If you love takeout sesame chicken, then you have to try this sous vide version. The chicken stays tender and juicy and does not need to be fried. A quick toss with a flavorful sauce brings it all together.
Cooking this sesame chicken sous vide offers several advantages over your typical Chinese takeout, which is fried and then tossed in a sauce. With sous vide, there is no need to roast the chicken, so you can enjoy a much healthier version! A quick sauce brings it all together, and you don’t even miss the fried exterior.
Even better for those short on time? You can make the chicken well in advance (you can even freeze it!) and then just toss it in the water and cook it sous vide a few hours before dinner.
Dinner is ready and everyone will be wondering how you got the chicken so tender!
A note on sous vide cooked chicken
If you google safe chicken temperatures, you’ll find that the FDA recommends cooking chicken to 165°F. Just know that food safety is both both temperature and time.
You can safely cook chicken at lower temperatures as long as you cook long enough to kill bacteria, and that’s exactly what we do with sous vide cooking.
After much testing, I think 158°F is the ideal cooking temperature for sous vide chicken, giving you a super juicy chicken that still has the texture you expect from cooked chicken.
New to sous vide? start here
I think sous vide is something all home cooks should learn because it takes a lot of the stress – and guesswork – out of cooking. You can prepare your food in the pouches in advance and then cook it when you have time.
If you’re new to sous vide, quickly read through these introductory posts:
- Everything you were wondering about sous vide cooking at home
- How to use your new sous vide immersion thermostat
- How to seal food without a vacuum sealer
- Sous vide and food safety: what you need to know
Try these other sous vide recipes!
- Chicken and Broccoli Sous Vide
- Sous Vide Teriyaki Salmon
- How to cook pork chops sous vide
Sous Vide Sesame Chicken
If you like, you can measure out 1/3 cup of the liquid from cooking the chicken and use that in place of the chicken broth when making the sauce for this recipe.
ingredients
- For the chicken:
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1 1/2 pounds chicken breasts, diced into 1-inch pieces
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1 inch piece fresh ginger, thinly sliced
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2 garlic cloves, crushed
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1 tablespoon sesame oil
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1 tablespoon soy sauce
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1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
- For the sesame sauce:
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1/4 cup soy sauce
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1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
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1/3 cup honey
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1 tablespoon cornstarch
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1/3 cup chicken broth or water
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1 tablespoon sesame
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2 teaspoons sesame oil
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1 teaspoon chili garlic sauce (optional)
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sesame, garnish
- Serve:
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Boiled white rice
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Spring onions, green parts chopped for garnish
method
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heat water:
Fill a pot with water and place your immersion circulator in it. Set the temperature to 158°F and allow the water to come up to temperature.
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Prepare the chicken:
Combine the diced chicken breasts along with the ginger, garlic, sesame oil, soy, and rice vinegar in a gallon-size, zippered freezer bag. Make sure the chicken is in a single layer.
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Closing the bag:
Seal the bag with as little air as possible, using the water displacement method to squeeze all the air out: just slowly lower the bag with the chicken into the water and let the pressure of the water push the air through the top of the bag. Once the top of the bag has reached the waterline and all the air has been pushed out, seal the bag. (Read more here.)
You can do this in the pot of water while it heats up. (Be careful if the water is already steaming!) Place the chicken on a kitchen towel until the water has finished heating. Seal it when submerged so most of the air escapes from the bag.
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Cook chicken:
Once the water is up to temperature, submerge the sealed bag of chicken. Make sure the bag is fully submerged so the food cooks evenly.
Cook the chicken for 2 hours. When the cooking time is over, remove the chicken from the water and turn off the circulation pump.
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Make the sauce and combine it with the chicken:
Whisk together all of the sauce ingredients in a medium-sized skillet. Bring to a simmer over medium heat; it and should immediately begin to thicken.
Scoop the chicken out of the ziplock bag, discard the garlic and ginger, and add the chicken to the pan with the sauce. (The leftover cooking liquid can be saved and used in another recipe if you like!)
Turn the heat down to low and toss to coat and combine. The sauce should get very thick and stick to the chicken.
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Serve Chicken:
Serve sesame chicken over rice, garnished with sesame seeds and scallions.
