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Honey Garlic Chicken is a popular dish in Chinese restaurants in some countries and especially in the United States. I remember having it often while living in America with my parents at Chinese take outs or restaurants.
It was either chunks of boneless chicken battered & fried then dipped in a sweet honey garlic sauce or wings prepared the same way.
In trying to re-create this memorable dish, I couldn’t seem to find the taste I was looking for in other recipes that I tried. I decided to experiment until I came up with my own version.
Ingredients
Chicken
- Boneless Chicken Thighs or Breast
- Egg
- Salt
- Cornstarch
- Oil
Sauce
- Honey
- Corn Syrup
- Garlic
- Water
- Apple Cider Vinegar
- White Vinegar
- Light Soy Sauce
- Cornstarch diluted
Preparation
This is a fairly quick & easy dish to make. You can either use boneless breasts or thighs cut in chunks or wings.
- The meat is lightly salted & soaked in an egg in a airtight seasoning bowl,
- When ready to cook, it is then tossed in cornstarch and fried in a large non-stick frying pan.
- As pieces cook, place on a paper towel lined plate.
- The sauce is made using minced garlic, honey, light soy sauce, apple cider vinegar and water in a medium sized pot.
- It is then thickened with diluted cornstarch.
- The chicken is dipped in the sauce before serving and sprinkled with sesame seeds is optional. Give it a try and leave me a comment below.

Honey Garlic Chicken
Ingredients
Chicken
- 12 Boneless Chicken thighs or 6-8 breasts cut in medium chunks
- 1 1/2 tsp. Salt
- 1 Egg
- 1 1/2 cups Cornstarch
- 1 cup Oil
Sauce
- 3/4 cup Honey
- 1/4 cup Light Corn Syrup
- 1/2 cup Water
- 8 lg Garlic Cloves minced
- 2 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp. Regular Vinegar
- 1 Tbsp. Light Soy Sauce
- 2 Tbsp. Cornstarch diluted in 3 Tbsp. Water
Instructions
Chicken
-
Wash and cut chicken in cubes. if using boneless thighs, remove all fatty pieces first. Place in a large seasoning bowl. Add salt & egg, mix to combine. Place in fridge for at least 1-2 hours.
-
When ready to cook, place the cornstarch on the chicken & stir to coat all pieces well.
-
Heat a medium sized deep pot on medium heat. Place oil in and heat for 1-2 minutes.
-
When hot, start adding the chicken a couple pieces at a time to fry about 1" apart until golden brown on each side. This should take about 2 minutes on each side. Remove to a paper towel lined dish and continue adding pieces until they are all cooked.
Sauce
-
Place all sauce ingredients except the diluted corn starch in a small pot. Bring to a boil, turn heat down to medium to simmer about 5 minutes.
-
Dilute cornstarch, bring sauce back to a boil, add cornstarch while stirring about 2 minutes until slightly thickened. Add more diluted cornstarch as needed if it isnt thick enough. Turn off heat when clear.
-
When ready to serve, dip chicken in sauce 1 piece at a time and shake off the excess.
Recipe Notes
Goes well with white or brown rice, lo mein or vegetables.