Orange Chicken vs. Sesame Chicken — What’s the Difference?

Appearance, Taste, & Use

Sesame and orange chicken are commonly found in North American Chinese restaurants. While these dishes find their roots in China, they are now much more popular in the US and Canada than in Asia.

Orange and sesame chicken are dishes typically made by deep-frying chicken and coating it in different sauces. 

Orange chicken is coated in a sweet and tangy orange sauce. The sauce is usually made with orange juice, soy sauce, brown sugar, vinegar, garlic, ginger, and sometimes chili flakes or hot sauce for a bit of heat. The crispy chicken is then tossed in the sauce, making for a sweet and savory flavor profile.

Sesame chicken sauce is usually made with soy sauce, honey, garlic, ginger, and sesame oil and then garnished with toasted sesame seeds. The resulting dish is sweet, savory, and nutty.

Both dishes are similar in that they are sweet and savory, but orange chicken has a more pronounced citrus flavor, while sesame chicken has a nuttier flavor from the toasted sesame seeds.

Macronutrients And Calories

Naturally, these dishes have similar macronutrient compositions, as the main ingredient of both is the chicken, and the coating makes up for the difference in nutrition.

Sesame chicken is only a little denser in nutrients, consisting of 43% water and 57% nutrients, while orange chicken contains 48% water and 52% nutrients.

The primary macronutrient in both dishes is carbs, followed by fat and protein.

Macronutrient Comparison

Macronutrient breakdown side-by-side comparison

Orange chicken

3

Protein: 14.46 g

Fats: 12.68 g

Carbs: 22.46 g

Water: 48.43 g

Other: 1.97 g

Sesame chicken

2

Protein: 14.33 g

Fats: 14.25 g

Carbs: 26.88 g

Water: 42.8 g

Other: 1.74 g

Contains more WaterWater	+13.2%
Contains more OtherOther	+13.2%

Contains more FatsFats	+12.4%
Contains more CarbsCarbs	+19.7%

~equal in Protein ~14.33g

Carbohydrates

Sesame chicken is also higher in carbohydrates, by about 4.5g per every 100g serving, due to net carbs, such as starch and sucrose. While both these dishes are insufficient sources of dietary fiber, orange chicken is slightly richer in fiber.

Sesame chicken and orange chicken provide 26.9g and 22.5g of carbohydrates per 100g, respectively.

The predominant carbohydrates found in these dishes are starch and sucrose. Sesame chicken also contains glucose and fructose, while orange chicken lacks these.

Carbohydrate type comparison

Carbohydrate type breakdown side-by-side comparison

Orange chicken

1

Starch: 10.5 g

Sucrose: 12.3 g

Glucose: 0.63 g

Fructose: 0.67 g

Lactose: 0 g

Maltose: 0 g

Galactose: 0 g

Sesame chicken

3

Starch: 10.7 g

Sucrose: 11.79 g

Glucose: 2.18 g

Fructose: 2.01 g

Lactose: 0 g

Maltose: 0 g

Galactose: 0 g

Contains more GlucoseGlucose	+246%
Contains more FructoseFructose	+200%

~equal in Starch ~10.7g

~equal in Sucrose ~11.79g

~equal in Lactose ~0g

~equal in Maltose ~0g

~equal in Galactose ~0g

 

Fats

Sesame chicken is higher in fats by about 1.5g per every 100g serving, containing 14.25g, while orange chicken has 12.7g of fats.

However, while sesame chicken is higher in unsaturated fats, both chicken dishes contain nearly equal amounts of saturated fats.

These two dishes have similar fat compositions. The fat content of both sesame and orange chicken is made up of over 50% polyunsaturated fats, followed by monounsaturated fats, leaving saturated fats in the last place. Despite this, they are still high in saturated fats, with a 100g serving covering over 12% of the recommended daily value.

Fat Type Comparison

Fat type breakdown side-by-side comparison

Orange chicken

0

Saturated Fat: Sat. Fat 2.422 g

Monounsaturated Fat: Mono. Fat 3.474 g

Polyunsaturated fat: Poly. Fat 6.086 g

Sesame chicken

3

Saturated Fat: Sat. Fat 2.41 g

Monounsaturated Fat: Mono. Fat 3.546 g

Polyunsaturated fat: Poly. Fat 6.885 g

Contains more Poly. FatPolyunsaturated fat

+13.1%

~equal in Saturated Fat ~2.41g

~equal in Monounsaturated Fat ~3.546g

These dishes are high in cholesterol. Even though sesame chicken contains more fats overall, it is slightly lower in cholesterol, providing 59mg per 100g serving, while orange chicken has 61mg.

Vitamins

Orange and sesame chicken are excellent sources of B-complex vitamins, containing nearly equal amounts. However, sesame chicken is slightly higher in almost all of them, including vitamins A, E, C, and K, and vitamins B3 (niacin), B6, and B12.

Orange chicken is only somewhat higher in vitamin B9 or folate.

Vitamin Comparison

Vitamin comparison score is based on the number of vitamins by which one or the other food is richer. The "coverage" charts below show how much of the daily needs can be covered by 300 grams of the food.

Orange chicken

2

Sesame chicken

8

Contains more Vitamin B5Vitamin B5	+∞%
Contains more FolateFolate	+25%

Contains more Vitamin CVitamin C	+11.1%
Contains more Vitamin AVitamin A	+11%
Contains more Vitamin EVitamin E	+22.4%
Contains more Vitamin B3Vitamin B3	+10.3%
Contains more Vitamin B6Vitamin B6	+16.1%
Contains more Vitamin B12Vitamin B12	+25%
Contains more Vitamin KVitamin K	+11.1%
Contains more CholineCholine	+10.9%

~equal in Vitamin D ~0.1µg

~equal in Vitamin B1 ~0.04mg

~equal in Vitamin B2 ~0.225mg

Minerals

These two chicken dishes are also overall similar in their mineral compositions. Nonetheless, sesame chicken is slightly richer in iron and copper, while orange chicken is higher in calcium and zinc.

While both dishes are high in salt, sesame chicken contains slightly less sodium. The sodium content per 100g servings of sesame and orange chicken is 482mg and 553mg, respectively.

Mineral Comparison

Mineral comparison score is based on the number of minerals by which one or the other food is richer. The "coverage" charts below show how much of the daily needs can be covered by 300 grams of the food.

Orange chicken

2

Sesame chicken

3

Contains more CalciumCalcium	+16.7%
Contains more ZincZinc	+24.2%

Contains more IronIron	+16%
Contains more CopperCopper	+21.4%
Contains less SodiumSodium	-12.8%

~equal in Magnesium ~22mg

~equal in Potassium ~204mg

~equal in Phosphorus ~130mg

~equal in Manganese ~0.083mg

~equal in Selenium ~16.7µg

Glycemic Index

Boiled chicken contains almost no carbohydrates and, therefore, has a glycemic index of 0. However, the coating and the deep-frying notably increase this value.

The glycemic indices of Chinese orange and sesame chicken have not yet been calculated. We can assume them to be close to the value of chicken nuggets, which have a glycemic index of 46 (1).

Insulin Index

The insulin index values of foods demonstrate how the consumption of the given food increases insulin levels in the blood.

Similarly, no studies have been carried out on the insulin index values of orange and sesame chicken.

It can be said that while roasted chicken has an insulin index of 23, this value for chicken nuggets has been studied to be 41 (2, 3). This value falls in the low insulin index category.

Cardiovascular Health

Frequent fried food consumption has been demonstrated to have a linear correlation with increased risk of hypertension or high blood pressure, stroke, coronary heart disease, heart failure, and coronary mortality by several mechanisms, one of which is elevating “bad” cholesterol levels in the blood. (4, 6).

Sesame and orange chicken are also high in sodium. A high-sodium diet has also been proven to increase the risk of high blood pressure (7).

Diabetes

Despite potentially low glycemic and insulin index values, sesame and orange chicken should be consumed in strict moderation for people at risk of diabetes.

The cooking method may be as significant as the meal's ingredients when discussing diabetes risk. Cooking meat at high temperatures, such as deep-frying, grilling, and barbecuing, increases the risk of type 2 diabetes compared to cooking at moderate temperatures, such as boiling, steaming, and stir-frying (8).