Honey Sesame Chicken (from Nine Dragons at Epcot)

As I've mentioned before, Disney World is a favorite spot for us and Epcot is definitely my favorite park there. We've only dined at Nine Dragons (the table service restaurant in China, a part of the World Showcase) years ago, but I'd guess that we probably ordered this dish since it's a classic Americanized Chinese dish. It's fried, crispy, sweet, and sticky all in one. What's not to like?

I tweaked their recipe some, which I found at AllEarsNet. The only time consuming part is frying the chicken pieces - if I had a deep fryer, that step would be much easier! This is the first time I can remember using a wet batter, instead of a two step batter method, and I really found it faster and easier to coat the chicken. The sauce is very simple and easy to throw together using basic staple items. I know this would be a huge hit with the kids in your life - it's very similar to the Honey Seared Chicken at Pei Wei.

We both loved this - give it a try!

Honey Sesame Chicken
1 pound chicken breasts, cut into cubes

Marinade:
Glug of sesame oil
Glug of rice wine vinegar
Dash of salt
Dash of sugar

Garnish:
Toasted white sesame seeds

Batter:
¾ cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup cornstarch
1 heaping tsp baking powder
½ of a beaten egg
2 tbsp oil
2/3 cup water
Pinch of salt

Honey Sauce:
1/8 cup, plus 1 tbsp honey
¼ cup sugar
1/8 cup ketchup
1 tbsp white vinegar

Soak the cubed chicken in the marinade for about 30 minutes.
Combine batter ingredients in a shallow pan and set aside.

Combine sauce ingredients and set aside.

Heat cooking oil for frying, about 320º F. Using tongs, dip marinated chicken into batter and deep fry.

Heat honey sauce in a large wok. Turn off heat. Add chicken pieces and toss to coat. Sprinkle chicken with toasted sesame seeds and serve with hot rice.