One of my favorite Asian-American dishes is sesame chicken. I love its bold sesame flavor along with its subtle sweetness. I love making it as a weeknight stir fry like I do here, but here, I’ve taken inspiration from the dish and turned it into a summer-time skewer! The flavors of these Grilled Sesame Chicken Skewers are outstanding and you’ll be wanting this one on repeat for the rest of the summertime!!!
I love serving my Grilled Sesame Chicken Skewers over this ginger-scallion scented rice (which is incredible) but if you want to keep things Whole30 compliant, you can serve it with some cauliflower rice, over a simple salad, or keep it simple with some roasted veggies!
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Grilled Sesame Chicken Skewers
Serves: 4
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Ingredients
For the Sauce:
- 1/4 cup coconut aminos
- 2 tbsp ketchup I use Primal Kitchens
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tsp fish sauce
- 2 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 1/2 tsp tapioca starch
- 1/4 cup chicken broth
- 1 tbsp avocado oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp ginger, finely grated
- 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
For the Grilled Sesame Chicken Skewers:
- 6 [10-inch] wood skewers, pre-soaked
- 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs, excess fat trimmed and cut into 1 inch cubes
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced on the diagonal (green parts only) for serving
- 1/2 tsp toasted sesame seeds for serving
Instructions
For the Sauce:
- In a bowl, combine the coconut aminos, ketchup, rice vinegar, fish sauce, sesame oil, broth and tapioca startch. Whisk to combine and set aside.
- In a small sauce pan, over medium heat, add the avocado oil. Once hot, add garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes, being careful not to burn.
- Add the coconut aminos mixture to the sauce pan and stir to combine. Cook, simmering and stirring often, until the sauce thickens, about 4 minutes. Once the sauce has thickened, remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
For the Grilled Sesame Chicken Skewers:
- Cube and place the chicken in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
- Once the sauce has cooled, add 1/4 cup to the chicken and let marinade for at least one hour or all day in the fridge, reserving the remaining sauce for serving.
- Preheat grill to medium-high heat (about 400-450 degrees F). When grill is hot, place the skewers on the grill and cook for 7-8 minutes, flipping every 3-4 minutes, until chicken is cooked through and nice grill marks have formed.
- Place cooked chicken skewers on a tray. With the remaining sauce, brush the skewers on all sides.
- Serve alone or with rice. I served mine with my Ginger Scallion Rice (recipe follows). [To keep it Whole30, serve with veggies or cauliflower rice.] Garnish with green onions and sesame seeds. Enjoy!
Ginger-Scallion Rice
Serves: 4 people
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Ingredients
- 2 tbsp avocado oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp peeled and finely grated ginger (about 1/2 inch knob ginger)
- 2/3 cup green onion, thinly sliced on the diagonal, white and light green parts only (about 4 green onions)
- 1 cup white jasmine rice
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1.5 cups chicken or vegetable broth (you can also use water)
- 1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions, green part only , for serving
Instructions
- Heat oil in a pot with a tight fitting lid over medium heat. Add the garlic, ginger and green onion and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes, until fragrant.
- Add the rice and cook, stirring, until lightly toasted and fragrant, about 4 minutes.
- Add the salt and the broth and stir to combine. Bring rice to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to a simmer. Cover with a tight fitting lid and let cook for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and keep covered for an additional 10 minutes. Remove lid and fluff rice with a fork.
- Stir in the remaining green onions and serve immediately.
