Sticky tender boneless chicken thighs in a garlic, soy and honey sauce. So simple to make and ready in 20 minutes. Serve with rice for an easy Friday night fakeaway.
A classic combination of honey, soy sauce and garlic working together to produce a sticky, sweet sauce to coat golden tender chicken pieces.
I sometimes shy away from using chicken thighs in recipes, as they're more fiddly and usually require more trimming to remove the fat than chicken breasts.
However for this recipe, you can leave some of the fat on, as the chicken is fried over a high heat, so that fat will crisp up nicely. The thigh meat is also more tender than breast meat, and it can handle the short burst of high heat without drying out.
I love to whip this up to serve over boiled rice for dinner, or as an easy addition to a homemade Chinese banquet. Check out my list further down the post for ideas to include in your homemade Chinese banquet!
- First we dredge the chicken in cornflour (cornstarch), salt and pepper. Then we fry in oil over a hot pan until golden brown.
- Add a little butter to the pan (this will enrich the sauce later) along with some minced garlic.
- Add honey, stock, rice vinegar and light soy sauce to a bowl and stir together. Add to the pan with the chicken and bring to the boil. Let it simmer and reduce until thick and sticky.
- Top the chicken with chopped parsley and chilli flakes.
Then serve over boiled rice. Mmmmm look at the golden brown crispy chicken......
Why not make this as part of a homemade Chinese banquet - including:
- Special fried rice (full masterclass recipe)
- Spicy Ginger Beef
- Sticky Chinese Pork Belly - melt-in-the-mouth tender
- Baked Cauliflower Wings in a delicious Asian sauce
- Oven-Baked Ribs with Crispy Onions
- Pulled Crispy Duck - tastes authentic, but super easy to make
Looking for more Asian Chicken recipes?
How about one of these:
- Sticky and Crispy Chicken wings
- Kung Pao Chicken
- Korean Fried Chicken- in a spicy gochujang sauce
- Easy Chicken Satay with peanut chilli Sauce
- Orange Chicken – ready in 20 minutes!
- Or our fan favourite Sesame Chicken.
The Honey Garlic Chicken Video:
The Honey Garlic Chicken Recipe:
Honey Garlic Chicken
Ingredients
- 8 chicken thighs - (skinless and boneless)
- 2 tbsp cornflour - (cornstarch)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
- 4 cloves minced garlic
- 1/3 cup (110g) honey
- 1/3 cup (80ml) chicken stock
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
To Serve:
- 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
- 1/2 tsp chilli flakes
- boiled rice
INSTRUCTIONS
- Place the chicken thighs in a bowl and add the cornflour (cornstarch), salt and pepper. Toss the chicken in the cornflour until fully coated.
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan (skillet) over a high heat.
- Add the chicken thighs, and cook on one side until golden brown (about 4-5 minutes), then turn over and cook for a further 2 minutes.
- Add the butter to the pan, let it melt, then add the garlic and stir together. Turn the heat down to medium so the garlic doesn't burn, then make the sauce.
- To make the sauce, combine the honey, stock, rice vinegar and light soy sauce in a bowl and stir together.
- Add the sauce to the pan. Turn the heat up and bring the sauce to the boil, then simmer for 4-5 minutes until the sauce reduces and thickens, and the chicken is cooked through (and no longer pink in the middle).
- Sprinkle on the chopped parsley and chilli flakes and serve over boiled rice.
Video
✎ Notes
Can I replace the chicken thighs with chicken breast?
Yes, you can do this. Chicken thighs are a little more tender, and stand up well to cooking over a high heat without drying out, but you can replace with chicken breast if you prefer. I would suggest slicing the chicken breast into thick strips, or flattening the chicken using a rolling pin to ensure it cooks through quickly and evenly in the pan.Can I make this gluten free?
Yes, replace the soy sauce with tamari and use gluten free chicken stock. Ensure you brand of rice vinegar is gluten free too.Can I freeze it?
Yes, although the chicken won't be quite as tender (it'll still taste great through). Cook, quickly cool and cover the chicken, then freeze. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator, and reheat in the oven at 180C/350f on a baking tray. Cover the chicken with foil before placing in the oven to help prevent it drying out. Cook for 12-15 minutes until piping hot throughout.Can I make ahead or save leftovers and reheat?
Yes, although the chicken won't be quite as tender when reheated (it'll still taste great through). Cook, quickly cool and cover the chicken, then refrigerate. Reheat in the oven at 180C/350f on a baking tray. Cover the chicken with foil before placing in the oven to help prevent it drying out. Cook for 12-15 minutes until piping hot throughout.Swaps:
- If you don't have rice vinegar, you can swap for apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar plus 1/4 tsp of sugar.
- If you don't have light soy sauce, you can swap for 3/4 tbsp of dark soy sauce.
- The vegetable oil can be swapped for any neutral tasting oil that can be cooked at high temperatures (such as rapeseed, sunflower and ghee).
Nutrition
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JEG says
Quick and easy. I bought 1-lb of boneless, skinless chicken thighs at the farm today. There were 2 large thighs. I serve it with yellow wax beans from the farm, and tomato from the home garden So farm to table tonight and good.
Nancy DeLisle says
Made with chicken tenderloins and was a big hit in our house! Thank you for sharing.
Rippley says
This looks amazing and I plan to make this tonight! Question, though! The calorie count, is that for the completed recipe or per serving! Thanks so much! So looking forward to this!!
Chris Corbishley says
Yes thats right it's per serving, excluding rice.
Thanks
Chris
Niki says
This looks so yummy—in fact, so good that I saw a MasterChef contestant (Elizabethlinn) was posting it on their Instagram as their own!
Chris Corbishley says
Thanks Niki and thanks for the heads up RE someone stealing our image and passing it off as their own...
Anyway so glad you like the recipe
Thanks
Chris & Nicky
Samantha says
I made this with 7 chicken tenderloins and it was delicious! I found that I needed a lot more conrstarch than the recipe called for to coat the chicken. This will definitely make it into the regular rotation.
Phylis Vosta says
It was wonderful. Shared with 3 friends.pp
Charlotte says
What is the approximate weight of the amount of chicken you used? Did you cut the thighs before dredging? Those thighs look much smaller than what I get in the store. Trying to figure out how many thighs I can cook with those sauce measurements. Thanks!
Nicky Corbishley says
Hi Charlotte, it's about 600g (75g per thigh) altogether. They're boneless, so they will shrink a little during cooking too.
CK says
I only used 3 tbs of honey as with the full amount it would be way too sweet for us. Delicious!
Jessica says
I don't have chicken breast or thighs on hand, but I do have shrimp. Can this recipe be used with shrimp too? Looks very delicious!
Nicky Corbishley says
Hi Jessica, I think this would work with shrimp. I would just cook for less time so the shrimp doesn't overcook and become rubbery.
Larayoyo says
It WAS devoured by the whole family!