Take-out, at home!
After this crazy December full of parties, relaxation and not-so-healthy eating, we found ourselves craving Chinese food more than anything. Not surprising, since Chinese takeout is so readily available and we’ve been indulging so often (fully aware their sauces are often flour-thickened and sweetened. No shame.)
As always, we tried our hand at replicating the dish with something a little more low-carb friendly, we were pleasantly surprised with the turnout and how many of the Chinese food inspired dishes we tried were even better than the take out we usually get. We knew we could whip up some low carb Chinese food but who knew it would be this good!
Before we got started, we knew we had to get a key ingredient – toasted sesame seed oil. Toasted sesame oil is used in many Chinese food recipes and it really adds an incredible amount of flavor with only just a tiny drop of oil. We finally got a small bottle of it and tested it out on our yummy Cashew Beef Thai Stir Fry recipe. It gave the dish the distinct flavor we were looking for so we decided to take it out for another spin in this low carb sesame chicken recipe. More sesame taste sounded like a great idea!
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We used toasted sesame seed oil to flavor both the sauce and fry the chicken. This maximized the toasted sesame flavor without adding additional carbs. That means the low carb sesame chicken would not be low in flavor! After all, too many real sesame seeds and you start to increase the carb count- toasted sesame oil for the win!
To make the sauce thick, we added arrowroot powder, a paleo-friendly thickener we bought on Amazon, instead of xanthan gum. Xanthan gum is great but doesn’t add enough volume to certain recipes since you only need so much (usually, ½ teaspoon is plenty!). Arrowroot powder is not inherently low carb, but it is minimally processed and you really don’t need much to thicken things up. I definitely recommend having some on hand in your kitchen as a perfect alternative thickener for any sauce you may want to make.
In this sesame chicken recipe, we used a tablespoon of arrowroot powder combined with a beaten egg to mimic that soft battered texture of Chinese sesame chicken. This texture was also important since the sesame sauce wouldn’t stick to a naked chicken thigh so easily. That battered style of chicken is essential! And, it is one of the things I crave when I start thinking about ordering take-out Chinese food.
The simple changes we made to a traditional sesame chicken recipe really worked out well and satisfied the desire to have Chinese food while sticking to a low carb diet. Take a look at our recipe and give it a try! No need to buy Chinese food ever again, especially when you can make it in a more diet-friendly way!
Looking for more take-out-inspired recipes? Try this keto beef and broccoli from Keto Cooking Wins. Just like our sesame chicken, this recipe will satisfy your Chinese food craving without breaking your low carb diet!
How to make sesame chicken!
| Servings: servings |
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp arrowroot powder (or corn starch)
- 1 lb chicken thighs (cut into bite sized pieces)
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame seed oil
- salt
- pepper
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame seed oil
- 2 tbsp So Nourished GOLD
- 1 tbsp vinegar
- ginger (1 cm cube)
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 tbsp sesame seeds
- 1/4 tsp xanthan gum
- To make your batter, combine a large egg with a tablespoon of arrowroot powder.
- Whisk very well and place your bite sized chicken thigh pieces in. Make sure to coat them all over.
- Heat up a tablespoon of toasted sesame seed oil in a large pan and add the chicken thighs. Leave a bit of room in between each one. Work in two batches if necessary; you want them to fry, not steam. Make sure you're gentle when moving and flipping the chicken. If you're too rough, the breading will come off and the sesame sauce won't stick well.
- While the chicken thighs are cooking (about 10 minutes), make your sesame sauce by combing all the sauce ingredients and whisking very well.
- When all the chicken is cooked through, add your sesame sauce to the pan and stir to combine. Let this cook for an additional 5 minutes.
- When the sauce has thickened and warmed up, take the chicken and add it to a bed of cooked broccoli and serve with a sprinkle of more sesame seeds and green onion. Enjoy!
Loved this recipe? Let us know! Something didn’t quite turn out right? Ask us in the comments below or contact us– we respond to comments every day and would love to hear from you and help you out! And check out all our keto recipes to learn to make more delicious and healthy meals!
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The content on this website should not be taken as medical advice and you should ALWAYS consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. We provide nutritional data for our recipes as a courtesy to our readers. We use Total Keto Diet app software to calculate the nutrition and we remove fiber and sugar alcohols, like erythritol, from the total carbohydrate count to get to the net carb count, as they do not affect your blood glucose levels. You should independently calculate nutritional information on your own and not rely on our data. The website or content herein is not intended to cure, prevent, diagnose or treat any disease. This website shall not be liable for adverse reactions or any other outcome resulting from the use of recipes or recommendations on the Website or actions you take as a result. Any action you take is strictly at your own risk.
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Delish, except the sesame seeds were too much. They didn’t really add to the dish and just stuck in our teeth. But overall, this recipe is a keeper. Will definitely make again!
Hi Vicky, Do you think I could substitute xanthan gum for the arrowroot powder, or coconut or almond flour?
I would say cornstarch is the closest thing to arrowroot powder but xanthan gum could work too!
For anyone else looking for an answer to this question… tapioca flour works here, too, but it changes your carb content somewhat drastically. 1 tbsp has 8g net carbs.
Turned out excellent! I used arrowroot. And I added the broccoli to the chicken instead of serving it over plain broc. also used some riced cauliflower for the’bed’ a few more carbs but very yummy!
Made this for the family really enjoyed it thank you for a great recipe
I’m in my first month of keto, and need my asain food fix! This looks amazing, and I’m anxious to try it! I live in the sticks, and my only grocery store doesn’t sell boneless, skinless thighs. How would boneless, skinless breast do? And how would it affect the nutritionals?
Does your store sell any kind of chicken thighs? You can use breasts, but they are much higher in protein and much lower in fat. You’d get a slightly different taste and texture by using breasts. We really recommend thighs for a keto diet.
Stupid question, do you grate/plane the ginger? Can I use ground ginger I already have on hand?
We use fresh ground ginger for the best taste 🙂
Sounds delicious but when I punch this into MFP it tells me that the arrowroot has 29 grams of carbs. Is this correct and how does it nett out at only 4gr for this recipe. I usually run at 15 gr of carbs per day so this will blow me out of the water.
We use 1 tablespoon of arrowroot powder in the recipe, which only adds about 3.5 net carbs per serving.
My husband is a diabetic so I am always looking for low carb recipes. This is the third time I have made this recipe, I used coconut sugar for lack of the other sugars being available in our rural area, and it taste great!
Looks good, but cornstarch isn’ low carb, by any means! If I used it, I’d stall! Just saying.
That’s why we recommended a substitute for it – arrowroot powder. Give it a go 🙂
This was very good! I used Truvia brown sugar blend and regular Truvia. I added more variety of veggies. I used corn starch in the batter but didnt need a thicken for the sauce!
Sounds great! Glad you enjoyed it 🙂
I want to try this soon, can I substitute something else for the sukrin gold?
You can use any sweetener you like. The Sukrin Gold adds a bit of extra flavor, but regular erythritol will work too. Some people say they add a teaspoon of molasses to erythritol for a brown sugary taste so if you have that on hand, you can try it! Just note, it will add some trace carbs, about 5 grams.
This is absolutely delicious! I used corn starch for the batter and xanthum gum in the sauce and it turned out perfect. Thanks for the excellent recipe!
You’re very welcome, Michelle!