Chinese Style Sesame Sauce

Loved it! I followed what some reviewers said about it being too sweet. So I used only a 1/4 cup of splenda. Yes, I used splenda and it turned out awesome. Will even make it for a large party. It's so easy. I poured the sauce over cooked brocolli and pan fried tofu and served it over rice. After making it a few times I realized that if I use only 1/8 cup of cornstarch it's a better consistency and it's not as thick. I would suggest making these two changes, then it would definitely be a 5 star recipe.

Fantastic! Tasted exactly like the sesame chicken I get at the restaurant. I couldn't find chile paste so I substituted 1 TBL salsa and a few drops of hot sauce. This will be a family favorite.

Just awesome! I did make a few changes (didn't have some things in the house): used all water instead of chicken broth and water, used 1/3 cup toasted sesame seeds instead of the sesame oil, and used 3 tablespoons of chili garlic paste instead of the paste and garlic. My husband liked it so much he dumped all the leftover rice in the saucepan and ate it standing up! Thanks for the recipe!

Oh wow. I made this yesterday, it came out sooooo good! Sesame Chicken is my favorite, but I hate that it's fried. I just like the sauce. I was able to make this a little healthier by using "Lite" soy sauce, and sodium-free chicken broth. I didn't have chile paste, so I used powder. I also was out of fresh garlic, so I used a powder there as well. It still came out wonderful. I can't wait to try this without substitutions! I made the sauce, then put 4 frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts in a baking dish. I poured the sauce over them (all of it), and baked for about an hour at 275-300. Served with chicken-flavored rice. Everyone loved it, even my 3 and 5 year old kids (and a fellow student at school who finished mine off!). I will definitely use this one often!

This sauce had good flavor...once I made a few adjustments as suggested by other posters. (after making a batch and pitching it ~ therefore only 3 stars) 1 cup of sugar is way too much. I used 1/4 cup and I used Splenda. Much better. I used all chicken broth, no water. I used Thai Chili/Garlic sauce instead of the chile paste and garlic. I added 1 teaspoon of ginger paste. This recipe said it makes 4 servings...huge servings maybe. LOL This makes about 2 cups of sauce. I only used 1/2 of it to feed my family of 5. I don't like my chicken to be swimming in the sauce. I will be making this again with the above adjustments.

I think the recipe was great once I made a couple of modifications as stated by other postings. I cut down the sesame oil by 1/3and reduced the sugar by 1/2. The result was a pretty great sauce that compares to several other recipes as prepared by my local chinese restaurants.

I absolutely love this recipe...it makes stir fry a lot better...my friends love it so much and beg me to make for them all of the time plus they all got the recipe from me

Excellent sauce! It does not get any better than this recipe! This is truly an authentic recipe! We use 1/4 cup of vinegar but this is just our taste preference. We use it for sesame chicken and it is fantastic.

This had a wonderful flavor. I added extra garlic and substituted a 1/2 cup of flour for the cornstarch. I will certainly make this again.

So Good. I served it with the Japanese style fried chicken from this website and rice. It was perfect, just like the restaurants!

This was so good! We've been experimenting for awhile with making chinese sauces and this was by far the best we've tried. I did half the sugar and added a couple Tbsp of sesame seeds. Thanks for the recipe!

I love this and add orange juice and xest to it to make orange sauce. Sooo good!

I prepared this sauce last night and mixed it in with stir fried chicken breast and onions. It was GREAT!! I would recommend this sauce to anyone who enjoys food with an Asian flair.

This recipe is only 2 stars as written. I took others suggestions and cut the sugar to 1/4 cup. I also cut the 1/8 cup corn starch. I didn't have chili paste so I used garlic chili sauce. I used rice vinegar instead of white. Other than that, I followed the recipe exactly. I tasted the sauce before using it. I then added 1 TBS ginger, extra garlic and a 1/2 TBS more chili sauce, plus some red pepper flakes. I tossed it with sauteed chicken and broccoli. I also added some toasted sesame seeds on top at the end. It was good, but next time I will try fresh ginger and even more garlic. It is four stars with the modifications. I don't think it was salty like others rated. I only used reduced sodium chicken broth, maybe that was others problem. I did use full sodium soy sauce, which I usually don't use. Not salty at all. Will definately make this again.

Wonderful recipe! However, I could not find chile paste in the store. As a substitute, I used 2 teaspoons of sweet chile sauce, and 1 teaspoon of Tabasco sauce. I like my sauce quite a bit spicy, so I added even more hot sauce after simmering, then tasting.

Good Tasting Recipe, I Totally agree with everyone else on the sugar. I thought my teeth were going to fall out after. I substited the Chile Paste with 1 tablespoon garlic chili sauce i had in the fridge. It Gave it a spicy kick.

The sauce has potential, but it is way too sweet.

Super easy, super good! Just like our local Chinese restaurant.Will make over and over again.

This was really easy and really good. I used vegetable broth and it was great!

I can't believe how good this sauce is! I just made it, ahead of time for dinner, and I can't wait until my family gets to eat it. I didn't have chili paste or fresh garlic, so I subbed with 1 tsp. sriracha sauce and 1/4 tsp. of garlic powder. If you like Chinese food, you have to try this!

The sauce was actually quite good for home made. I might use less sesame oil next time as the flavor was very strong. I used a litte less corn starch than called for so it wasn't too thick. All in all this was very good.

This recipe ROCKS!!! It is easy to make and totally addictive to eat and share with family and friends. Of course you can marinate your chicken or whatever little changes you want to make to make it your own, but, get this...it works great with pork too! No kidding! Thanks to reykjaviky!

I made this exactly as it says, just doubled and it was AWESOME! I coated some chicken pieces in corn starch and fried them then put them in the sauce. To make it spicy (basically General Tso's Chicken) I added 1-2 extra teaspoons(per recipe) of chile paste to the sauce and added some red pepper flakes. It was great. The regular sauce was also perfect. Just like restaurant sauces, but without the MSG. I will definitely make this again and would recommend that everybody who likes Chinese food tries it.

Amazing recipe. Love and made this so many times .... absolutely delicious.

This is as close as i have found w/out goin out to eat

This was terrible. Granted, I couldn't fine "chile paste" so substituted "chili sauce" but it looked NOTHING like the sauce pictured, and tasted NOTHING like any sesame sauce I've ever had at a Chinese restaurant. I couln't even eat it - the smell bothered me too much, but my fiance thought it was just ok and ate some of it. I don't know if I did something wrong (although I was very careful about following the recipe) or it's just not my taste.

Wonderful sauce. Easy to make and tastes great over chicken. I added sesame seeds and that's the only thing I changed. Thanks for sharing!!

This sauce is VERY good. We added some dry roasted sesame seeds to give more texture. The only thing we didn't like about it was that it's too sweet for our taste. It was also a little too thick. We will definately make this again, and experiment with some combination of less sugar/more vinegar/less cornstarch. We put this on fried eggplant and tofu and it was a great meal.

We have loved this recipe every time I've made it. I have substituted ground red pepper for the chili paste and have replaced half the sugar with splenda. It's still a "keeper" with us.

I tweaked this quite a bit. I only used 1/4 cup of sugar and about 1/8 cup corn starch. It was perfect this way! Much better than the orange syrup you get at the restaurant.

This is a wonderful base sauce. I made it last night and my husband devoured it. I do agree with other reviewers that a cup of sugar is way too much. Luckily I read a lot of reviews before making it. I only used 1/4 cup of sugar and it was still a little too sweet. I added garlic chile sauce instead of chile paste and minced garlic. It was just easier. I also reduced the cornstarch to 2 tbsp. The thickness was perfect. I can't wait to make again with some different adjustments. Thanks!

Tastes just like restaurant sauce. I used Splenda instead of sugar and only one Tbsp. of sesame sauce. Amazing!

I omitted the sugar and replaced it with 1/2 c of Equal Lite- I also left out the oil and chile paste, I dont like hot foods. After my alterations I thought this recipe was great.

This is a great recipe. My kids favorite is sesame chicken from any chinese resturant, we order it about twice a month. Just a note, it WILL be sweet, my kids have always called it "sweet chicken" instead of sesame. But it tasted very close to what we order bi-weekly. My husband said it was better. Thank you so much for giving me this recipe, now i can cook it at home once in a while and know what I am putting in it.

I think it should note in this recipe that you should make this right before you put this on your meat/tofu/vegetable. I made this before I made my chicken and the sauce turned into a sort of jelly. I am not sure if that had to do with the fact that I cut the sugar in half, but nonethelss, it was an odd consistency. The taste, however, was good, and overall my meal turned out quite nice.

I went out and bought sesame oil just for this recipe. I wanted to try it SO bad. My husband liked it enough, but I found the flavor of the oil to be WAY TOO strong. It also got a bit too thick, so might want to back off on the cornstarch.

I've made this a few times. The first time, I made it as written and we thought it was "not bad". Next time we cut back on the vinegar and it was better. Then we cut back a little on the sugar...we liked it best this way.

I've been trying to reproduce the flavor of take-out Sesame Chicken. This sauce is as close as I have come. I think that next time, I'll put less sesame oil. That flavor came out a bit more than the restaurant style. But, I have something to work with. I didn't think that the sauce was too sweet, but, the take-out Chinese Sesame chicken is VERY sweet. Will make again. Thanks!

This recipe is super good and very easy to make. I doubled the sauce-more for the rice. It really ended up as good as a Chinese restaurant!! I think that this is one of my families new favorites.

Fantastic! I doubled the recipe to make more sauce so there would be some to put over rice, but I did not double the amount of sugar or sesame oil on the recommendation of other reviewers and it tasted great. This recipe could actually pass as take out because of the color, taste, and consistancy. I cut chicken breasts into chunks, lightly coated them in flour, and cooked them on the stove top in a little olive oil while making the sauce in a seperate pan. When the sauce was done I dumped it over the chicken and served the chicken with sauce over white rice. You could make this sauce with plain chicken breasts, but if you're trying to get a restaurant type effect they would taste better if they were breaded in something. This recipe is 5 stars all the way.

A really easy recipe that works well as a dip with asian appetizers. I didn't change a thing. Turned out great.

My husband and kids love this! It is a quick meal when you use leftover chicken (nuggets?)and broccoli.

While the base of this sauce allows for freedom to experiment, as it stands I thought it was WAY WAY WAY TOO SWEET!!! I followed the recipe exactly, but next time I will cut the amount of sugar in half. I used it to stir fry some chicken and vegetables, but it didn't taste too authentic to me. Next time I'll add some ginger, scallions, and more soy sauce. Not bad to start with, though!

I used this sauce when I made sesame tofu and it does taste like the restaurant's sesame sauce. Try not to heat it up too quickly though, it will turn from a soup to a paste very fast. I would definitely make this again.

It's very sweet, tasted kind of good while warm, but what am I supposed to do with it? I can't imagine pouring this over anything...lest of all, broccoli.

I cut the amount of sugar to 1/4 cup and my husband and I both thought this was a pretty good sauce - I imagine if you used a whole cup of sugar it might make you gag. It still thickened very nicely. I served it with chicken & vegetables stir-fried in sesame oil with red pepper flakes over rice. This was WAY better than the packet of sauce that comes in the bag of frozen veggies.

I wish I could have given more stars!Was a little sweet so will cut down on sugar next time.Was a big hit with everyone

Very good sauce. I added cooked bite sz. pcs. of boneless chicken breast for a Chicken Sesame Dish and served with rice. I added an additional tsp. of chili paste for just a bit more kick! Delicious!

One of my favorite chinese dishes is Sesame Chicken. I was delighted when found this one.

love this!!! tastes like home

This was VERY GOOD. I served it with chicken and vegetables over a bed of rice and it was Yummy! My husband and my son (very picky) had seconds. I didn't change anything except I used 1/4 cup of Splenda as suggested by other reviews, and I used ground red pepper instead of chile paste.

This sauce was really good even though I did not have chili paste or sesame oil. I followed everything else and used it as a stir-fry sauce. I will definitely use this again, but add maybe half the sugar. Without the chili paste or sesame oil it is more a a sweet and sour sauce, and a good one at that!

Hmmmm...this was just not for me. I went ahead and used the full amount of sugar, despite the numerous reviews mentioning it was too sweet. Mine turned out too thick for my liking and had a watered down taste. I like all of the ingredients that go into this sauce, but for some reason they didn't seem to harmonize when mixed together. Maybe if less cornstarch was used I'd like it better. Thanks anyway.

The first time I made this, I was in a huge hurry to get supper on the table, and mistakenly read '1/4 cup cornstarch' as '1/4 cup cornsyrup'! After it had been simmering for a few minutes, I noticed it wasn't thickening up like I imagined it would. I didn't waste time pondering over the wee mystery, though, and instead simply added a tablespoon or so of honey and some watered down cornstarch. Only the second time I made this sauce --- Today --- Did I realise my mistake! However, it turned out brilliantly the first time, so I simply repeated my mistake a second time, and once more, it was absolutely delicious! The only other changes I made was omit the chile paste, and use beef consommé in place of the chicken stock to suit what we had in our pantry.

ended up totally deviating from the base recipe, but it was a very helpful start! Honestly, i had about 30 different ingrediants and spices lined up and ended up doing a pinch here and there of everything, tasting it every 5 seconds. To complex to re-write, but next time I attempt this sauce, i will take note of what i change, and will post it. Thanks for the great base recipe!

I couldn't find Chili Paste, so I used Sweet Chili Sauce (a very sweet and mild sauce good for dipping) and added some cayenne pepper for a bit more kick and cut back the sugar (used Splenda) to half. Turned out great! I used the sauce with some chicken I cubed, lightly coated with cornstarch and browned in a skillet with butter flavored Pam. Served over rice with some toasted sesame seeds. I've since bought Hot Chili Sauce to sub out the chili paste and plan to try it next time in the recipe. (I've been to several stores and still can't find any chili paste, but will continue the search as this is one of our favorite meals to have at the local chinese diner)

This sauce is excellent. However, I found it to be extremely thick. Too thick for my purposes, so next time I will decrease the amount of cornstarch.

Jack loved this one

I made this recipe as written, it is Very Sweet. I will make it again but I will cut the sugar to 1/4 cup. I served my sauce with a stir fry of veggies and chicken breast over rice. It was a big hot but all agreed way to sweet. We look forward to having it again and expect it to taste great after modifications. I gave it 4 stars because I think it is good and has the potential to be a great.

Brilliant!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi, Reykjaviky here :) I posted this recipe over 6 years ago on several others sites and I just found out a month or so ago that it has become a little bit popular. Very cool. Oh my gosh, I am so incredibly happy that some people like it. I just wanted to add that of course you can sprinkle sesame seeds on the chicken after the sauce is poured on it AND you can also use this sauce for pork! Thank you so much for liking my recipe :)

Absolutely delish! Vry easy too! I used splenda instead of reg sugar since hubby is diabetic n it was fine. I also added sesame seeds n green onions then poured it over chicken n broccoli n it was a hit! I def keeper!

Not what I was expecting. No one in the family was very fond of it either.

Very tasty. I make it regularly now. The Hubby loves it. Highly reccomend.

I LOVE THIS SAUCE!!!

Tasted delicious. But if it's too sweet, try adding half a cup of sugar and a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar.

Couldn't find the chili powder in our pantry, so went the sweet chili sauce route. Our substitution was 1 tablespoon sweet chili sauce instead of the 1 teaspoon of chili powder. Further, we garnish with some sesame seeds on top once done. We tend to have to make this in 4x batches because of how much everyone loves it, and we use the deep fryer for the popcorn shrimp and chicken and its the most amazing thing ever.

I have made this a few times already and this is my go to Chinese dish for me and my Lady! Even my friends like it. I will say this has a lot of love put into it you will be stirring for 20ish minutes. But so worth it! Goes great with chicken, veggies and ginger rice.

make chili paste with guajillo peppers, just the right amount of heat.

I made this sauce then poured it over chicken strips and baked it at 350 for 45 minutes, served it over rice and it was great.

First off I made this at work for one of my kids' birthday meals and so it was made for 60 people! It adapted well to the large quantity and almost everyone loved it. It was so well liked that it is the first meal outside of pizza and hot wings that I have had ordered a second time!

This sauce is amazing! We don't make anything Chinese or Asian without adding this to the menu plans. The only possible down side to the sauce is that it does not reheat well. You can do it, it just isn't the same as when fresh made.

I substituted 2 Tbsp of rice vinegar for the milder taste over white vinegar -- a little snap but subtle. Also, at the advice of other critics, I cut the sugar in half. Worked well.

4.4.18 I made some adjustments to this recipe, the biggest one being cutting the sugar W-A-A-A-Y back. I made this as a dipping sauce for dumplings, and even though I just don’t like super sweet foods these days, I wasn’t looking for a really sweet sauce for pork and chicken dumplings. I did add more chili paste and even a sprinkle of some red pepper flakes for an additional spicy accent, and reduced the amount of cornstarch for fear that it would be thick. Even reducing the cornstarch, it was still very thick, so I did add a bit more chicken broth and a shot of soy sauce to thin it out. I think this recipe is one that you need to adapt depending on what you’re using it on, so just taste and adjust as you go to suit your preferences. All the ingredients are here to give you a nice sauce, you just may have to adjust the amounts. With these modifications, it worked well for the pork and chicken dumplings.

Very good maybe a little less sugar next time but still very good!

I had to reduce the cornstarch and sesame oil to half. I thought the oil was just a bit too much in the original. I also only used 2 tbs of vinegar.

Made this and ate it with chicken i baked in the oven. It was very good.

I used this recipe so many times my daughters love it.

I just made this on the fly because I had a pack of boneless breast and no clue what to do with them. This sauce is SO GOOD! I didn't have any chicken broth so I used water and a packet of chicken bouillon, and I used less sugar. Def using this recipe again!

This sauce was very good-almost like the restaurant!! I did use a bit less vinegar than even listed as the taste is very strong. I also did not have chile paste so made without. Loved it thanks!

The basic idea of this re ups is excellent! I love that it doesn’t use honey, as I tend to not have that on hand as often. That said, it was entirely too sweet for me as is. I added more soy sauce, vinegar, broth, and chili paste to try to cut the sweetness, and next time will cut the sugar in half. I also used brown sugar instead of white, threw in some sesame seeds, and added a ton more chili paste because we like things spicier. With those changes I’ll be making this a lot!

Very tasty but mine was VERY thick- going to cut back the corn starch next time, and it's a lot of sauce, so if only cooking for 2-4 would cut recipe in half.

was it the marmalade brand I used? Consistency and color is good but this tasted too fruity. I had to mix with store bought teriyaki sauce to take the fruity edge off.

This was excellent! We served it with sautéed chicken and homemade lo mein noodles. Next time we might cut back on the sugar and add a little more chili paste. This is definitely a keeper!

It is a good recipe to gain an idea on how to make. It was definitely too sweet so next time I will cut back the sugar maybe use a 1/4 brown sugar instead. I also used minced garlic from a jar and sesame seeds so I browned it first a bit in olive oil and added a splash of worchestershire for extra flavor. I also only used a half tsp of Chile paste as didn't want to spicy. I put this atop meatballs on a bed of riced cauliflower. This will be a new go to sauce for me as it's easy to prepare.

So sweet I couldn't eat it.

i made this with vegetable broth and fake sugar (sweet & low) - good, but next time i will really reduce the amount of sugar.

I thought the recipe was ok but the husband was not a fan. Even though I halved the sugar as recommended he thought it was still too sweet. I used this sauce on chinese style breaded chicken but next time I'll try something different on the chicken. It was worth the try but this recipe won't be for everyone.

Wonderful! Only change I made was I didn't have chili paste so I used a spoonfull of pepper jelly and like 1-2 Tbs of hot wing sauce. The next time I use a dash of cayenne pepper & a squirt of chili sauce. Used just a little olive oil or coconut oil and instead added 2TBS sesame seeds (instead of sesame oil) to cook in sauce. Really good sauce!!

This sauce is a really good base. I took the Splenda suggestion and used only 1/3 cup in place of the sugar. I omitted the oil altogether. I also used a little more chicken broth (1 1/2 cups)and added 1/4 tsp. onion powder, 1/4 tsp. ginger, 1 Tbs. coarse salt, 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper, and the zest from one orange. Overall, this is an excellent sauce to start with and steer to your personal tastes. There were raves around the dinner table tonight!

Excellent! I Had been looking for a good sesame sauce recipe for quite some time now, thank you!

Very good! Nice and sweet and thick. Recipe makes quite a bit, so plan for leftovers!

i thought it was very easy. i cut down the sugar and cornstarch and still thought it was a little to sweet so i added more soy sauce and it tasted great!

I also toasted my sesame seeds for more flavor, but found myself a little bored with this recipe. It wasn't bad at all, just lacked flavor and seemed a little too sweet.

As it were, I took the advice of many and started with half the sugar and less cornstarch. I tasted it and found it to be lacking in... something. I then added whatever I could to make this tastier. I ended up adding: more garlic, more sesame oil, more soy, some chinese 5 spice powder, hot pepper flakes, some hoisin sauce I found in the fridge, some lemon juice, and still in the end I thought it was allright, However, the husband and the 5 year old thought it was really good. I don't think I'll be making this again.

I have never cooked with Sesame Oil but love Sesame chicken so thought I would give this a try. I used another recipe from this site for the chicken and then made this sauce. I cut the sugar in half as others have suggested but I didn't care for the sauce at all. As soon as it cooled it turned into a hard gelatin and didn't soften up much even after being microwaved. I don't think I'll be cooking with sesame oil anymore. Nobody in our family liked it at all.

I love sesame chicken and this recipe. This looked to be too sweet, I substituted the 1 cup of white sugar for 1/2 cup of brown sugar, phenomenal home made sauce.

DELICIOUS!! Just a touch too sweet; I'll slightly decrease the amount of sugar next time, but this will be my go-to recipe for stir fry!

I made this recipe because it was one of the few I could find with easy, larger measurements to produce gallons of this. I made a few creative changes for myself and my use: I used half the suggested sugar, and the other half was honey. Rice Wine vinegar instead of White Wine vinegar. I added sesame seeds until it looked OK at the end of the recipe. I replaced chili paste with Hoisin Sauce. I added red pepper flakes/Sriracha until it had a gentle bite to it. ------------- With these changes, I think the version I produced was MY 5*. This recipe, as-is, is still extremely solid, and is very good for making a lot of very simple Sauce, and has a SOLID 4* from me. I personally made 3 gallons of this Sauce for distributing to friends and personal use. Don't be afraid to experiment with Americanized-Chinese Food flavor profile for this recipe: it is INCREDIBLY versatile!