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I love ordering any kind of takeout food, especially Chinese! I know this isn’t the case for everyone, but usually, when I eat Chinese takeout, I get a headache, bloated and even feel a little foggy. This evident need for clean Chinese-inspired food is where the sweet and spicy chicken was born! The sauce is a delicious mix of exactly what it sounds like, sweetness (from raw honey) and spiciness (red pepper flakes). I finally found a combination that gave the chicken a satisfying, breaded crunch. The key? Arrowroot flour!
Arrowroot is a starch that is derived from plant roots and high in protein. It has a fairly concentrated amount of vitamin B; making arrowroot an important metabolic source. It does exactly what it sounds like, aids in digestion and in turn, weight loss. In this recipe, I used this arrowroot flour
And…while this chicken is simmering, you can throw together a baked blueberry oatmeal and pop it in the oven. I love getting to have a yummy dinner AND look forward to a yummy breakfast.
- 1 lbs. of chicken
- 1/2 cup of oil
- FOR THE SAUCE
- 1/2 cup of raw honey
- 5 tbsp coconut amino
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- pinch of salt
- FOR THE BREADING
- 3/4 cups arrowroot flour
- 2 eggs + 1 tsp water
- OTHER
- 1 red bell pepper
- green onions
- red pepper flakes (use to taste)
- Cut the chicken into cubes. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, mix together the ingredients for the sauce. Set aside.
- In another small bowl, beat the egg and water. Set Aside.
- In another small bowl (I know, it's a LOT of small bowls), pour the arrowroot flour.
- Now it's time to use all the small bowls, yay!
- One at a time, dip the chicken cubes into the egg mixture and then the arrowroot flour. Set aside on a plate.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet on medium-high heat.
- Place the chicken in the now heated skillet, (stir occasionally) until it's browned on all sides.
- Carefully, drain most of the oil into a mug (you can discard this later).
- Pour the sauce over the chicken until it's boiling.
- Once it's boiling, bring the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes.(Stir occasionally)
- Slice the bell pepper and add to the chicken for 2 minutes.
- Top with diced green onions and red pepper flakes and serve.
- Bon Appetit!
This looks so good!!! I will have to give it a try very soon!!! Sweet and spicy is my hubby’s favorite chicken combo. 🙂
Thanks! Let me know how it turns out 🙂
OH me…it looks so good that I’m gonna have to load the twinners and go get the stuff..I”m not much of a cook but I was already trying to figure out what to cook for this big ole crew for dinner!!! OK! Thanks for the recipe! Just found your blog and stuff today! Loving it!!! Love connecting with other teacher/ moms…I’m out of the classroom now..just came home to stay home with our newly adopted twins but still LOVE connected since most of my life during their naps is ONLINE so my new social life is social media!!! Can’t wait to read up on all your blog post during nap times!!!
Hi Gretchen! Thanks so much! Let me know how it turns out. It’s so nice to meet you. I’ve checked out your blog a couple times and it’s fantastic! I’ll have to read yours during nap times this week. 🙂
Ooooohhhh my GOODNESS!! This looks SO divine!! It’s totally going on the rotation. YUM!!
Thanks Kelsey! Let me know how it turns out!
Mmmm…this looks so delicious. Definitly going to have to try it one night soon. And I feel the same way about Chinese take out, but I love it! So I’m always happy to find out take-out inspired recipes…thank you!
Thanks Stacy!
This looks DELICIOUS! Definitely going to give it a try. Thank you for sharing!
Thanks Suzanne!
Nice tip on arrow root. I will try to use it.
Thanks Madelaien!
Looks delicious!
Thanks Paula!
yes please! This sounds and looks delicious. Thanks for sharing this recipe
Thanks Caroline!
I enjoy any spicy chicken and this looks so tasty!
Oh I think this is something my kids will love can’t wait to give it a try this coming week! Thanks for sharing.
That’s great! Let me know how it turns out. 🙂
This was an awesome dinner for us☺️ Gluten free and delish! Thank you for a new receipe…
Thanks Tracy; I’m so glad!
What oil did you use? I’m thinking coconut would be good!
Hey Joanne! I used olive oil, but I think coconut sounds good!
Hello!
Could I substitute rive flour or tapioca flour in place of the arrowroot?
Hey Hannah, tapioca flour would be a great replacement!
Hi! I only have coconut flour, will this ruin it?
I have never tried it with coconut flour. Coconut flour has a more distinctive flavor that will change it, but if you try it, let me know how it is! You will probably want to look up the ratio of arrowroot to coconut flour because I don’t think it’s 1:1.
Is arrowroot flour the same as arrowroot powder?
I’ve never heard of coconut amino… Do you have a link for that?
The recipe looks delicious!
Hey Katherine! Yes, arrowroot flour and arrowroot powder are the same. Here’s a link for the coconut aminos, https://www.amazon.com/Coconut-Secret-Organic-Soy-Free-Seasoning/dp/B01DQ14Z64/ref=sr_1_2_s_it?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1485095806&sr=1-2&keywords=coconut%2Baminos&th=1 Thanks, Katherine, let me know how it turns out!
I am so excited to make this…I don’t have the arrow root flour in my pantry. Any way I could substitute corn starch?
Yes, corn starch is a 1:1 substitue. 🙂
We have a honey allergy in the house (crazy, right) what other sweetener could I substitute? (Liquid stevie, xylitol?) Thanks
Raw maple syrup would be a good substitute. Sorry about your honey allergy!
I have made this twice and my family loves it. I put a couple of handfuls of spinach in also. Tomorrow I will be using shrimp instead of chicken because of lent.
Thanks Dorothy; I’m so glad you like it! Spinach and shrimp is a great idea; I’ll have to try that!
Tonight is the second time I’ve made this because it’s absolutely divine! My husbands loves it too so that’s a plus as I’m always trying new recipes on him. This one’s a favorite for sure!
Thanks Lori! I’m glad you like it!
Hi I am from Kenya and we don’t get coconut amino so what do I use?
You can substitute with soy sauce with a 1:1 ratio.
Wow delicious!! Took longer to prepare but so worth it!
I made this for dinner & it was fantastic! I added a little extra red pepper because we like it spicy! Thanks for the great recipe!
This looks amazing!! Can I substitute the arrowroot flour for maybe almond flour or coconut flour?
You might be able to, I’ve never tried it. Just look up the appropriate ratio, because I don’t think either is a 1:1 with arrowroot flour. 🙂
This looks absolutely amazing and sounds fairly easy! I’m excited to put it on the list for next week’s recipes!
We absolutely LOVED THIS!
Lauren, Thank you so much for posting this recipe. I am in love! Tastes better than take out.
Thanks Danica; I’m glad you enjoyed it!
This is by far the best recipe that resembles Sesame Chicken! It is quit simple, just takes a bit of time but it’s so worth the work! It’s my family’s new favorite recipe! Thank you!
This recipe is amazing, I used the arrow root after searching 6 different stores. It was well worth it. I used coconut vinegar and doubled the recipe. When frying the chicken I also used coconut oil, since doubling the recipe I placed the chicken on a cookie rack to drain the excess oil and air dry. This made it a lot crispier. AMAZING!!! Big hit with the family…
I love this dish! Thank you so much. Very delicious and must make! I used tapioca flour because that’s what I had in my pantry! It worked excellent.
Do I have to bread the chicken?
No, you don’t have to. You can skip those steps and just cook it with the sauce.
I literally almost cried eating this! I love Chinese food, but my autoimmune disease has made it almost impossible to eat. MSG literally causes a horrible allergic reaction, and gluten isn’t much better. This is every bit as good as any takeout if not better. Thank you!
Aww! Thanks for taking the time to comment; you made my day!
My husband and I just made this today. It was so good! We’ll definitely make it again. Thanks!
Could you use almond flour instead of arrowroot?
Perhaps, I’ve never tried it and I’m not sure what the ratio would be. I used arrowroot (or tapioca) because it is more starchy.
Can’t wait to try this! I just finished my Whole30 and I don’t really want to go back to ordering pizza in the middle of the night or eating ice cream (I’m a poor college student). But I have most of these ingredients on hand already so I cannot wait to try this out! I only have almond flour so I know that won’t be the same, but I am really excited to try it with a heaping mountain of veggies!
Congrats on finishing a whole30! I totally understand the pizza in the middle of the night. Let me know how it works out with almond flour, I’m curious. My cousin goes to A&M, so I was excited to see you’re an Aggie!
I made this last night and it was delicious. I used a ziplock to coat my chicken with flour because pieces were on the small side. I didn’t weigh my chicken but it was more than a pound being 5 thighs. I added a crown of broccoli, which I par steamed, to the bell pepper. With the add ins the amount of sauce was perfect. Another note- I didn’t have enough honey and had to use almost half maple syrup. I was concerned the flavor would come through but it didn’t. My daughter said the chicken tasted like candy. Thanks for the recipe!
I love what you did with the recipe! Thanks for the comment!
This was very good-my family loved it. I really liked the crispiness of the chicken – so many ideas now. Next time I think I will leave the peppers and green onions raw and drizzle the sauce over it to see how it goes but definitely making this again.
Would there be anyway to freeze this meal? I’m looking to prepare meals ahead of time to freeze! Because I LOVE this recipe! Definitely a go-to now.
I’m not sure; I’ve never tried. If I was going to freeze it, I would make it, let it cool and then freeze it in a freezer Ziploc bag. Then bake it straight from the freezer. Let me know how it works!
Just tried this recipe! Couldn’t find any coconut aminos or braggs where I was so I had to use low sodium soy sauce but it still turned out SO delicious! Thanks!
Thank you for this recipe!! It was incredibly yummy, although a little bit to sweet (i’m not sure how to fix that), we had it with Paleo pad thai and people loved it.
I’m glad you liked it! To diminish the sweetness, you can reduce the amount of honey.
This was delicious! Im pregnant and nauseous and nothing looks good but chinese food, which I never ever eat! This recipe did not disappoint. The chicken turned out crispy (I used avocado oil) and the sauce was exactly what I was looking for. Thank you for this recipe!!!!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Do you have the nutrition facts on this? Trying to track it with weight watchers it’s delicious!
Thanks, Jillian, I’m glad you like it! I don’t create nutrition panels at this time, but there are lots of online resources for creating your own. 🙂
Hello I was just wondering if there as a nutritional panel for this recipe. If so are you able to add it to the recipe please.
Thanks
I don’t have a nutrition panel at this time. There are a lot of online resources for creating a nutrition panel that you might want to check out. 🙂
Is peanut oil a good oil to use?
I’ve never used peanut oil, but it’s worth a try!
This was SO GOOD…and I had my reservations about it. I used tapioca flour instead because I could not find arrowroot flour at my store. I also used 2 lbs of chicken so I could have leftovers for lunch. The sauce was more than enough to cover the chicken. My kids didn’t like it, but I don’t care! I’m making it again!
I have made this recipe several times and all 5 of my kids LOVE it!
Thank you for the healthy meal!!
I made it and my non paleo hubby approved !! Lol
I made this tonight and my husband and I both LOVED it! He said it is one of his favorites I’ve ever made and that he could eat it every day! Haha thanks so much for sharing this deliciousness!!!
Not only does it look delicious, it IS delicious! This recipe was better than most of my favorite dishes served at Chinese restaurants! We can’t wait to have it again. Thanks for sharing!
Made this for dinner tonight and it’s so delicious!! Thank you! Can’t wait to make it again soon
I’ve made this a couple times and while the flavor is to die for- for some reason the arrow root gives the breading a gummy kind of texture that starts to get weird after a few bites. Am I doing something wrong??
Arrowroot can be that way. I’ve contemplated adding a little coconut flour to lessen the power of the starch, lol.
This was delicious!! Even my Bf licked his plate clean and he is usually skeptical when I want to try a healthier way of cooking meals. Thank you so much for the recipe!
Looks delicious! Would I be able to bake it rather than cooking in the oil?
You could try it out. Let me know how it goes!
It’s my favorite chicken recipe. Thank you so much! Do you have the nutrition facts? Cxxx
Hey Lauren I love this recipe. That’s such a great idea to replace the soy sauce for coconut aminos 😀
Thanks so much for sharing this! I’ve made it ALOT the past year! It’s my husbands favorite! Definitely a must try! I’ve had it with brown rice and cauliflower rice. Both taste amazing with it!