This sauce can be made up to 3 days in advance; cover and refrigerate. Cook the chicken up to 1 day in advance; cover and refrigerate. Tartlets may be filled up to 45 minutes before serving. See the cook's note to make your own phyllo tartlet cups.

2 tablespoons sesame seeds
4 tablespoons smooth peanut butter
1 garlic clove, peeled, crushed
2 teaspoons fresh minced ginger, or bottled ginger
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon favorite soy sauce
¼ teaspoon favorite hot red pepper sauce, or to taste
1 to 2 tablespoons warm water
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast half, about 6 ounces
24 frozen phyllo shells, thawed (or use fresh-made phyllo tartlets. See cook's note.)
2 green onions, washed, ends removed, sliced on the diagonal

Place the sesame seeds in a small skillet and toast them over medium heat about 3 minutes or until the seeds are golden. Remove from heat and set aside.

To make the bang bang sauce, in a small bowl mix together the peanut butter, garlic, ginger, lemon juice, soy sauce and hot red pepper sauce until smooth. The mixture should be of sauce consistency, just coating the back of a spoon. Add warm water to the sauce if it is too thick. Set aside.

In a skillet with a lid, place the chicken and cover it with cold water. Bring slowly to a simmer. Cover and continue simmering gently without boiling until the chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes depending on its thickness.

Remove the chicken from the heat and cool it completely in the cooking liquid. Drain and cut the chicken, on the diagonal, into 1/8-inch thick slices. Cut the slices in half.

Place about 1 teaspoon of the sauce in each thawed phyllo shell. Arrange chicken slices on top. Sprinkle with the toasted sesame seeds and garnish with the green onion slices.

Makes about 24 appetizers.

Cook's note: To make your own phyllo shells, melt 2 tablespoons (or more if needed) of unsalted butter and have ready 4 ounces of thawed phyllo dough. Working with one phyllo sheet at a time (keep the others covered with a damp towel) brush it lightly and in streaks with melted butter. Cut the sheets into 2-by-2-inch squares.

Butter muffin cups and line each cup with 4 buttered phyllo pastry squares placed at slightly different angles. Repeat until all the phyllo pastry is used. Bake the tartlets in a preheated 350-degree oven for about 6 minutes or until golden brown.

Remove the tartlets from the muffin cups and cool them completely on a wire rack. Makes about 24. These can be made and baked up to a month in advance. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Adapted from "Hors d'Ouevres" by Eric Treuille and Victoria Blashford-Snell (DK Publishing, $19.95).

Tested by Susan Selasky for the Detroit Free Press Test Kitchen.

Per appetizer: 51 calories (50 percent from fat), 3 grams fat (trace of sat. fat), 4 grams carbohydrate, 3 grams protein, 69 mg sodium, 4 mg cholesterol, 4 mg calcium, trace of fiber.

© 2002, Detroit Free Press.
Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.