Honey Garlic Chicken
Crispy cornstarch-coated chicken pieces tossed in a sticky honey, soy, and ginger sauce. A fast weeknight dinner ready in about 25 minutes, best served over rice.
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 4 breasts), cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 green onion, chopped
- 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds, optional garnish
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/3 cup water
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- In a bowl, combine the cornstarch, salt, and pepper. Add the chicken pieces and toss until evenly coated.
- Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, until browned on the bottom, then flip and cook another 3 to 5 minutes, until browned on the other side and cooked through.
- While the chicken cooks, whisk together the honey, water, soy sauce, cornstarch, ginger, and garlic for the sauce in a separate bowl until smooth.
- Add the garlic to the skillet with the chicken and cook just until fragrant, about 30 seconds — watch it closely so it doesn't burn. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside in a bowl.
- Pour the sauce into the same skillet and bring it to a simmer, whisking constantly as it thickens. Reduce the heat to low, return the chicken to the pan, and simmer for about 3 minutes, stirring to coat the chicken evenly in the glossy sauce.
- Serve over rice, garnished with chopped green onion and a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds if you like.
Chef's Note: Coating the chicken in cornstarch before searing is a classic Chinese cooking technique — it creates a light crust that helps the pieces brown quickly and gives the finished sauce something to cling to, rather than sliding right off plain seared chicken. The cornstarch whisked into the sauce itself does double duty, thickening it into that glossy, clingy texture that's the whole point of a good honey garlic chicken.
Fresh ginger makes a real difference here over the powdered version — its brightness cuts through the sweetness of the honey in a way dried ginger can't quite match. This comes together fast enough for a weeknight, but the sauce is easy to double if you want extra to spoon generously over rice, since a lot of its appeal comes from having plenty to soak into each bite.
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