Crispy Sticky Honey Garlic Chicken

Crispy, Sticky Honey Garlic Chicken! Thinly sliced chicken breasts crunchy coated and pan-fried, and then doused in a homemade honey garlic sauce that’s a little sweet, tangy, and spicy! So yummy you’ll want to make it all the time!

Crispy and sticky have got to be the best way to eat chicken. 

And this honey garlic chicken is exactly that. We pan-fry the chicken cutlets until they form a crispy brown crust and then dip them in honey garlic sauce and serve it up alongside steamed veggies (doused in more sauce obviously) and some white rice. Ugh! Hands down one of my favorite dinners of all time!

Speaking of hot and crispy chicken, this Friday we were supposed to check out a new food truck in town – it offers hot fried chicken sandwiches the size of Texas! And the place is so popular that they ran out of burger buns no sammy for me!

But I’m on to this place and can’t wait to get my hands on one so that I can come home and basically keep testing out recipes until I crack is for us! So excited!

Chicken in sticky and or crispy situations is probably the best way to eat chicken.

Have you made my crispy chicken salad yet? It’s doused in honey bbq dressing that tastes like Chic-Fil-A sauce! And then there are the slow cooker honey chipotle meatballs, which make all the men in my life super happy, and by that I mean my husband. Cheesy baked bbq chicken is also a saucy little thing that’s great for weeknight dinners and keeps things on the lower carb side. And if you happen to be on team ‘dark meat’ you’ll go gaga for my Indonesian honey garlic chicken thighs! 

All this to say that crispy and saucy chicken are seriously the best way to serve chicken.

The other best way: doused in homemade lemon garlic cream sauce!

What do you need to make the chicken for honey garlic chicken?

• chicken cutlets
• all-purpose flour
• cornstarch 
• seasonings
• an egg

What are chicken cutlets?

Chicken cutlets are chicken breasts that are divided into two and pounded out to make a thin chicken filet.

To make chicken cutlets: lay the chicken flat out on a cutting board. Hold your knife parallel to the cutting board and carefully slice the chicken breasts in half so one breast is now two individual cutlets. Place the chicken filet between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound out with a meat mallet (the smooth side) to 1/4-inch in thickness. You can also check the grocery store for premade cutlets or ask your butcher to do this for you!

What do you need to make the honey garlic sauce?

• low sodium soy sauce
• apple cider vinegar
• fish sauce
• honey
• minced garlic 
• cayenne
• butter

How to make the best crispy honey garlic chicken:

1. Combine your dry ingredients in a shallow plate or bowl: all-purpose flour, cornstarch garlic powder, paprika, salt, and pepper. Then beat the egg and a tablespoon of water together in another shallow bowl. Dip the chicken cutlets in the egg mixture, then the flour mixture.
2. Cook the prepared chicken in a skillet with about ½ – ¾ inch of oil, roughly 4-5 minutes total or until the chicken crust is crispy and golden and the chicken reads 165ºF on an instant read thermometer.
3. While the chicken is cooking, heat together the ingredients for the sauce (everything except the butter). And Allow the sauce to come to a simmer, and then let it reduce for 3-4 minutes. Once reduced, add a tablespoon of butter at a time and let it melt in. Swirl the pan using the handle or stir using a spoon to help it along, but make sure to do this over low heat! Then repeat with the remaining butter.
4. Serve the chicken doused in sauce or serve the sauce alongside the chicken!

Why do you add butter in small increments?

Add the butter a little bit at a time on the low heat setting helps thicken the sauce just a tad bit more. We like the consistency of the sauce with just the butter as it’s perfect to drizzle over rice and veggies! However, if you prefer an even thicker sauce (that will coat and stick to the chicken,) you can thicken it further with 2 teaspoons of cornstarch combined with 2 tablespoons of cold water in a bowl. Just add it to the sauce after the butter and stir as you drizzle the slurry in! Allow the sauce to reach a simmer and it should thicken almost instantly!

Can I use chicken thighs to make honey garlic chicken?

Yes, you can! But I suggest pounding the chicken down into a thin cutlet-like thickness so that it cooks up in approximately the same time.

Do I have to crunchy coat the chicken?

No, you don’t have you! If you prefer to make this a little lighter, you can always just season the chicken cutlets/chicken breasts with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika and then sear the chicken cutlets in a hot skillet (sprayed or drizzled with a little oil) until the chicken is cooked through. Then, just prepare the sauce as directed and drizzle and serve!

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Yield: 4 servings

Crispy Sticky Honey Garlic Chicken

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Crispy, Sticky Honey Garlic Chicken! Thinly sliced chicken breasts crunchy coated and pan-fried, and then doused in a homemade honey garlic sauce that’s a little sweet, tangy, and spicy! So yummy you’ll want to make it all the time!

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Ingredients

• 4 large chicken cutlets (about 1 ¼ pound of chicken)
• ¼ cup EACH: all-purpose flour AND cornstarch (plus more)
• ½ teaspoon EACH: garlic powder AND smoked paprika
• 1 ¼ teaspoon salt + ¼ teaspoon pepper
• 1 egg + 1 tablespoon water (whisked together)
• 2 tablespoons EACH: cold butter AND low sodium soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 2 teaspoons fish sauce 
• 6-8 cloves garlic, minced
• ⅛ - ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (omit if you don’t want any heat!)
• ½ cup honey (or more to taste)
• Oil, for frying

Instructions

1. CHICKEN: Place the all-purpose flour, cornstarch, garlic powder, paprika, salt, and black pepper in a shallow dish and whisk to combine. Add the egg and the water to another shallow bowl and whisk to combine. Coat each of the chicken cutlets in the beaten egg mixture, then coat in the flour mixture on both sides and shake off any excess. 
2. SEAR: Heat enough oil to coat the bottom of a large nonstick skillet, about 1/2 inch up the skillet works best. Place the chicken breast in the skillet and cook for 4-6 minutes total or until the chicken is completely cooked through. Depending on the size of your skillet, you may need to do this in two batches. Remove the chicken to a serving dish when done.
3. SAUCE: Add the soy sauce, fish sauce, apple cider vinegar, minced garlic, honey, and cayenne to a small saucepan over medium heat. Allow the sauce to reach a boil. Then, lower the heat so that it just simmers, and let it hang out for roughly 3-4 minutes and reduce. Lower the heat to medium-low and add 1 tablespoon of butter at a time, and stir using a spoon or rubber spatula. Allow it to melt slowly. You can also do this by grabbing the handle and swirling the pan carefully. Repeat with the remaining tablespoon of butter. Drizzle the prepared sauce over the chicken.  Top with sesame seeds or chopped parsley/scallions and serve immediately. You can also serve the sauce and chicken separately so everyone can drizzle the sauce over their own chicken! We like this with cooked rice and broccolini/asparagus/brussels sprouts on the side to soak up that sauce!

Notes

• How to turn chicken breasts into cutlets: Lay the chicken flat out on a cutting board. Hold your knife parallel to the cutting board and carefully slice the chicken breasts in half so one breast is now two individual cutlets. Place the chicken filet between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound out with a meat mallet (the smooth side) to 1/4-inch in thickness. You can also check the grocery store for premade cutlets or ask your butcher to do this for you!

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