This Sesame Chicken from Blue Dragon was a huge hit in our house. See how to make it and check out how to make Chinese Fortune Sticks!
When its time to start focusing on dinner, there are days when I am driven to get really creative in the kitchen and I'm motivated to produce something completely from scratch, and then there are days when I need some ideas and a lot of direction. On really lazy days, ordering take-out is so appealing, but when I have hungry kids who have to eat at a certain time and can be picky about what goes on their plate, I never really follow through with that idea either. Because I love the taste of Chinese take-out and the option of getting a little creative, along with a solid base of a starter pouch of ingredients to begin with, Blue Dragon products are exactly what I like to have on hand in my kitchen. I've enjoyed cooking with these sauces over the last few year since I've been introduced to them and I'm excited to show you my latest inspired dish along with a really fun idea that you can use as you celebrate Chinese New Year with your family! Read below to see how to make Chinese Fortune Sticks!
Blue Dragon carries a colorful array of sauce packets that ready to use at any time. Including the varieties above, the sauces come in Szechuan Pepper, Broccoli Beef, General Tao, Pad Thai, Sweet & Sour, and Honey Teriyaki. With a handful of these packets in my kitchen cupboards, I never lack the inspiration I need to whip up a meal that is authentic-tasting, flavorful, and just a little different than the last time it was prepared, based on what I have in the kitchen and which direction I decided to take it this time around. I've also tried and love the Blue Dragon noodles, Sweet Dipping Sauces, and Spring Roll Wrappers, which in true Blue Dragon fashion, offer freedom for creativity since these can be used in both sweet and savory dishes!
Well, this weekend, I wanted to recreate one of my favorite take-out meals, Sesame Chicken. Its a little sweet and a little spicy, and its a real crowd favorite. I knew that with my Blue Dragon products, I could make it taste just like takeout, but with all the convenience and flexibility of making it at home.
I decided that the General Tao sauce would be the most similar of the Blue Dragon sauces to what I think traditional Sesame Chicken tastes like. I simply added one packet to my 1.5 lbs. of diced chicken with some olive oil and cooked on medium heat while stirring. I set the chicken aside, then chopped up this large head of broccoli with one red pepper and stir fried them with a packet of Blue Dragon Szechuan Pepper Stir Fry Sauce, because it is my favorite of all the sauces and I thought it would taste great with the mild broccoli and red pepper.
This meal turns out so colorful and fresh that you could put the food into take out containers and fool everyone in the room! And wasn't this totally easy to make?!
Plate it up with a healthy dash of sesame seeds and you have a authentic tasting show-stopper. Why bother with takeout when you can create this at home? You know exactly what's going into it and I can guarantee that this Sesame Chicken is MUCH healthier than any you could order. Because I picked out the ingredients, I know they are perfectly fresh, and I made the entire meal before the rice was done cooking. Easy and fast is my kind of meal.
How to make Chinese fortune sticks
Now to make this meal even more fun and in going along with the Chinese New Year happenings right now, I made some Chinese Fortune Sticks for the table! You'll need a sheet of white sticker paper and a handful of chopsticks. I found a bag of 100 sets (that's 200 chopsticks!) for $6 on Amazon. The round ones work best so that you can roll your fortune sticker flat.
Feed your sticker paper into your printer and have it print these fortunes below. Feel free to print this list of my favorite gathered fortunes for your own chopsticks!
Cut out the strips, peel off the backing, and roll them up the chopstick at an angle so that you can read the words as you twirl it in your hands.
And here you have your own set of fortune telling sticks! Chinese Fortune Sticks is the oldest known method of fortune telling in the world. The tradition involves shaking a box full of bamboo sticks and drawing your fortune. This way, your fortunes are reusable, conversational, and they make a fun centerpiece for your table at your Chinese New Year celebrations this month!
You can purchase Blue Dragon products in the Greater Boston-area (at Demoulas, Stop & Shop, and Shaws), the Charlotte-area (at Harrison Teeter and Foodlion), the Baltimore-area (at Giant Landover), and the Philidelphia-area (at Shoprite and Giant Carlisle).
Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Blue Dragon as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central. I received complimentary products to facilitate my review and post about how to make Chinese fortune sticks.
Lisa Cooper says
I would love to try the Sweet Chilli Sauce!
suzanne says
I want to try them all, especially the Pad Thai Stir Fry Sauce.
Amber Ludwig says
I would love to try the broccoli beef stir fry sauce and the Szechuan Pepper Stir Fry Sauce!!
jennifer peters says
Would love to try the Pad Thai stir fry sauce. Wish they made mangolin beef - my favorite
Dorothy Teel says
I believe that we would love to try the Honey Teriyaki Stir Fry Sauce, site says they sell at SProuts will check out our Sprouts for some, thank you
Jo-Ann Brightman says
I'd like to try the Spring roll wrappers and General Tao Stir Fry sauce
Deborah D says
Chow Mein Stir Fry Sauce is what I would like to try.
Andrea Troutman says
I'd like to try the General Tao stir fry sauce and the sweet chili sauce.
Jessica Padilla says
I want to try the Szechuan Pepper Stir Fry Sauce.
karen w. says
sounds yummy! I'd love to try their honey terriyaki stir fry sauce
Diane Sallans says
I'd love to try those Spring Roll Wrappers!
Linda Mannst says
I would love to try the General Tao Stir Fry Sauce
It would be great to make this at home. Thank you for sharing
Cindy Kong says
I love to try to thai pad stir fry sauce!
ALISHA EMMETT says
Would love to try them all, but especially want to try the spring rolls wraps and the sweet chili sauce!
Ariel says
Spring roll wrapper! Oh the possibilities!
Julie Lundstrom says
I would like the Stir Fry Rice sauce.
Elizabeth says
I would love to try any of the Blue Dragon Stir-fry Sauces!
Cathleen King says
I would like to try the Sprng Roll Wrappers.
Amanda Alvarado says
I want to try the General Tao Stir Fry Sauce!
polly says
I would love to try their Honey Teriyaki Stir Fry Sauce...sounds delicious!
Heather Hollands says
I really like sweet chili sauce and its versatility in recipes. That would be my first pick.
Susan Hartman says
I would like to try the generals tsos sauce.
Debbie Bray says
I would like to try the Sweet chili dipping Sauce
Richard Brandt says
I'd like to try their Sweet Chili Dipping Sauce.
Robin Abrams says
I would love to try the General Tao Stir Fry Sauce
Christa Lopez says
I would love to try the broccoli beef stir fry sauce!
Julie Waldron says
I'd like to try the egg noodles.
Laurie Nykaza says
We would love to try out the Pad Thai stir fry sauce sounds amazing.
Dotty J Boucher says
YUM! I love how easy these meals are to put together and those chop stick ideas are great, I love eating my foods with chopsticks, I will have to remember this adding the fortunes onto them for my friends and family..