Asian Honey Chicken
by Chungah
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This Asian honey chicken is made with crispy golden brown chicken tossed in a sweet and savory irresistible honey glaze! Better than takeout!
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Why you’ll love this asian honey chicken
- Better than takeout. You have complete control over all of the ingredients, allowing you to avoid heavy oils and reduce sodium while tailoring it to your family’s liking, whether you want extra heat, more tang or less sugar.
- Crispy chicken. Say goodbye to soggy chicken in takeout boxes. Cooking at home means your chicken will stay perfectly crisp!
- Maximum cost savings. You can use inexpensive ingredients and pantry staples, costing just a fraction of restaurant or delivery prices, making this a budget-friendly option for the entire family.
- The sauce is pure gold. The sticky honey glaze coating the golden-brown crispy chicken is everything. All you need is a heaping bowl of steamed white rice for sopping.
Ingredients
Vegetable oil
This is a great all-purpose oil with a high smoke point and neutral flavor.
Chicken
Breast, thighs, or even tenderloins can be used here depending on personal preference.
Flour and Buttermilk
Coating the chicken in flour, buttermilk, and flour again will help achieve that crispy crust and tender meat.
Cornstarch
This will help thicken the sauce.
Honey
Honey is a key ingredient for the sweet, sticky and glossy sauce.
Soy Sauce
Soy sauce will add salty, savory, umami flavors, blending so well with the rest of the flavors.
Apple cider vinegar
A little bit of acid will add flavor, balance, and a bit of sweetness to the sauce.
Sesame oil
Sesame oil will add a nutty flavor.
Crushed red pepper flakes
Add red pepper flakes for a kick of heat, or substitute Sriracha.
How to cook asian honey chicken
- Dredge the chicken. Coat the bite-sized pieces of chicken in the flour, then dip into the buttermilk, then coat in the flour again, shaking off the excess.
- Cook the chicken. Heat the vegetable oil to 350°F in a large cast iron skillet and cook the chicken in batches until golden brown and crispy, about 3-4 minutes. Remove and drain on a wire rack or paper towels.
- Make the sauce. Combine the honey, soy sauce, apple cider vinegar, sesame oil, and red pepper flakes in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the cornstarch slurry (cornstarch mixed with cold water) until thickened and glossy, about 2-3 minutes.
- Serve. Toss the crispy chicken with the warm sauce until evenly coated, and serve warm.
leftovers and storage
Storage
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
Reheating
Gently reheat on the stovetop over medium low heat, stirring occasionally, until heated through.
Freezing
Avoid freezing as the crisp texture of the chicken will not hold up well upon thawing and reheating.
what to serve with asian honey chicken
Tools For This Recipe
Asian Honey Chicken: Frequently Asked Questions
Use a neutral oil with a high smoke point such as vegetable oil, canola oil or peanut oil.
Absolutely! Chicken breasts, thighs or tenderloins can be used but cooking times will vary.
Coconut aminos is an excellent substitute that is also gluten-free.
This is a mixture of equal parts cornstarch and cold liquid (ex. water or broth) used as a thickening agent, adding a glossy sheen (without requiring any fat) to soups, gravies and sauces.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days, gently reheating on the stovetop until warmed through.
Asian Honey Chicken
Video
Ingredients
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch chunks
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup buttermilk
For the sauce
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- ½ cup honey
- 2 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, or more, to taste
Instructions
- Heat vegetable oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium heat.
- Working one at a time, dredge chicken in flour, dip into buttermilk, then dredge in flour again, pressing to coat.
- Working in batches, add chicken to the skillet, 3 or 4 at a time, and cook until evenly golden and crispy, about 2 minutes on each side. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.
- In a large bowl, combine chicken and sauce until evenly coated.
- Serve warm.
For the sauce
- In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and 1 tablespoon water; set aside.
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine honey, soy sauce, apple cider vinegar, sesame oil and red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and stir in cornstarch mixture until slightly thickened, about 2-3 minutes.
Equipment
Notes
- Use a cast iron skillet. A cast iron skillet is ideal here for even heat distribution for the hot oil.
- Use reduced sodium soy sauce. Reduced sodium has less sodium and less salt without compromising flavor.
- Cook in batches. If too much chicken is added at once, the oil temperature will drop and the chicken will absorb too much oil, resulting in soggy chicken.
- Mix it up. Use pork or shrimp in place of the chicken.
- Double the sauce. Need extra sauce for sopping with rice? The sauce portion can easily be doubled or tripled for those saucy folks!
Did you make this recipe?
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Another delicious recipe. Used whole chicken thighs since that is what I had on hand. Also, I now double sauces amounts since I know they will be very good. This one is company worthy. I have to be gluten free instead of AP flour, I used Ying’s chinese Style batter mix that is Gluten free.
Looks delicious! I’ve added it to my menu plan. Question, Would I be able to substitute salmon in place of the chicken breasts?
Can you substitute almond milk or egg for buttermilk for dairy free version?
Just added also garlic and it was amazing!
Excellent recipe! Easy to follow and loved the little zing with the red pepper flakes. Thank you for another amazing recipe!!!
Just made this tonight and it was stupendous. A big hit with my 7 yr. old. She came back for seconds.
The only thing I did different was to deep fry the chicken rather than pan fry it. I also made fried rice to go along with it.
This looks amazing and i still have not try it , the recipe helps a lot !
Love this recipe. Tried it with shrimp as well. Would Chinkiang black vinegar work well in place of apple cider vinegar?
OMG! By far the BEST recipe I have even got off the internet! I made this tonight and it was to die for! Only suggestion, double the sauce recipe immediately because it is that good you will need more. Chicken was crispy and the sauce….OMG! This is a keeper for sure. Even my husband said to keep this recipe to make again and I will!
Anyone know the calorie count on this per serving? Best guess?
My husband and I made this tonight for our family of five. I forgot I didn’t enjoy sesame oil. It is a very strong, unique, flavor. I could easily taste it in the completed dish. Kiddos said the completed dish was, “Just ok”. Husband didn’t like it at all. I will 100% make this again as the chicken turned out perfect. The flour, buttermilk, flour coating is A+++. I give this a 5 star because it is a great dish. I will make it again without the sesame oil so it has more of a honey flavor.
We make this at least once a month! My kids ask me for it all the time and my husband says it is better than the Chinese buffett he goes to for lunch. We have it with homemade fried rice and steamed brocolli. Would be great with toothpicks as an appetizer served hot for football games or parties also.
Just finished this tonight for dinner. WOW, was excellent, very flavorful. We are currently under a “stay-at-home” order (in MA) due to Coronavirus, and this meal helped us feel like we were at our favorite Chinese restaurant (but even better!). The only thing I left out was the red pepper flakes (not fans). Served with brown rice and broccoli. Definitely made our long day a little better. Thank you for posting such a great tasting recipe. Already printed a copy.
I just finished making another version of this recipe and came here to look at other suggestions. the sauce recipe I made had only mayo, honey, and sweetened condensed milk. Your recipe sounds so much better. It havne’t actually made it, so I can’t give an honest review. For those asking about sesame oil, if you don’t have it, you could leave it out completely and/or just garnish your dish with some toasted sesame seeds at the end to give it that extra flavor. Sesame oil is a strong flavored oil… mostly used for the Flavor, so subbing olive or corn oil would add no benefit in my mind.
Why did you leave a rating if you haven’t tried it? Don’t mess up a recipes rating if you never made it.
I can’t wait to try this!! I’m a fan of P.F. Chang’s honey chicken, I can only imagine how much better at home is!
Question, can I use white vinegar as opposed to apple cider?
It was good! As someone with a nut allergy, it was nice to enjoy a Chinese meal. My only critique was how heavy it was- I could just feel it sink in my stomach.
Yummmmm it’s actually really good the best Asian food!
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. It was absolutely delicious.
Great recipe! Only thing I changed was low sodium soy sauce to regular soy sauce!
My boyfriend made this for dinner tonight and it was fantastic! We were both impressed with how well it turned out. He added some garlic powder and onion powder to the flour for dredging but that was the only alteration. So tasty!
I make this with tofu and it is EXCELLENT! Serve with steamed broccoli and jasmine rice, YUM. My one adjustment – as I am allergic to dairy, I don’t dredge in the buttermilk; I likely dust with the flour and it is good to go. My tip for chewy and not mushy or crumbly tofu: slice it, press the water out of it, and then cube and freeze it. Defrost before cooking it. It gets a nice chew to it, and I’ve had people who “don’t eat tofu” not even realize it wasn’t chicken.
Thank you for your take on a veggie version! Love it!
This was so yummy!! Does anyone know how many calories are in this?
Hi Amy! Nutritional information is provided only for select and new recipes at this time. However, if it is not available for a specific recipe, we recommend using free online resources at your discretion (you can Google “nutritional calculator”) to obtain such information. Hope that helps!
this contains label minus the coating