Sesame Chicken with Stir Fried Vegetables

Better than takeout, this Sesame Chicken with Stir Fried Vegetables is full of flavor but made with lots of veggies and all real food ingredients. There’s no refined sugar and this Asian inspired stir fry is gluten free, dairy free, and paleo.

This is my version of the popular Chinese take-out, Sesame Chicken. I’ve lightened up the recipe considerably by not coating and deep frying the chicken. Omitting a step also shortens the preparation time by a lot, as well making this a quick, easy, and healthy weeknight dinner.

I love all things deep fried, so I was dubious of my idea to skip this step at first. I mean, how can you have a Chinese chicken dish without deep frying? Growing up, most everything I ever ate from a Chinese restaurant was fried and sweet. As I got a little older, my tastes turned toward the spicier dishes like Kung Pao Chicken, but there has always been a fondness for Sweet ‘n’ Sour.

Today’s recipe for Sesame Chicken satisfies all my take-out cravings whilst remaining true to the more vegetables in dinner the better (this is not always so easy to achieve, but we’re working on it). So…, I’m on a mission to recreate some of my favorite restaurant foods but with more vegetables and time-saving tricks.   

This stir fry was so good that as I was writing this, I found myself digging in the fridge for the leftovers and eating them cold.

Let’s talk about how to make this Sesame Chicken with Stir Fried Vegetables!

First thing: toast the sesame seeds until golden and fragrant, set aside.

Now we’re going to thinly slice the green onion on the bias; meaning slice the green onions on an angle instead of straight, refer to the above picture. Sometimes it adds to how a dish looks to cut a few things just a little different then usual.

Next: cut the bell peppers into halves, then into strips lengthwise, and finally cut across the strips widthwise to create pieces about 2 inches long. Cut the ends off of the onion, peel, and cut in half from top to bottom. Lay each onion half face down and cut in half widthwise. Finally, cut the halves lengthwise into about 2 inches pieces.

Cut or break the tough ends from the asparagus and slice them into 2 inch pieces, on the bias if desired. Set all of the vegetables aside.

In a separate bowl, whisk together all the ingredients for the sauce. Now we are ready to cook. I don’t always prep all of my ingredients like this, but it is key when cooking over high heat. You want everything ready to go by the stove because when the first item hits the pan, it’s only a matter of minutes until the stir fry is done

Yum, Yum, Yum…it’s so good. The pictures are making me hungry again. And I’m thinking there may be another trip to the fridge in the near future. Drat the luck, I’ll just have to eat the leftovers.

I’ve been thinking of doing a series of restaurant favorites with a healthy makeover (Tyler’s favorite is up next week). Leave me a comment and let me know what your favorite is and I’ll add it to the list.

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