Description
This Honey Garlic Chicken recipe features tender chicken thighs cooked in a flavorful sauce made with honey, garlic, soy sauce, and rice vinegar. The dish is pan-seared to achieve a golden crust and then simmered in the sauce until thickened. It’s garnished with fresh parsley and chili flakes and served over boiled rice for a complete and satisfying meal.
Ingredients
Scale
Chicken and Coating
- 8 chicken thighs (skinless and boneless)
- 2 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch)
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
Cooking
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
- 4 cloves minced garlic
Sauce
- 110 g (1/3 cup) honey
- 80 ml (1/3 cup) chicken stock
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
To Serve
- 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
- ½ tsp chilli flakes
- Boiled rice (as needed)
Instructions
- Prepare the chicken coating: Place the chicken thighs in a bowl and add the cornflour, salt, and pepper. Toss the chicken thoroughly in the cornflour mixture until each piece is evenly coated.
- Heat the pan: Heat the vegetable oil in a large frying pan or skillet over high heat until hot but not smoking.
- Sear the chicken: Add the coated chicken thighs to the pan and cook undisturbed on one side for about 4-5 minutes until golden brown. Flip the chicken and cook for an additional 2 minutes on the other side.
- Add butter and garlic: Add the butter to the pan and let it melt. Stir in the minced garlic, then reduce the heat to medium to prevent the garlic from burning.
- Make the sauce: In a small bowl, combine honey, chicken stock, rice vinegar, and light soy sauce, stirring until well mixed.
- Simmer the chicken in sauce: Pour the sauce mixture into the pan with the chicken. Increase the heat to bring the sauce to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens and the chicken is cooked through with no pink inside.
- Garnish and serve: Sprinkle chopped fresh parsley and chili flakes over the chicken. Serve immediately over boiled rice.
Notes
- Chicken breast can be used instead of thighs, but for best results, slice into thick strips or flatten to ensure even cooking.
- To make this gluten-free, substitute tamari for soy sauce and use gluten-free chicken stock and rice vinegar.
- You can freeze the cooked chicken; cool it quickly, cover, and freeze. Defrost overnight in the fridge and reheat in a 180°C (350°F) oven for 12-15 minutes covered with foil to prevent drying out.
- Leftovers can be refrigerated and reheated in the oven at 180°C (350°F) for 12-15 minutes covered with foil.
- If you don’t have rice vinegar, use apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar plus 1/4 tsp sugar as a substitute.
- Light soy sauce can be swapped with 3/4 tbsp dark soy sauce.
- Vegetable oil can be replaced with any neutral oil suitable for high heat such as rapeseed oil, sunflower oil, or ghee.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving (approx. 2 chicken thighs without rice)
- Calories: 370 kcal
- Sugar: 18 g
- Sodium: 600 mg
- Fat: 15 g
- Saturated Fat: 4 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 10 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 25 g
- Fiber: 0.5 g
- Protein: 35 g
- Cholesterol: 110 mg
