Name: Panda Express Honey Sesame Chicken
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 1 h
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce (30 ml); 2 egg whites; 2 tablespoons sesame oil (30 ml); 1/4 teaspoon salt; 1/4 teaspoon white pepper; 1 tablespoon cornstarch (10g); 1/4 cup honey (84g); 5 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce (75 ml); 3 tablespoons brown sugar (37g); 1 tablespoon ketchup (15 ml); 1 tablespoon oyster sauce (15 ml); 1 tablespoon Shoaxing wine or cooking sherry (15 ml); 1 1/2 teaspoons sambal oelek; 1 teaspoon sesame oil (5 ml); 1/8 teaspoon salt; 1/8 teaspoon white pepper; 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch (15g); 2 tablespoons water (30 ml); 1/4 cup flour (30g); 1/2 cup cornstarch (80g); 1/4 teaspoon baking soda; 1 teaspoon salt; 1/2 teaspoon white pepper; 1 egg; 1 tablespoon olive oil (15 ml); 1/2 cup water, plus more if needed (120 ml); 1 1/2 cups high smoke point oil, such as classic olive, peanut, or vegetable (350 ml); 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast, sliced thin and cut into bite-sized pieces (453g); 2 tablespoons oil, leftover from deep frying (30 ml); 1 tablespoon garlic, minced

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Have you been meaning to try Panda Express' honey sesame chicken but haven't gotten around to it yet? Learn to make our copycat version of this American Chinese takeout classic in the comfort of your home. You'll love each bite of the succulent crispy fried chicken coated in an irresistibly sweet and sticky honey sesame sauce.

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Ingredients
Questions
How to Make
Variations
Pro Tips
Recipe

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Ingredients

All the ingredients for this copycat Panda Express recipe can easily be found at your local grocery store; just check the Asian or international section to find the oyster sauce. If you can't find Shoaxing wine at your local Asian market, you can order it online or substitute it with cooking sherry.

Meat: We used boneless, skinless chicken breast for all white meat, but you could use thighs if you prefer dark meat.
Vegetables: Yellow bell pepper and green string beans were used, but feel free to substitute with other sweet bell peppers or yellow beans.
Aromatics: We used fresh minced garlic and no ginger for this recipe. If you love ginger, use ½ tablespoon.
Soy: We used reduced sodium soy sauce, but swap it out with liquid aminos or tamari if you need this gluten free.
Sweetener: We used raw honey and light brown sugar, but substitute the honey with agave nectar and the sugar with your sweetener of choice.
Vinegar: We used rice vinegar to keep the Asian flavor.
Wine: We used cooking sherry, but if you can find it, Shoaxing wine would be nice.
Thickener: We used cornstarch to thicken the sauce. We also used cornstarch in the marinade and in the batter.
Oil: We used sesame oil in the marinade and in the honey sesame sauce. We also used classic olive oil for the stir fry.
Seeds: We used white sesame seeds for the garnish, but feel free to use toasted sesame seeds if you prefer.
Spices: Salt and white pepper were used in the marinade and in the sauce.
Eggs: We used two egg whites in the marinade and one egg in the batter.
Dry Baking Goods: We used all purpose flour and baking soda in the batter for the chicken.
Condiments: We used ketchup, oyster sauce, and sambal oelek in the honey sesame sauce.

Questions

Does Panda Express still have honey sesame chicken on their menu?

In August of 2020, Panda Express brought back the honey sesame chicken nationwide in the United States for a limited time. As of February 2021, it is still on the menu.

What is in honey sesame chicken?

Panda Express describes this entree as "thin, crispy strips of all-white chicken meat tossed with fresh-cut string beans, crispy yellow bell peppers in a sizzling hot wok with our new delicious honey sauce topped off with sesame seeds."

How many calories are in this recipe?

The Panda Express entree has a serving size of 1 cup (5.3 ounces) with 420 calories, 22g of fat, 40g of carbs, 19g of sugar, and 16g of protein.

Our copycat version has a serving size of one cup and has 428 calories, 27.1g of fat, 30.8g of carbs, 18.1g of sugar and 18g of protein. For more nutritional information, please scroll to the end of the recipe card.

What's the difference between General Tso or sesame chicken?

The main difference is that honey sesame has sesame oil in the sauce, which makes this dish more salty and nutty in flavor. It also has sesame seeds as a garnish, and is less spicy. Usually in American Chinese cooking, General Tso doesn't contain vegetables, but the honey sesame does.

How to Make

Gather the ingredients for the marinade, then whisk all the ingredients together, except the cornstarch, then pour it over the meat. Mix well with your hand for a minute, then sprinkle on the cornstarch and continue mixing for another minute. Cover and chill for a minimum of 30 minutes.

Gather the ingredients for the honey sesame sauce, then whisk all the ingredients together, except the cornstarch and water, which will be used later to make a slurry.

Gather all the ingredients for the batter, then mix the dry ingredients first then the wet. Add the water a little at a time until it's the consistency of pancake batter.

Next, add the marinated meat to the batter and mix to coat.

To deep fry the meat, heat up 1 ½ cup of high smoke oil in a large wok over medium high heat. When the oil reaches 350 F, add the chicken pieces one at a time, roughly 10 to 12 pieces or ½ cup, and cook for 5 minutes.

Make sure you flip the chicken over and move the pieces around with chopsticks so the chicken doesn't get too dark. Carefully remove the meat from the wok and drain on a paper towel lined plate. Repeat until all the chicken is cooked. Pour out the oil into a bowl, then wipe out the wok.

If you like your chicken extra crispy, use the double fry method. First fry, 2 minutes, then cool in the fridge for 20 minutes. This will pull out extra moisture. During the second fry, cook for 3 to 5 minutes. This will give you the iconic crunch that many people love from Chinese takeout chicken.

Next, gather all the ingredients for the stir fry. In a wok over medium high heat, heat 2 tablespoons of the reserved oil, then stir fry the garlic until fragrant.

Quickly add the green string beans and the yellow bell pepper to the wok and stir fry for 2 minutes, then place the veggies to a bowl. If you want your green beans softer, blanch them for 2 minutes in boiling water and shock them in an ice bath before stir frying.

Make the cornstarch slurry, making sure it's smooth, and place it near the wok. Pour in the sauce and let it cook for a minute while stirring, then pour in the slurry. Continue stirring until the sauce has thickened, which will be under a minute.

Remove the wok from the heat and add the deep fried chicken. Gently stir to coat each piece in the honey sesame sauce.

Over medium high heat, add the vegetable/garlic mixture back into the wok along with the meat. Cook for a minute or two to heat everything through.

Remove from the heat and sprinkle on the sesame seeds. Stir to mix them in well with the other ingredients.

Serve hot with steamed rice, fried rice, chow mein, super greens, or noodles.

Variations

Need more vegetables? Increase the veggies from 3 cups to 6 by adding 1 ½ cups each of red bell pepper and zucchini.
Need this gluten free? Use liquid aminos or tamari, arrowroot, and your favorite gluten free flour.
Want this vegan? Replace the meat with tofu cubes, cauliflower florets, or Shiitake mushrooms. Use agave nectar and omit the eggs.
Want this more keto friendly? Omit the cornstarch and use ½ teaspoon of xanthan gum as a thickener. Use monkfruit or maple syrup as a sweetener.

Pro Tips

If you want your chicken to puff up when fried, add a bit of baking soda to your batter.
If you want your chicken extra crispy, double fry it. First fry, 2 minutes then cool in fridge 20 min. Second fry, 3 to 5 minutes.
Want the sauce spicier? Use 2 or 3 teaspoons of sambal oelek, then sprinkle on red pepper flakes for another garnish.
Want to blanch the green beans? Submerge in boiling water for 2 minutes, then in an ice water bath before stir frying.
No thermometer for the wok? To test if the oil is hot enough, insert wooden chopsticks and see tiny bubbles around them.

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