Crispy honey garlic chicken is made with a double-battered spice mix and pan-fried twice then drizzled with an addictive honey garlic sauce.
So let’s talk about how amazing this chicken is. I know I always tell you how this is delicious and that is delicious. But I try to use hyperboles sparingly so that when something like this comes along, you know I’m not kidding.
It’s crispy. Super, super, super crispy. So crispy. And while that herbed breading is largely responsible for the deliciousness of this chicken, the sauce just knocks it out of this world.
That sauce. So simple, so deceiving. So freaking yummy. Happy noises while eating this. Together, this chicken will seriously make you ignore everything else except devising ways on how to face-plant yourself into a mountain of these for the rest of your life.
My usual routine is to cook, shoot, edit and save the food for dinner later with Mr. Cooking Jar. I am eating it now because I can’t wait. He can wait. He can eat it alone. This chicken does things to you like that. So let’s start cooking.
CRISPY HONEY GARLIC CHICKEN RECIPE TIPS
So how do we cook this miracle chicken? Well, that’s easy and takes less than 30 minutes too. Flatten it, dredge it in spiced breading, dip it in egg, dredge it again and pan-fry it. In case you missed it, that’s a double dredge and that’s why it’s so crispy. The ingredients of cornstarch and baking powder added to the breading makes it crispier than your average breading.
Then you make the sauce by sauteing ginger and garlic with honey and soy sauce. Pour that magical sauce all over your chicken and enjoy it hot. Because it has to be hot to enjoy all that crunchy chicken. Just make sure to drizzle with the sauce when you’re ready to eat. It’s kind of like the french fries rule; If you wait too long it will get soggy.
And that’s about it. It’s so little effort for so much win. And trust me, this is a win. Let me know how you like it!
MORE HONEY GARLIC CHICKEN RECIPES TO TRY
- Honey Garlic Chicken
- Honey Garlic Butter Chicken
- Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken
- Honey Garlic Chicken Skewers
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Crispy Honey Garlic Chicken
- Total Time: 30 mins
- Yield: 2 1x
Description
Crispy honey garlic chicken is made with a double-battered spice mix and pan-fried twice then drizzled with an addictive honey garlic sauce.
Ingredients
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon sage
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 tablespoon water
Sauce:
- 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon ginger, minced
- 4 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
Instructions
- Wrap the chicken breasts in plastic wrap and pound into 1/2″ thickness with a meat mallet.
- Combine flour, cornstarch, baking powder, salt and pepper to taste, thyme, sage, paprika and cayenne and stir to mix.
- Combine egg and water for the egg wash.
- Dredge the chicken with the flour mixture. Follow with a dip in the egg wash and final dredge of the flour mixture and coat thoroughly.
- Over medium heat, pan-fry the chicken in some oil (see note) until the crust is golden brown, about 3-5 minutes per side. Drain on paper towels.
- In a separate pan over medium-high heat, saute garlic and ginger until fragrant.
- Add honey and soy sauce and bring to a simmer, about 2 minutes.
- Dish the chicken and serve it hot with honey garlic sauce.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- Scroll up to RECIPE TIPS for more useful tips, suggestions and ingredient substitutions.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
Comments & Reviews
I need this sauce in my life! It sounds soooo good, and I can imagine putting it over a lot more than just this chicken 😉 I don’t blame you one bit for not waiting to eat this! I almost can’t resist it myself 🙂
I liked the sauce so much that I put it over some salmon! Here’s the recipe if you’re interested in seafood: http://thecookingjar.com/honey-garlic-salmon/
I’ve never done pan fried crispy chicken. How much oil do you use? A regular frying pan or a deeper sauté pan?
Thanks!
I use a regular frying pan, about half an inch or so of oil. You don’t need much, just enough to submerge half of the breast, then flip it over. The thinness of the breast once you pound it down and the medium heat ensures it will cook evenly with very little oil needed.
Hi,
So I finally got around to making this and it was delicious! The sauce especially was star of the show. The only thing I’ll say is that I only used 3 tbsp of honey instead of four because it sounded like way too much. Three was plenty sweet — I even added a tsp or two of water and reduced the sauce by about 1/4th to thicken it.
I served it with cinnamon cumin rice and steamed carrots. My fiance loved it! Thank you so much for taking the time to write this and take such lovely pictures. My chicken wasn’t as pretty as yours but it was still tasty 🙂
★★★★
Thanks for coming back and leaving an honest review, Ken! I’m so glad you managed to customize it to your tastes and it worked out well! Using a cornstarch slurry to chicken is also a great way to go if you like it thick 🙂 And the stuff you served alongside it sounds delicious! I love meat spices with my rice.
It’s my job to make things look pretty so people will wanna cook them. It’s your job to to eat! 🙂
En Paraguay llamamos milanesas de pollo a esto.
Es bueno saber! Estoy utilizando Google Translate para esto, así que espero que no carnicero la sentencia. Es divertido cómo los nombres de los alimentos pueden cambiar con la ubicación, ¿no es así?
Oh my, I want to make this tonight for dinner. I would have never guessed to use nutmeg in coating, and soy sauce in the sauce/
★★★★★
It’s definitely not traditional use of nutmeg, but it works! I used very small quantities of it though since it can be overpowering. I would call this a little bit of a fusion dish with Western herbs of nutmeg, thyme, sage, paprika and cayenne in the breading but an Asian influenced sauce of honey, garlic, ginger and soy sauce. Usually I’m not one for fusion stuff, but I like this one!
I’d love to make this for my wife but she is allergic to corn starch. Can you recommend a substitute? Thanks!
Hi Scott! You can remove the cornstarch and baking powder from the flour mix and it’ll still work just fine 🙂 I just added it there to up the crunch factor because I’m used to those three flours in my tempura batter.
It’s funny to read what you do because I usually cook, then I tell my sons to wait before touching anything until I am done with my pictures. They are 22 and 20 and tell me that they are hungry and can’t wait to eat. Food does not stay long in this house 🙂 Love your chicken dish and amazing pictures.
Same here. There’s rarely any leftovers in the house unless I cook huge portions. Thanks, Helene!
Certainly will !! thanks for the reply 🙂
Thanks, Donna! Hope it works out well 🙂
Wow, I love this, I’m doing this for dinner this evening, can I prepare in advance & refrigerate until ready to cook ?
I’ve personally never prepped in advance but I think you should be able to if you cover it well to keep moisture out of the breaded chicken. If you do, let me know how it goes?
Totally worked pre prepped, and it was awesome, served it with an Asian slaw & home made sate sauce. Delish !! Thanks for a great recipe
That combo sounds delicious! Thanks for coming back to let us know and maybe it’ll help someone else along the way! 🙂
What oil did you use to fry the chicken?
Hi Kelly! I always use vegetable oil for my frying. Peanut oil works too.
I saw this recipe featured on foodgawker and decided to take a look. I am going to make it this weekend but just wanted to confirm: in step 2 you mention adding ginger to the batter mixture, but is this a typo or did you forget to list an ingredient?
Thanks!
Ken, you are awesome. Thanks for spotting that! I removed it, it was a typo. Thank you again for your attention to detail!
This looks and sounds amazing. Fried chicken is nothing new but it was the sauce and beautiful photography that got me, thanks for sharing.
Let me tell you that sauce, no matter how simple, is brilliant! Thanks for the compliments, Bibs!
The chicken looks seriously awesome!!! TOO GOOD!
I love all sorts of fried chicken and yours just look perfect. Will make a big batch of them with chicken leg!
★★★★★
Thanks Maggie! You can bake it too supposedly, maybe I should include that in the instructions somewhere for those that mind. And I hope the ingredient quantities scale well!
Oh man, this looks great! I wish I could jump into the screen. I am with you on eating it right now. The other day I was cooking and shooting something and my husband walked into the kitchen all “What about me??” I RELUCTANTLY handed him a piece and then stashed away some more to enjoy alone (don’t judge me). 🙂
Haha that is so funny, Tekesha 😉 . I know that ‘What about me??!’ look all too well!
This chicken looks seriously crispy and delicious! I love how quick and easy the recipe is.. thanks for sharing it!
Thalia, it truly is. I’m not one to exaggerate and as you can tell, I generally suck at it. But I tried my best to convey just how great it is and how people need to cook it now!