as I’m sure I would love it (I love pretty much anything sesame!). I guess I’ll have to try your version instead, especially as the weather is so lovely at the moment, I’m just keeping my fingers crossed that it stays like this for a while so I can have plenty more BBQs.
Thanks Charlotte, fingers crossed for a good summer so you can try sesame chicken kebabs on the BBQ.
Bookmarking this recipe immediately – the chicken looks so simple to make and I bet it tastes great with a rice side or in a wrap!
Thanks for bookmarking the recipe Iris. They really are easy to make and sounds a great idea to eat them in a wrap.
Sarah – I’m loving the look of these – right up my street – Thanks Clare
Thanks Clare & you’re most welcome. Thought they might be 🙂 I love your skinny version of fish and chips x
I hope I took my lunch first before heading out to Fiesta Friday. These are making me so hungry. 😀 Happy FF & have a lovely weekend! x
Thanks Jhuls, happy FF & have a great weekend too x
Well said Sarah! The kebabs look absolutely delicious! Thanks for sharing. Have a great weekend!
Thanks Suchitra, a pleasure to share with the Fiesta party, have a great weekend too 🙂
Ooh yummy Sarah, loving all the flavours here and have never thought to put sesame seeds on my chicken kebabs, fab idea! Thanks for a great entry to #CreditCrunchMunch:-)
Thanks Camilla, it was the take away version that gave me the idea, I use sesame seeds on my Sesame Salmon too, we love them here at the Kitchen Shed 🙂
Mmm this is literally making my mouth water! Super simple & dairy free my kind of food. Thank you 🙂 #BloggerClubUK
Thanks, a pleasure to share Sesame Chicken Kebabs 🙂
these look delicious. love sesame seeds sprinkled on food #bloggerclubuk
Thanks Emma, lovely to see you pop by from #BloggerClubUK 🙂
I can’t wait for some warmer weather and then we will definitely be trying out this recipe on the BBQ I love anything with soy sauce and chilli
Thanks Catie, I hope the sun comes out for you soon & let me know how you get on 🙂
Yes please! These look and sound so good and perfect for summer. These are a must try x #CookBlogShare
Thanks Kirsty, I think I’ll be making Sesame Chicken Kebabs a few times this summer, I hope you enjoy them as much as we do x #CookBlogShare
yum! I’m starving so probably shouldn’t have read this yet lol is it acceptable to have these for brekkie?! they look so easy, I’ll be giving them a go! #bloggerclubUK
Haha, nothing wrong with having some for breakfast, after all, doesn’t everyone have take away for breakfast every once in a while? 🙂 Thanks for stopping by.
Want some now. You may just have galvanised me into dusting off the bbq in time for the weekend.
Thanks Cath, hope you enjoy your BBQ at the weekend 🙂
Oooh, yes please! These look fabulous 🙂 Like you, I love recreating my favourite takeaways at home – particularly curries and Chinese dishes. It’s nice being able to make them a little healthier and knowing the ingredients are all good! Eb x
Thanks Eb, a healthier version of a take away certainly tastes better too. We love your version of Butter Chicken here x
I love homemade takeaways too 🙂 These kebabs sound absolutely delicious. Perfect for a summer BBQ. Thanks for linking them up to #CookBlogShare
Thanks Hayley, we just need some sunshine now so we can enjoy a few more BBQs. Always a pleasure to link up with #CookBlogShare x
These look great and simple I have my boys home again this week and i think they would like these so they are on my to make list
Thanks Jacqui, they really are so quick and easy to make. Hope you enjoy sesame chicken kebabs as much as we do, let me know how you get on 🙂