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Sesame Oil Chicken is a super flavorful traditional Taiwanese dish made by cooking chicken with sesame oil, sliced ginger and rice wine. Not to be confused with the popular Sesame Chicken dish served in Chinese Restaurants in America, this dish is savory and not sweet. This recipe is easy and delicious!

By the way, I speak both English and Chinese – and the linguistics of things always interests me so I thought I’d share this. The Chinese name of this Sesame Oil Chicken dish is Ma You Ji (麻油雞):

• 麻油 = Ma You = Sesame Oil
• 雞 = Ji = Chicken

So this is a direct translation of it’s Chinese and Taiwanese name!

This dish is often used to be ‘healing’ and ‘healthy’, similar to the Sesame Oil Kidney Noodle Soup. So it’s often eating in the winter time to prepare your body for the cold.

About the Ingredients

Here’s some information about the ingredients you need:

Dark Sesame Oil

Dark Sesame oil (aka black sesame oil) is actually made from toasted sesame. It has a lower smoke point so it is not recommended for deep frying, or cooking too long. It is best used cooking in lower heat. They’re also great for not cooking, and used as a condiment.

Ginger

Ginger is technically a whole plant, but in cooking we usually mean the root of the ginger. It is used in Chinese cuisine often to flavor the dish but also because in Chinese medicine it is used to treat fatigue, lack of energy and is good against ‘the cold’. This is why it is used in sesame oil chicken too!

In Western medicine, ginger is known to contain lots of antioxidants and may help your body fight off high blood pressure, heart disease, and diseases of the lungs, plus promote healthy aging.

So overall – everyone agrees. Ginger is awesome.

Shiitake Mushrooms

One of my favorite mushrooms to use in Asian recipes! Shiitake originates from China and Japan, and is super flavorful. They’re more dense, similar to portobello mushrooms, and have an earthy, almost smokey flavor compared to the other mushrooms.

I commonly use dried shiitake mushrooms in soups to add a delicious flavor to the broth, but you can also use fresh shiitake mushrooms for stir frying or any other dishes.

Technically this ingredient is optional in this recipe – however, I enjoy adding it because it adds an additional delicious flavor and it absorbs lots of the delicious sesame oil broth and it’s so delicious to eat!

Dried Shiitake Mushrooms

For this recipe – I am using dried shiitake mushrooms. They have a stronger flavor (think sun dried tomatoes vs fresh tomatoes), and I’m just trying to add flavor to the bok choy dish.

However, you can totally use fresh shiitake mushrooms too, or you can use half of each!

You can usually find this in your local Asian super market. Sometimes you can also find in Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods, nowadays I even see them in Publix and Kroger.

If you can’t find any in your local grocery store, shiitake mushrooms are actually also sold on amazon!

Also, if you’re looking for some recipes for shiitake mushrooms check out my Shiitake Mushrooms Stir Fry with Peppers or Shiitake Mushrooms Napa Cabbage Stir Fry.

Chicken Drumsticks

We use chicken drumsticks for this recipe, but if you’re not a chicken drumsticks fan, feel free to use any other cut of chicken. I’ve seen this made with chicken thighs and a whole chicken even before. Or you can even use boneless chicken.

Michiu

Michiu is also known as Rice cooking wine. It contains about 20% alcohol, and is very popular in Taiwanese cooking. Many folks get this cooking wine confused with another cooking wine – Shaoxing.

The difference is that Shaoxing is lower in alcohol and darker. Michiu is more dry and has a higher alcohol content.

If you’re hunting down some michiu at your local Asian supermarket, you can sub with shaoxing, or you can also find michiu on amazon.

Dried red dates

Red dates, aka Jujube or hong zao, is popular in Chinese cuisine and traditional Chinese medicine. It is known for its many health benefits – rich in antioxidants, improves sleep and brain function, improves digestion, and boosts your immune system.

When adding to the soup, it adds a sweet flavor to contrast with the savory soup. You can find it at your local Chinese or Asian supermarkets. If you can’t locate any, you could technically skip this ingredient also, or you can also find red dates on amazon!

This is technically optional for this recipe – I feel like I add it half the time, and don’t add it half the time, so it’s completely up to you!

How to Serve Sesame Oil Chicken

There are two ways we usually serve Sesame Oil Chicken. The first way is to just serve it as an entree with rice. When it is served in this fashion, we add a few veggie side dishes to go with it – such as Bok Choy, Napa Cabbage, or Taiwanese Cabbage.

The other way is to make Sesame Oil Chicken Noodle Soup aka 麻油雞麵線! The broth is super tasty in this dish, which makes a very delicious noodle soup. There are many types of noodles, but traditionally, Sesame Oil Chicken Noodle Soup uses Flour / Wheat Vermicelli which is a thin noodle.

If you’re going with the noodles, just make sure to cook the noodles as the packaging says, and then drain. Then add it to a bowl with the sesame oil chicken, mushrooms, and soup. You can also add a poached egg in there!

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup black / dark sesame oil – this is different than light / pure sesame oil.
• 1 inch ginger, sliced thinly
• 1 cup of dried shiitake mushrooms – technically this is optional, but I find it SO much flavorful if you add this! You can find this in your local Asian supermarket or on amazon.
• 2 lbs chicken drumsticks (about 8 drumsticks) – if you’re not a chicken drumsticks fan, feel free to use any other type of chicken. I’ve seen this made with chicken thighs and a whole chicken even before.
• 3 cups michiu (Rice cooking wine)
• Water
• Salt, as desired
• Red dates and goji berries, optional

Instructions

First we want to soak our dried shiitake mushrooms in some water. In a small bowl, add mushrooms and fill with water. Let it soak for 20 minutes. Do not discard the mushroom juice water!

In a big skillet or pan, heat up sesame oil on low heat. Once the sesame is warm, add sliced ginger.

Fry the ginger until aromatic, the sides may start curling up a little. Takes about just a minute.

Turn heat to medium high and add chicken . Let it cook stirring occasionally to make sure even cooking for about 5 minutes.

Add michiu rice wine to the pan, and continue to stir the chicken occasionally until browned, about another 2-3 minutes.

This part is kind of optional, but I usually transfer everything to a pot at this point. However, you can also keep it in the same pan. The reason I move to a pot is because the soup quantity is perfect when I do that.

After transferring to a pot, add enough water to cover all the chicken. If you wanted to add red dates and/or goji berries, this is also the time to add it. Cook on high heat to bring to a boil.

Add shiitake mushrooms and the shiitake mushrooms juice in to the pot.

Then, lower the heat and let it simmer for about 15 minutes or until chicken is cooked thoroughly.

Add salt as desired, and then remove from heat and serve!

I think the delicious sesame oil chicken flavor got Simba hungry! LOL

Sesame Oil Chicken Noodle Soup

As mentioned you can make this in to a noodle soup, if you are planning to do this, just cook noodles as directed. Traditionally, thing noodles are used. Then you add the broth and chicken of the sesame oil chicken to make the Sesame Oil Chicken Noodle Soup.

Smells so good – my puppy Simba wanted some! LOL

I hope you enjoyed this Sesame Oil Chicken Recipe! If you did, you may want to also check out my other delicious Asian Recipes here!

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