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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Hello. I still like your photography.
I just made this and it was awesome! I didn’t have buttermilk, just nonfat but it was still yummy! I didn’t have red pepper flakes either, thanks for the recipe, it’s the second one I’ve made from this blog, the other was broccoli beef and that was just as delicious!
Can you substitute the buttermilk with 1% to cut back on fat & calories?
Chris, unfortunately, the milk is just too thin of a liquid to help with the coating for a recipe like this and the breading will most likely fall/tear off.
is there any way that bake this recipe?
Yes, you certainly can but without further recipe testing, I cannot advise on the appropriate cooking time/temp. Please use your best judgment to make the appropriate substitutions and adjustments to bake this instead.
Just made this today. Easy and it is delicious. My family loved it. Thanks for a great recipe.
Ok maybe I simply suck at cooking but when I made this following everything accordingly, it ‘did not’ turn out like this
Can you describe how it turned out? I would love to help troubleshoot what went wrong for you.
sauteed a couple smaller cloves of garlic before adding the rest of the honey sauce ingredients…i have kids who don’t like “meat that is sweet or fruitty” (not sure what planet they are from!). the garlic gives it that “something” that moves it from being sweet to a bit more savory ..at least for my picky kid eaters! thanks for sharing!
I just wanted to say that this was an amazing dish! And for all of you asking about the oil and milk, I used regular milk because I didn’t have buttermilk and I used coconut oil instead. It turned out really well!!! Definitely making this again!!!
This recipe looks so much like home and I plan to make it tomorrow! I’m a college student and chinese takeout is a staple. My only question is, if I have regular vinegar will it still taste the same if I don’t have Apple cider vinegar?
You can certainly substitute regular vinegar but I cannot speak for how much this will change the overall taste/texture of the dish as further recipe testing is needed. It is always best to use the ingredients listed in the recipe to obtain the best results possible.
This looks so good. I think this sauce would taste great even over a simple grilled or baked chicken,
Its the first time I am visiting your blog and am utterly in love with your recipes. I am trying two of your recipes tonight, they re just so irresistible. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you
I just want to tell you how impressed I am with your recipes. I have tried several through food gawker, and they were all FANTASTIC. I am now looking directly at your blog and can’t wait to try more! I have no worries about how the recipe will turn out because I know just how talented you are as a chef! Keep up the good work!
Sesame oil is hard to find in my area. Can I substitute it with Olive oil? Or will that change anything? Can’t wait to try this delicious recipe tonight
It is best to use the ingredients listed here to obtain the best results possible. You can certainly substitute olive oil but I cannot speak for how much this will change the overall taste/texture of the dish.
Is there a reason why some of these dishes you prefer to bake (sweet/sour chicken) but some like this one you prefer to keep on top the stove? Thanks for such a great recipe awesome as always!
Yes, I choose to either bake or fry certain recipes depending on the flavor combination and/or if my focus is on a lighter take of the recipe.
I just made this for dinner and it is so amazing. Seriously. Delicious. So, thank you!
Made this for dinner last night, and let’s just say no leftovers between the two of us. So delicious and I love that your recipes taste like the unhealthy terrible Chinese food, but better. So much better….AND I don’t have to constantly worry about those odd “pieces” of miscellaneous that I swear I always find in my bowl. Loved this! I did use a bit of cornstarch with my flour and some sesame seeds…well because I had some and was curious. Added a nice nutty little crunch. Thanks for awesomeness!
And by the way I did’t use sesame oil since I didn’t have any. I used corn oil instead.
Thank you very much for the receipt….we just made it and it was delicious.
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It looks so good! However, this recipe was almost a total failure for me last week. The chicken didn’t hold the breading, and making the sauce was really difficult-I’m not so sure what I did wrong. It was originally too thin, then I added a slight bit more corstarch and water and turned the stove down as said: however, it immeadiatly turned into one giant, unpleasant, sticky gloop with the odor of the vinegar. Any suggestions for a second time around? Thanks
What a bummer! For the second time around, I recommend following the flour-buttermilk-flour dredge completely in each step. That should hold up the breading. And the sauce is thin to begin with so it is best to have patience to let the sauce thicken up before adding more cornstarch. Too much cornstarch will certainly lead to that “unpleasant sticky gloop”!
Thanks so much! I’ll try it again!