A delicious Honey Chicken recipe with crispy and crunchy chicken, served in a sticky and sweet honey sauce. Recipe with step-by-step photos.
Crispy Honey Chicken
My children love chicken nuggets, and this Honey Chicken recipe is essentially a Chinese version of crispy chicken nuggets served in a delicious, sticky honey sauce which the whole family will love.
Honey Chicken is a classic Chinese restaurant dish, but one which you can easily make at home. And any homemade version will always be healthier and tastier!
Honey Chicken Recipe
This Honey Chicken recipe involves two easy steps:
- Making the crispy chicken
- Making the sticky honey sauce
Crispy Chicken
For this Honey Chicken recipe, I like to make small crispy chicken nuggets, also known as Popcorn Chicken.
Rather than coating the chicken pieces in a heavy batter for deep-frying, I light to make a light, floury batter which sticks to the chicken pieces to create a crispy texture.
The results are tender and juicy chicken pieces, with an addictive and more-ish crunchy coating. You could end the recipe here if fried chicken is your thing! 😉
How to Make Honey Chicken
Step 1
Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces (about 2 cm/1 inch cubes) and place them into a medium-sized bowl.
Add the marinade ingredients, and give everything a good mix.
Set the chicken aside to marinate at room temperature for about 30 minutes.
Step 2
Place the flour into a large bowl or baking tray. For this recipe, you can use either plain flour (all-purpose flour) or self-raising flour.
Step 3
Pour the chicken, together with all of the marinade, onto the flour.
Step 4
Use your hands to mix everything together. The liquid from the marinade will mix with the flour to create a light, floury batter.
Press the flour mixture into the chicken to create a craggy coating. It is these craggly bits which will make the chicken crispy and crunchy.
Step 5
Heat enough vegetable oil in a large saucepan to about 2 cm (1 inch) depth. The oil is ready when the temperature is 165°C (325°F), or when a wooden chopstick inserted in the oil creates lots of small bubbles.
Cook the chicken in batches until they are golden in colour.
Drain the chicken on kitchen paper or a wire rack.
Try not to eat all of the chicken at this stage 😉
Step 6
Mix together all of the ingredients for the honey sauce in a bowl or measuring jug.
Heat the sauce in a large skillet or saucepan, until it starts to simmer. Whisk the sauce frequently to prevent any lumps from forming. Once the sauce starts to boil, it will start to thicken quickly.
Once the sauce has thickened to your liking, taste the sauce for seasoning.
Step 7
Add the chicken pieces to the honey sauce. Use a wooden spoon to make sure all of the chicken is fully coated in the sauce.
Garnish with toasted sesame seeds and serve immediately.
More Chinese Recipes
If you are looking for more Chinese recipes, you might also enjoy:
Crispy Honey Chicken
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: Chinese
A delicious Honey Chicken recipe with crispy and crunchy chicken, served in a sticky and sweet honey sauce. Recipe with step-by-step photos.
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RateIngredients
For the Marinade
- 700 g (1.5 lb) chicken breast fillets
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked white pepper
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon Chinese shaoxing wine
- 1 egg white
For the Crispy Chicken
- 300 g (2 cups) plain flour (all-purpose flour)
- vegetable oil for shallow frying
For the Sticky Honey Sauce
- 250 ml (1 cup) chicken stock
- 4 tablespoons Chinese shaoxing wine
- 4 tablespoons white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
- 6 tablespoons honey
- 110g (1/2 cup) caster sugar (superfine sugar)
- 1 tablespoon cornflour (cornstarch)
To Serve
- toasted sesame seeds, for garnish
- Steamed Jasmine Rice
Instructions
For the Marinade
- Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces, about 2 cm (1 inch) cubes.
- Place the chicken into a medium-sized bowl.
- Add the marinade ingredients.
- Mix everything together until the chicken is well-combined in the marinade.
- Set aside to marinate for at least 30 minutes.
For the Crispy Chicken
- Heat a large saucepan with enough vegetable oil to about 2 cm (1 inch) depth.
- Place the flour into a large bowl or baking tray.
- Pour the chicken, together with all of the marinade, onto the flour.
- Use your hands to coat the chicken in the flour. The liquid in the marinade will mix with the flour to form a light batter.
- Press the flour into the chicken to help form a craggy coating on the chicken. It is this craggy coating which will make the chicken crispy and crunchy.
- The oil is ready when it reaches 165°C or 325°F, or when a wooden chopstick inserted in the oil creates lots of small bubbles.
- Cook the chicken in batches until golden in colour.
- Drain the chicken pieces on kitchen paper or on a wire rack.
For the Sticky Honey Sauce
- Mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl or measuring jug.
- Heat a large skillet or saucepan over medium-high heat.
- Pour the sticky honey sauce into the skillet.
- As the sauce starts to simmer, use a whisk to stir the sauce to prevent any lumps from forming.
- The sauce needs to come to a boil to activate the cornflour (cornstarch), which will thicken the sauce.
- Once the sauce has thickened to your liking, taste for seasoning.
- This recipe makes a lot of sauce so there is enough to drizzle over some steamed rice or vegetables. If you don’t want a lot of sauce in this dish, remove half of the sauce and store it in the fridge for another time.
To Serve
- Add the Crispy Chicken pieces to the Sticky Honey Sauce.
- Use a spoon to quickly toss the chicken pieces in the sauce.
- Garnish with some toasted sesame seeds.
- Serve immediately.
Kitchen Notes
CONVERSIONS
To convert from cups to grams, and vice-versa, please see this handy Conversion Chart for Basic Ingredients.
Wow this tasted amazing! Honey chicken is my favourite dish whenever we order Chinese except this homemade version is way better! Can’t wait to try more of your recipes. Your website is so beautiful and the recipes work!