When people hear the words “healthy eating” they automatically assume that means never eating their favorite foods again. They think they can only eat grilled chicken salads and must say no to all things flavorful and delicious. I recently experienced this firsthand. Last week, I had someone say “Stasia, I really miss Chinese takeout, especially sesame chicken.” 

First of all, that broke my heart because I’m a firm believer that you do not need to deprive yourself of the foods you love to live a healthy life, unless you are medically required to of course. Restriction only leads to increased cravings and stress and consequently an increased likelihood to binge anyway.  Although eating Chinese takeout every day is probably not the most nutritious, I believe in enjoying what you like once in a while, while adding more nutritious wholesome foods into your diet overall. 

Second of all, that situation inspired me to make a better version of sesame chicken, and so this recipe was born. Yes I could have told my friend to enjoy a little sesame chicken if that’s what he’s been missing, but I also do believe that there’s nothing better than a good home cooked meal. By cooking from scratch, you get to control the quality of ingredients that goes into your body. You are in control of the fat, sodium, and overall nutrition content of the dish. So, in true better bite fashion, this recipe has all the flavor of Chinese takeout, but with better-for-you ingredients, to provide a truly better bite of sesame chicken.

What makes this recipe better? Here are three simple ways I made this recipe more nutritious:

Arrowroot

Traditionally, sesame chicken is made by dredging the chicken in a heavy thick batter and then deep frying. Instead, I dredged the chicken in arrowroot and pan fried it to get a wonderful light crispy coating. Arrowroot is also used in this recipe to thicken the sauce a bit. Arrowroot flour is simply a nutritious grain-free alternative to cornstarch. It acts the same as cornstarch, making it great for dredging chicken and thickening sauces, yet has more fiber and even more calcium, potassium, iron and B vitamins than other starches. But, if you are unable to use arrowroot for this recipe, you can substitute cornstarch in the same quantities.

Shallow Fry

Like I mentioned above, traditional sesame chicken is deep fried. Am I here to tell you that deep fried foods are the devil and we should never eat them again? Absolutely not. But, we know that deep fried foods are not the healthiest and should not be a staple in anyone’s diet. Regular consumption of deep fried foods is associated with several adverse health conditions, such as high cholesterol, atherosclerosis, and hypertension. Plus, fried foods also contain something called acrylamide, a harmful chemical that forms in foods cooked at high temperatures, such as fried foods. So, this recipe uses the method of shallow frying to make this dish lighter and healthier, while still achieving a light crisp texture. I definitely want to try using my air fryer next time to see how that would affect the texture of the chicken, so stay tuned for that!

Coconut Aminos

Some of you have maybe never heard of this ingredient. Coconut aminos is a soy sauce alternative made from the fermented sap of coconut palm and sea salt. What’s great about it is it’s a lot lower in sodium than soy sauce and free of common allergens, including gluten and soy. Although coconut aminos is not exactly a low sodium food, it does contain 180 mg of sodium per teaspoon, while soy sauce contains more than 400 mg per teaspoon, making coconut aminos the better option. If you do not have any food allergies and do not require a sodium restriction, feel free to use low-sodium soy sauce, which actually has a similar sodium content to coconut aminos anyways. And, before you jump to conclusions and assume this dish is going to taste like pina coladas, chill out; coconut aminos tastes nothing like coconut. It actually tastes pretty identical to soy sauce, although slightly milder and sweeter, making it the perfect addition to the sesame sauce in this recipe.

So, without further ado, here is the recipe that’ll make you want to toss out those Chinese takeout menus. Paired with brown rice and a side of steamed broccoli, this one is definitely worth a try.