22-Minute Sesame Chicken

Every month I create a 22-minute meal for Epicurious.

That's a meal you can cook from start to finish

in just 22 minutes.

And every month I get comments from haters

who don't believe it can actually be done in 22 minutes.

So today I'm gonna make sesame chicken

with broccoli and rice in just 22 minutes.

Matt, start the clock, 22 minutes please.

[Matt] Got it, let's go. Ready to go.

All right, so I've gotta stay really organized.

I'm gonna start my rice first.

This is quick-cooking rice because I only have 22 minutes,

but you can use any kind of rice you want.

You could do brown rice, white rice, whatever.

Start by turning on the right burner.

Okay, this is going in.

One and a half cups of rice.

Pinch of salt, okay.

Now I've also gotta get my water going for my broccoli.

(burner clicking)

Once that gets to boiling I will drop this in.

Next I'm gonna do my scallion.

(video reel scratching)

(light music)

(fast squeaky speaking)

And I'm gonna get my pan going for my chicken.

(burner clicking)

So it can get nice and hot.

Some vegetable oil going in.

And I'm gonna create my cornstarch coating for my chicken.

So sesame chicken, usually deep fried.

This is a little bit lighter version

because it's got a light cornstarch coating,

which just kind of makes it lightly brown and crispy,

and I'm gonna just kind of pan fry it instead of deep fry it

so it won't be quite as greasy

as your traditional sesame chicken.

And just a little salt and pepper.

(upbeat music)

okay, that's it.

Whisk that together.

Come back over to my chicken.

Get my rice out of the way.

Okay, I'm gonna cut my chicken into one inch cubes.

(video reel scratching)

(fast, squeaky talking)

So sesame chicken is one of my favorite takeout dishes,

but I really wanted to figure out a way to make it

in less time than it takes for my delivery guy to show up.

So, sesame chicken, it's usually deep fried,

but this is gonna be kind of a pan fried version,

but has that great sesame flavored sauce

that's a little bit sweet.

It has honey.

It's a little bit tangy.

It's to plenty of soy sauce for salty flavor.

My version has a little sriracha in it for a little heat

and it's got rice wine vinegar that gives it

kind of a tangy kick.

How am I doing on time?

[Matt] You have four minutes and 23 seconds done.

Okay.

(video reel scratching)

(fast squeaky talking)

(fast squeaky talking)

It looks like my water is ready for my broccoli

so I'm gonna go ahead and drop that.

(light music)

All right, broccoli going in.

The only way I can stay on top

of all this is to set a timer,

so I'm gonna set my timer for five minutes.

That's for the broccoli.

(video reel scratching)

(fast squeaky talking)

(upbeat music)

I'm gonna cook this in two batches.

It's gonna take about five minutes per batch.

It's really, really hot.

Let's see what's gonna happen here.

Okay, we're good to go.

(video reel scratching)

(upbeat music)

(fast squeaky talking)

And now I'm gonna make my sauce.

So, we'll start with some grated garlic,

just one garlic clove.

(upbeat music)

Give these guys a stir.

(upbeat music)

Okay.

And I'm gonna do some ginger, too.

(video reel scratching)

The ginger and garlic just gives the sauce

a nice kind of aromatic base.

Kind of a classic Asian pairing.

Okay, that should be good.

Let's check back in on our chicken.

Looking good.

Okay, so now we're gonna do honey for sweetness.

Need just a little bit more.

Gotta multitask here, you know?

Gotta get this done in 22 minutes.

Okay, soy sauce.

(light music)

Pour faster.

All right, it's going in.

Get one more shake, whew.

About done.

Now rice vinegar.

And sriracha.

Sriracha's not like super traditional,

but I just like that kind of garlicky heat

that it brings to any dish.

So I like to put sriracha in my sesame chicken.

And I have to add sesame oil,

'cause you can't have sesame chicken without sesame oil.

So you're gonna use sesame oil and sesame seeds.

And just a little bit of salt.

Okay.

Time check?

[Matt] About 10 minutes (voice drowned out by sizzling)

Okay guys, I've got 12 minutes left.

I think I can do it.

(video reel scratching)

Let's take a look.

Okay, looks good to me.

Let's take this out.

All right, turn this off.

And now I'm ready to transfer

this first batch of chicken to my plate over here.

(jazzy music)

It's really hot.

(fast squeaky talking)

Time check?

[Matt] Yeah, 12 minutes and 37 seconds.

We're golden, we've got this.

[Matt] Got it.

No problem.

(video reel scratching)

(jazzy music)

(fast squeaky talking)

So I'm just gonna whisk my sauce together

and it'll be all ready to go.

(video reel scratching)

(fast squeaky talking)

And that's just gonna reduce.

Go ahead and put in my first batch.

(fast, squeaky speaking)

(video reel scratching)

(fast squeaky talking)

(video reel scratching)

All right.

So this is looking nice and glistening.

I'm gonna go ahead and add my broccoli in.

(jazzy music)

Did I lose broccoli?

Yeah.

Got it, okay.

(jazzy music)

So just give that a quick toss,

turn off the heat.

(jazzy music)

Okay.

(jazzy music)

Scallions.

Some sesame seeds.

There you have it.

Sesame chicken with broccoli in 22 minutes or...

[Matt] Twenty minutes and seven seconds.

Yes, it can be done.

(jazzy music)

Awesome.

[Matt] Tastes like victory?

Sure does.