I firmly believe that if you are going to eat chicken, it needs to still have its skin on. There should be bones in it too. I just don’t understand the whole boneless, skinless chicken breast thing. That just sounds boring and bland. Food should never be morning or bland.
Too much fat in it you say? Just eat less of it. A little bit of wicked tasting food seems like a better idea than a lot of tasteless food, in my opinion.
You’ll want to lick your fingers after you eat this. You’ll also want to suck every last sweet delicious morsel off the bones. This sesame ginger chicken can be made spicy if you want it to be (I always want it spicy) or mild if that’s the way you roll. Either way it is a little bit sweet with nutty sesame and fragrant ginger, lots of crispiness on the outside and tender chicken in the middle.
Have I mentioned that it is also:
- Incredibly easy to make
- Perfect for an asian themed dinner party
- A hit with even the pickiest kids
- Makes the best leftovers
- And, eaten cold, is the perfect picnic fare
- Oh ya, it’s wickedly awesome delicious, too!
- 6 chicken drumsticks or thighs
- Sesame oil
- 2 heaping tablespoons brown sugar
- 3 heaping teaspoons toasted sesame seeds
- 1 heaping teaspoon powdered ginger
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
- Optional: 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Preheat oven to 420 degrees
- Dry chicken thoroughly with a clean cloth and place in a medium sized bowl. Drizzle with sesame oil and toss to coat.
- Combine all remaining ingredients in a small bowl and mix thoroughly.
- Sprinkle sugar mixture over chicken and toss so that chicken is thoroughly coated.
- Place chicken on a baking sheet, skin side up, and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the top is brown and crispy and the chicken is no longer pink inside.
- Get ready to lick your fingers!
{ 34 comments… read them below or add one }
Yum! I love making roasted chicken and experimenting with different flavors. Definitely going to try this next!
Hey Brittany,
I’ve only just started eating chicken again after being vegetarian for many many years. Roast chicken is my favourite! I love how crispy it gets on the outside and how many different flavours you can make.
These look so good! I’ll have to try them, I’ve been craving wings.
Thanks, Jen!
This looks finger-looking delicious! I love the combination of flavors in this! Well done!
Thanks, Chung-Ah!
Love your recipes! My husband is Arabic and loves sesame! We are avid rabid home cooks and always on the lookout for new fun things to try. And thanks for a being a food blogger with easily printable recipes!! So many don’t…
Thank you so much!! I really love Arabic food after travelling around the Middle East a few years ago. Does your husband cook his traditional food for you? If he does you are so lucky!!!
Oh my goodness! This looks mouthwatering!
I just bought some sesame seeds yesterday, and I was wondering what to use them for (I’m one of those people who see stuff and impulse buy. I don’t know why, It wasn’t even on sale or anything) I have found my solution! Such great timing
That’s so funny, I do the exact same thing. I actually made this recipe again last night but added some spice mixture that I also bought on impulse
I agree – great chicken has skin and bones. This recipe looks finger-licking good! I recently added ginger and lemon to some chicken thighs and it was quite tasty, but adding sesame seeds sounds like a delicious twist.
Hey Sarah,
I love the idea of adding lemon! I’ll be trying that next time for sure
These were deelish – I had a bunch of black sesame seeds I was wondering what to do with, and it turned out perfectly!
Hey Rod,
I had actually wanted to make these with black sesame seeds but didn’t have any in my pantry. Will definitely have to try using them next time!
That looks amazing. Coming over from TasteSpotting… back to your site again
Nice recipes and nice resources for bloggers 
Thanks, Ashish!!
Is this what we eat in heaven? Gorgeous photos.
LOL I think it definitely is! This and fresh mint chocolate chip ice cream
that looks amazing! great recipe!
Thanks, Jenn and Seth!!
I love roast chicken – have since I been a small child. (as my mother will tell anyone willing to listen). Can’t wait to try this recipe!
Hope you love it as much as I did!
Having a dinner party on Friday and am going to try this on the grill…hopefully that won’t ruin it somehow because the recipe looking amazing!
Hey Heather,
I think they would be awesome on the grill. Just watch them a little closer as sugar has a tendency to burn on the grill. Have an awesome dinner party!!
I made these tonight, after stumbling upon this recipe on tastespotting.com, they looked easy enough for me, as I am terrible w/ chicken and don’t have a grill. I couldn’t have been happier with the outcome! They were delicious, crispy, sweet, tangy and slightly spicy from the ginger and garlic, plus they were extremely juicy.
I couldn’t find powdered ginger, so I had to substitute ginger paste and mixed it with the sesame oil in the first step. But, the overall taste was delicious! I will definitely make it again…for friends and not just hog it for myself! Super easy and tasty! Love it!
Hey Anouk,
I’m so happy to hear that it turned out so well for you!!
These were delicious! And you’re right… they were fantastic all week long as leftovers! I used black sesame seeds instead of normal, white ones because that’s what I had on hand. But they added a nice earthy taste to the chicken! YUM
Hey Liz,
Thank you for the great feedback! So happy you loved them
This would make a great treatment for chicken wings as well.
Oh I love chicken wings! This would definitely be great on them too
This was AMAZING! I wasn’t paying attention to the fact that the seasoning should be dry and used spicy chili garlic sauce (2 scoops) instead of fresh garlic and cayenne. It made more of a paste to spread on the chicken instead of a dry seasoning mix to sprinkle on and made a huge mess in the pan (luckily I had covered the pan in foil!), but it tasted wonderful. Not too sweet, not too spicy. Thanks so much for sharing!
I’m making and ‘edition of this as I write. While I AGREE with your skin and bone comment, thigh meat was all I had available today and I WANTED a sesame/ginger (garlic) chicken dish tonight. Period! I don’t have any ginger powder, but I’ll bet that the grated fresh ginger used will be just fine. Exactly what I was looking for, it is not quite ready, but smells wonderful. Thank you!
Let’s make that “an edition.” I’m so hungry that I cannot type.
Will try it today. Expecting standing ovations from my family
Thanks and best wishes from Germany
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