Taiwanese Sesame Oil Chicken Rice

5 from 3 votes

Try my comforting, fragrant and delicious Taiwanese sesame oil chicken recipe and you'll be surprised by this quick and easy to whip up meal!

Prep Time5

Cook Time30

Total Time35

Course: Main

Cuisine: Asian, Taiwanese

Servings: servings

Calories: 510kcal

Author: Edwina

In a bowl, toss chicken pieces with ½ teaspoon of salt and set it aside for 15 minutes.
Wash and drain the rice really well, cook it in a rice cooker with 1½ cup of water (or 1 cup of water if you use sticky rice ) with a slice of ginger and a few drops of sesame oil.
In a Dutch oven, add in the rest of the sesame oil and ginger slices, sauté it over medium low heat until the ginger begins to brown and the edges become curly (this usually takes 5-7 minutes). This is the key step, so be patient and make sure the ginger slices are nicely golden brown as in the picture in the post (but don't burn the ginger either).
Add chicken pieces into the pot and sauté until the surface of the chicken turns white before adding soy sauce, white pepper powder and rice cooking wine. When the liquid is boiling, cover and let it cook for 5 minutes.
Finally, add goji berries and cooked rice into the pot. Mix everything together and it's done! If you have time, cover the lid and let it sit for 5-10 minutes after turning off the heat, as this will allow the flavor to meld together better.

If you want to replace white rice with sticky rice, check out my Taiwanese sticky rice recipe to learn how to cook the sticky rice properly.
When sautéing ginger in sesame oil, make sure you cook it over medium low heat, otherwise it may create a bitter taste if the heat is too high.
Before mixing in rice, there should still be around half a cup of the liquid in the pot; if not, add more cooking wine or water.
You can replace goji berry with a small handful of dried longan fruit if it's available to you; I personally like it better than goji berry in this dish.
While sesame oil chicken is traditionally eaten for postpartum recovery starting from the third week after giving birth, it might not be suitable for everybody, so please consult with an expert if you intend to eat it specifically for postpartum recovery.