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Sesame Chicken Nutritional Information

Sesame chicken is sweet and salty, juicy but firm, crunchy yet tender, or just wonderful to eat. This preparation of chicken morsels is usually found at Chinese restaurants in the United States as well as the rest of the globe. People understand that sesame chicken is delicious, but to stay healthy, they need to evaluate its nutritional value.

  1. Ingredients

    • Typically sesame chicken is made with bite-sized chicken breast chunks, soy sauce, cooking wine, sesame oil, flour, cornstarch, water, baking powder, baking soda, oil, chicken broth, rice wine vinegar, chili paste, garlic and sesame seeds for sprinkling.

    Nutritional Content

    • The nutritional content of sesame chicken is a good source of poly and mono saturated fats, but unfortunately also a large amount of saturated fats, 10 g. It is rather high in sodium at 1900 mg but provides a good amount of potassium, 827 mg. Of course, it is high in protein with 66 g, more than enough for the whole day, but it also contains a lot of sugar, bringing the carbohydrate count up to 90 g, with almost no fiber. It is high in phenylalanine, an amino acid which contributes to a sense of well being

    Calories

    • One serving of sesame chicken contains just over 1000 calories (580g). 39 percent of the calories are from fat, with a half of the fat being monounsaturated, a quarter being saturated and the rest polyunsaturated (70 percent of the daily recommended fat intake). 360 of the calories come from sugars and 280 calories come from protein.

    Considerations

    • According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the average intake of sodium should be no more than 2300 mg per day and 1500 mg per day for middle aged and older individuals. Sesame chicken contains 1900 mg of sodium per serving. Also, the recommendation is to consume foods prepared with little added sugar and to keep fat intake to 20 to 35 percent of calories, both of which cannot be applied to sesame chicken.

    Healthy Variation

    • The recipe for sesame chicken can be adjusted so that it conforms to the recommendations of the USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion. Instead of deep frying the chicken, saute it in a pan sprayed with a coating of oil. Reduce the sugar in the sauce, switch to a light soy sauce, and use a low-sodium chicken broth .

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