Super crispy and sticky Chinese Honey Chicken, perfectly sweet, perfectly crunchy! This incredibly yummy chicken is hands down, better than any restaurant quality. A popular Asian inspired dish that the whole family will enjoy.
Super Easy Chinese Honey Chicken
For anyone who regularly orders from a Chinese restaurant, but has always wanted to try making their own, this is a great recipe to try if you’re looking for truly crispy and sticky chicken. The secret is in the method I used to make these, no breading required, just a simple marinade, mix the chicken with flour and fry.
The crispy chicken is then coated with a sweet and slightly salted glazed, that’s effortless and easy to make. This honey chicken has lots of flavor, perfect to serve over some rice for a nice lunch or dinner.
To get more adventurous, here are some of my other recipes such as Szechuan Chili Shrimp, Chow Mein, or Hot and Sour Soup. Don’t feel intimidated though, because most Asian recipes tend to have a lot of ingredients, but are really very easy to make. Once you have everything ready, the cooking time is minimal.
What You Need To Make Chinese Honey Chicken
- Chicken – I use chicken thighs which are nice, tender and most importantly, juicy. You can use boneless skinless chicken breast as well.
- Soy sauce – Soy sauce is used in both the marinade and the sauce, I use low sodium soy to control the amount of salt but you can definitely use regular soy sauce especially if you want the chicken saltier.
- Shaoxing Wine – This medium-dry wine produced in Shaoxing has a rich, slightly nutty taste. Some good substitutes can be dry sherry or mirin or even just some more chicken broth.
- Egg white – This is going to help bind the flour to the chicken.
- Broth – I use an organic no salt added chicken broth to control the sodium content. This is the base of the sauce.
- Vinegar – Use white wine vinegar which balances the sweetness of the sauce.
- Honey – Use a liquid honey which is the star of this recipe.
- Sugar – Brown sugar, packed for extra sweetness and also add some caramel flavor.
- Flour – Plain white all-purpose flour which gives a nice crispy coating to the chicken.
- Garlic – Minced garlic always adds great flavor.
- Cornstarch – Cornstarch will help to thicken up the sauce.
- Sesame Seeds – Used for garnish.
- Oil – Use vegetable oil which is great for high heat and used to fry the chicken.
How To Make Chinese Honey Chicken
- Marinate chicken: In a large bowl mix the chicken with the rest of the marinade ingredients together. Mix well, making sure to break up the egg white. Marinate for 15 minutes.
- Make the sauce: In another bowl combine all the sauce ingredients together and whisk well.
- Coat the chicken: Place the flour in a large shallow plate. Add the chicken pieces along with all the marinade liquid and toss everything together well.
- Preheat oil: Fill a wok with vegetable oil â…“ of the way through. Heat over high heat until oil reaches 325°F.
- Fry the chicken: Shake excess flour from chicken and fry in batches about 3 minutes or until cooked through and golden. Mine took 3 batches to finish all the chicken. Transfer cooked chicken to a paper towel lined plate.
- Finish the chicken: In a clean wok, add about 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil and heat over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for 20 seconds until fragrant. Add the sauce mixture to the garlic and cook until the sugar dissolves and the liquid start to boil a bit. Stir in the cornstarch mixture and cook for 1-2 minutes or until the sauce thickens slightly. Toss in the cooked chicken pieces until each piece is evenly coated.
- Serve and garnish: Transfer the chicken to a serving plate, drizzle any leftover sauce over the chicken and garnish with sesame seeds. Serve over rice.
FAQ’S
Honey chicken is a popular Chinese recipe, but I cannot say this is an authentic Chinese recipe, it’s simply Chinese inspired. If you love Chinese food, you will love this simple and delicious dish.
White rice is almost a must with this honey chicken. As a side, also add some egg rolls, potstickers, or spring rolls.
If you don’t have a thermometer, here’s a simple technique to help determine when frying oil is at its optimum temperature. Drop a 1″ cube of bread into the hot oil and time how long it takes to turn golden brown. If the bread toasts in 50 seconds, the oil is 325-350. This is the ideal range for most frying jobs.
Some Tips
- Don’t crowd the wok when frying the chicken as they won’t be as evenly cooked, and you risk the pieces sticking together.
- Make sure your oil is fully heated at the correct temperature.
Leftovers
Store this Chinese honey chicken in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
Freezer
Freeze in an airtight container or freezer bag for 3-4 months. Freeze chicken and sauce separately on a sheet pan prior to placing in a container to help prevent sticking, especially if you only want to remove and use a portion at a time.
More Great Asian Recipes To Try
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Chinese Honey Chicken
Ingredients
Chicken and Marinade
- 2 pounds chicken thighs boneless and skinless, cut into 1 inch cubes
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce low sodium
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
- 1 egg white
Sauce
- â…” cup chicken broth low sodium or no sodium added
- 2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine
- 2 tablespoons white vinegar
- ¼ cup honey
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce low sodium
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar packed
Other Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 3 teaspoons cornstarch mixed with 3 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
- vegetable oil for frying
Instructions
- Marinate chicken: In a large bowl mix the chicken with the rest of the marinade ingredients together. Mix well, making sure to break up the egg white. Marinate for 15 minutes.
- Make the sauce: In another bowl combine all the sauce ingredients together and whisk well.
- Coat the chicken: Add the flour to the bowl with the chicken, including the marinade) and toss everything together well.
- Preheat oil: Fill a wok with vegetable oil ⅓ of the way through. Heat over high heat until oil reaches 325°F.
- Fry the chicken: Shake excess flour from chicken and fry in batches about 3 minutes or until cooked through and golden. Mine took 3 batches to finish all the chicken. Transfer cooked chicken to a paper towel lined plate.
- Finish the chicken: In a clean wok, add about 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil and heat over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for 20 seconds until fragrant. Add the sauce mixture to the garlic and cook until the sugar dissolves and the liquid start to boil a bit. Stir in the cornstarch mixture and cook for 1-2 minutes or until the sauce thickens slightly. Toss in the cooked chicken pieces until each piece is evenly coated.
- Serve and garnish: Transfer the chicken to a serving plate, drizzle any leftover sauce over the chicken and garnish with sesame seeds. Serve over rice.
Video
Recipe Notes
- Don’t crowd the wok when frying the chicken as they won’t be as evenly cooked, and you risk the pieces sticking together.
- Make sure your oil is fully heated at the correct temperature.
- Store this in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
- Freeze in an airtight container or freezer bag for 3-4 months. Freeze chicken and sauce separately on a sheet pan prior to placing in a container to help prevent sticking, especially if you only want to remove and use a portion at a time.
No one has this wine in pantry, substitute? Thanks
You can find recommended substitutions under the ingredients section in the post.
I have tried various recipes online and most are way short but I followed this to the letter and it needs no tweaking whatsoever – truly exceptional Thanks Jo!
I’m so glad to hear you liked it! Yay!
Can you marinate the chicken for a few hours?
Sure you can! Just cover it up with plastic wrap and refrigerate it.
I got the email yesterday and made it for supper last night. I used chicken breast (that is what I had on hand). The chicken came out tender inside, crispy outside. The glaze is delicious. LOVED IT! Thank you for sharing! xo
So happy to hear this!
Just confirming: for “other ingredients”, is that supposed to say 3 tablespoons cornstarch?
That’s 3 teaspoons cornstarch and 3 tablespoons water. 🙂
Thanks! Considering 3 teaspoons cornstarch might have been written as 1 tablespoon, it seemed reasonable that the measurement might have been tablespoons, so I’m glad I checked.