Asian Honey Chicken
This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our privacy policy for details.
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
Did you make this recipe?
Tag @damn_delicious on Instagram and hashtag it #damndelicious!
Gorgeous photos – that shiny glaze is totally getting to me :)!
I love all of your asian take out recipes!
Trish
This looks amazing! Better than any restaurant entree and you make it seem so simple. Beautiful pic once again. Pinned.
I will definitely try this. There used to be a local restaurant in Coral Gables, Florida. They served an amazing honey chicken. The only restaurant that I ever ate at where I thought the honey chicken was so good it should be patented.
I’m curious what you think about using corn starch in lieu of flour for the batter. The Korean place down the road from where I lived in Torrance use corn starch to make the chicken extra crispy.
You can certainly use cornstarch for this recipe but I prefer using the flour to avoid too much of a “cornstarchy” taste. And even with the use of flour, these are amazingly crispy!
I know exactly which coral gables restaurant you are referring to! I use to order their honey chicken. They would serve a huge plate of the most delicious crispy honey-sweet chicken. I moved away from Miami many years ago. I guess that restaurant is no longer there…?
I also used to eat there. Their steak was insane also!
So long Panda Express! My family is starting to believe that I’m a culinary genius thanks to all of your great recipes!
I think this might make the menu this week!
I have not been able to print the recipes for 2 days now! Something from Google pops up! Help!
Linda, I am not sure what the issue is as it is working fine on my end. I should mention that it is not recommended to use Internet Explorer to print these recipes due to a compatibility issue. Please use browsers such as Safari, Google Chrome, or Mozilla.
Love all your take-out copycats! Homemade is always the best 🙂 Pinning!
This looks so easy, and beyond delicious! You make me never want to order Chinese again with all these recipes 🙂 yum! Pinned.
This looks pretty irresistible, and I love how easy it looks to make! Pinned. 🙂