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.
Video
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This is one of 5 recipes that I have tried and so far, they’re all so very tasty. Thank you again for another truly delicious meal. This recipe is definitely better than take-out.
After substituting the buttermilk with milk & lemon juice, I ran out of four so I dredged half the batch of chicken from the flour to the milk into a some panko I had in the pantry. I prefer the panko breading over the flour for a very light crisp that turns golden brown in the skillet. I like your sauce recipe because it is not overly sweet.
I am looking forward to trying more recipes from your great collection.
This looks amazing! Can’t wait to try it tonight!
is there a substitute for cornstarch i live i Australia and we don’t have that
thanks
Lilly, here is a great article on possible cornstarch substitutes. Hope that helps!
Lilly, cornstarch is an American term for our corn flour which is readily available in every supermarket.
Never hurts to add a little ginger and garlic…(smile)..
Cooking this recipe, now…can’t wait to see how it turns out!
Yum! i just made this and added coriander on top too with the spring onion. it was delicious! so sweet and tasty.
Hi there is there anything else we can use in place of the buttermilk?
Thanks
Sandra, you can actually substitute milk and lemon juice (or vinegar) for buttermilk. You can read more about it here.
Just made this recipe, was so amazing! Better than takeout!
This recipe is delicious and easy to make, even better than most restaurants! I love your recipes. Everything that I make is great. The only thing I changed in this recipe is I used less honey. Thanks for your sharing
Can you use grilled chicken?
Yes, absolutely.
That was really good, so easy to follow for such a good result
i’m 65 just taken up cooking easiest and best recipe I have tried
tonight I’ll try your lemon chicken.
thanks very much for sharing your talent Chungah
Has anyone tried baking the chicken rather than frying? Interested to know your experience. Making this tonight. So excited!!
I have LOVED every recipe of yours I have tried!! Amazing! Trying this one tonight. I think you picked the name of you blog spot on, cause every single recipe has been “Damn Delicious”! Thank you for sharing you talent with the rest of us that are not near as gifted as you are. 🙂
I tried very nice جربت لذيذ جدا
Would I be able to make this without the breading? I am wondering if you and/or anyone else has tried this as more of a “grilled” meal?
This looks great, totally making it this week. Thank you
Made this last night for my family and it was so delicious. The sauce is was perfect! This is definitely a keeper!
Delicious! The only problem I had was because so few pieces of chicken are fried at a time, the first chunks get cold by the time you’re done with the last. You may be on to something with your baking method (baked honey garlic chicken).
Your recipes are amazing!! Thank you so much for sharing. So far I’ve tried two of your recipes and I can’t wait to try more! Tomorrow I’m making the bang bang shrimp pasta 🙂
Just made this recipe for date night and it is incredible! The chicken develops such a lovely golden brown and the sauce on top is incredible! I substituted buttermilk for 1 cup whole milk and 1 tablespoon white vinegar (saw this in the comments), and the chicken turned out tremendously! Cannot wait to make it again!
Such a great dinner! I loved every bite. I squeezed some fresh lemon on the final dish and it was really nice. Thanks for your great recipes! I’ve really enjoyed every one I’ve tried!