This honey sesame chicken is simple to prepare and packed with flavor. A balanced sauce of chicken broth, honey, ginger, and fish sauce creates a takeout-style dish you can make at home.
I recently picked up a fantastic cookbook that inspired this recipe. Paleo Takeout: Restaurant Favorites Without The Junk reimagines classic takeout dishes to be gluten- and grain-free. The author, Russ of The Domestic Man, traveled extensively across Asia and worked with restaurants to ensure authentic techniques and flavors.
The book is well organized, photographed, and user-friendly. It includes a picture index, concise recipe descriptions, and helpful tips and variations. Chapters are grouped by cuisine—Chinese Kitchen, Japanese and Korean Favorites, Southeast Asia and Beyond, American Classics—and there’s a complete chapter devoted to sauces, condiments, and sides. The layout makes it easy to find recipes and plan a dinner that’s ready in about an hour.
I was a picky eater growing up, and now I appreciate how this book covers both familiar Americanized dishes and more authentic regional recipes. Many recipes include short captions explaining names and techniques, which makes trying new dishes less intimidating. For example, gyudon is described as a honey-and-ginger–flavored beef rice bowl, and bakso is explained as a comforting beef meatball soup.
Now, about these meatballs: I chose the honey sesame chicken because it sounded delicious and straightforward, and it did not disappoint. Contrary to the perception that meatballs are time-consuming, these come together quickly. I portioned the mixture with a small cookie scoop and pan-fried the meatballs in a cast-iron skillet until nicely browned.
The texture differs from classic American-style meatballs: these are spongier and very juicy. The sauce is easy to make and has the right level of sweetness to complement the savory meatballs. Everything comes together quickly, producing a satisfying, flavorful dish.
This cookbook is a great addition to any kitchen, whether you follow a Paleo diet or not. The recipes are creative and unique compared with other Paleo titles, and I plan to try many more dishes from it.
Honey Sesame Chicken (Paleo)
Ingredients
Sauce
- 1 cup chicken broth
- ¼ cup honey
- 1 tablespoon Chinese cooking wine
- 1 teaspoon tamari (or coconut aminos)
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper
- dash of black pepper
Chicken Meatballs
- 2 pounds ground chicken
- ¼ cup tapioca starch
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 teaspoon tamari (or coconut aminos)
- 1 teaspoon coconut palm sugar
- ½ teaspoon white pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon ginger
- 2 teaspoons sesame seeds divided
Slurry
- 1 tablespoon arrowroot starch
- 1 tablespoon cold water
Instructions
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Combine the chicken broth, honey, Chinese cooking wine, tamari, salt, and black and white pepper in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then reduce to low and let the flavors meld while you prepare the meatballs.
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In a bowl, mix the ground chicken with tapioca starch, fish sauce, tamari, coconut palm sugar, white pepper, salt, baking soda, and ginger. Work the mixture with your hands until combined, then pulse briefly in a food processor until it forms a tacky paste. With wet hands (or a small cookie scoop), form about 40 meatballs.
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Pan-fry the meatballs in batches over medium heat, or grill them over direct medium-high heat, until fully cooked and browned. If pan-frying, keep cooked meatballs warm in a low oven (about 200°F) while you finish the rest.
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Whisk the arrowroot starch with cold water to make a slurry. Stir half the slurry into the simmering sauce, increase heat to medium, and cook until the sauce thickens, about 2 minutes. Add more slurry if needed. Taste and adjust seasoning, then stir in half the sesame seeds.
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Toss the cooked meatballs in the sauce, transfer to a serving dish, and sprinkle the remaining sesame seeds over the top. Serve hot.
Notes:
Nutrition Information
Carbohydrates: 14 g
Protein: 20 g
Fat: 10 g
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