Asian Honey Chicken
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A take-out favorite that you can easily make right at home – and the homemade version tastes a million times better!
Featured Comment
reasons to make asian honey chicken at home
- Takeout favorite
- Budget-friendly
- Saves time
- Made with fresh ingredients
Ingredients
Vegetable oil
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
To help thicken the sauce.
Honey
The key ingredient for the sweet sauce.
Soy Sauce
Adding salty, savory, umami flavors, blending so well with the rest of the flavors.
Apple cider vinegar
A little bit of acid to add flavor, balance and a bit of sweetness to the sauce.
Sesame oil
Adds a nutty flavor.
Crushed red pepper flakes
For added heat. Sriracha can also be used.
tips and tricks for success
- 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!
leftovers and storage
Storage
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
Reheating
Reheat on the stovetop over low heat, stirring occasionally, until heated through.
Freezing
We do not recommend freezing as the crisp texture will not hold up well in the freezer.
what to serve with asian honey chicken
Tools For This Recipe
Large cast iron skillet
Asian Honey Chicken: Frequently Asked Questions
We recommend using 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.
Coconut aminos is a great substitute that is also gluten-free.
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
Asian Honey Chicken
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 small bowl, combine cornstarch and 1 tablespoon water; set aside.
- In a small saucepan over medium high 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; set aside.
- Serve chicken immediately, drizzled with honey glaze.
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I made this and with some leftover chicken, my daughter dusted it with Ranch seasoning and took it for her school lunch the next day.How would I make this in an air fryer?
What a great idea! But unfortunately, without having tried this myself, I cannot answer with certainty. But if you get a chance to try it, please let me know how it turns out! 🙂
Found it better as a make ahead after being frozen in the left sauce. In fact as a make ahead it was restaurantish. Quite delicious.
Do you think I could substitute almond flour for the regular flour?
What a great idea! But unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment when making substitutions and modifications.
Just made this for dinner with rice and sauteed veggies! So yummy! I love your recipes! I love how they are simple and allow me to try new things without having to buy 15 new ingredients that I may not ever use again! Your website is my goto for pretty much all recipes!
Thank you Chungah, this was just delicious!!! Your recipes are amazing, I look forward to my emails when it comes from Damn Delicious!
First of all, thank you for all of your fabulous recipes – THIS one is a keeper!! and just as a side note, I LOVE your new picture! You are talented and beautiful. Thank you for all of your recipes!
Great recipe and for Australian cook “lilly” cornstarch here is cornflour found in every grocery store.
What oil is a good substitute for sesame oil due to an allergy peanut oil is also not a possibly.
Thank you
Grapeseed oil worked well for me. High heat friendly but healthier!
My partner had a stroke,afterward hard to get him to eat . Made this for him and he ask for seconds,
. Took to a family function came back with empty container. When I ask what anyone wants for dinner this is one of the choices that makes the top ten.
This recipe is bloody yum yum, have done it twice now and yummy all the way, a not to be missed recipe x
This is an Amazing dish ! I love crunchy honey chicken !! I drizzled the sauce over the top of the chicken over a bed of rice , so it wouldn’t get to soggy with the glazing.
The second time I made it , I also added a 1/2 teaspoon of sauté garlic while cooking the sauce and a small amount of ginger also.
Yum !!!
Delicious recipe! This was far better than any honey chicken I’ve had at a restaurant. I will definitely be making this again:-)
Turned out well, nice crispy chicken, good flavour, excellent balance of sweet, tangy and spicy with the sauce.
My wife did comment that the pepper flakes were like playing Russian roulette, you never knew when you were going to get a seed that was pretty spicy… 🙂 I also did some shrimp after the chicken was cooked (to avoid flavour transfer to the chicken as I am the only one that likes shrimp), and it turned out equally as well.
For the one that commented on the time, about 45 mins or so for prep and <30 mins to cook (for 3 servings) so her 1.5 hours was pretty close. Cleanup wasn't too bad either. Thanks for the recipe.
Do you have a recipe for Siam tender? I had it at a Thai restraunt with rice and pork meat.
Not at this time – sorry!
Hi Chungah! This looks amazing and I want to make it for dinner tonight. But we have no buttermilk. Can i use heavy cream in place of buttermilk or will it not work? Thanks!
You can actually create a buttermilk substitute from plain milk with lemon juice or vinegar! Here’s how:
http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-a-quick-easy-buttermilk-substitute-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-185757.
We loved this so much! My 4 year old son who never likes anything I make (unless it comes from the freezer and goes in the microwave) won’t stop talking about mommy’s honey chicken. I’m walking on air!! I’m making it again for him tomorrow. Has anyone tried it with boneless skinless thighs?
Yay!!! 🙂
Boneless, skinless chicken thighs will work just fine.
I am gonna make this with the boneless skinless thighs tonight will let you know how it turns out
Okay an hour and a half it took me to cook this. It is good but I’m a pretty intermediate cook and it took me an hour and a half. I’m a little annoyed because I chose this as a quick easy meal. Not so much. Just thought I’d give everyone a heads up. Also stir the cornstarch in very very slowly r it will clump up.
I used this sauce recipe with crispy baked tofu instead of the chicken. It was amazing. I press the tofu cubes and then toss with corn starch and then bake on parchment lined cookie sheet for about 30 minutes at 400 degrees. They get crispy on the outside and hold the sauce nicely. I made brown rice and steam in bag mixed veggies. Dinner was done quicker than the delivery guy could gave gotten to the house. The kids love it!
This was a really yummy dish! If you just put the sauce on whatever you’ll eat in one serving, you can reheat the chicken under the broiler (I selected ‘low’ and flipped the pieces after about 3 minutes, then continued cooking for 2-3 more) and the chicken stays crispy! You can microwave the extra sauce for about 15-25 seconds, pour it on top, and it’s just as good as the first day!
This was my sixth (?) dish I’ve tried from your site. I loved the flavor on this and once again I am obsessed with your sauce. At first bite my husband loved it, but after a few pieces he thought it was a little too sweet, I disagreed. I served it on crispy rice noodles, but it would have been better on or next to rice. It was a good bit of work and kind of messy to prepare so I will probably not make this dish again, but would recommend it to others to try for sure.