Name: Sticky Honey Chilli Chicken Recipe
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 350 g Chicken Breast; 1 Egg White; 70 g Cornflour; Oil For Frying; 1 tbsp Light Soy Sauce ((Or Dark Soy Sauce)); 1 tsp Garlic Paste; 1 tsp Sesame Oil; 1 tsp White Pepper; 1 tbsp Garlic Paste; 2 tbsp Honey; 2 tbsp Dark Soy Sauce; 2 tbsp Sweet Chilli Sauce ((Or Sriracha)); 3 tbsp Ketchup; 1 tbsp Chinese Rice Vinegar

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Crispy Honey Chilli Chicken

This honey chilli chicken is a Chinese-style fakeaway that’s sticky, chilli, sweet and crispy all at the same time! It’s made with simple ingredients, it’s easy to make and it’s ready in just 30 minutes.

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5 from 3 votes

Now this is a recipe I think EVERYONE should know! There’s no fancy ingredients or special equipment needed here; all you need is a frying pan or a wok, and at least one hungry belly!

I’m a fan of eating this with vermicelli rice noodles, in a wrap or just by itself. If you like the sound of this, then you’re definitely going to love my Chinese crispy chilli chicken too! They’re quite similar, but different enough to be two separate recipes.

Despite how delicious this looks, when I say this recipe is quite simple to put together, I really do mean it. Homemade chicken is tossed in a sticky, honey and chilli sauce, and the taste is incredible. Let’s get cooking…

Honey Chilli Chicken Fakeaway

There are so many reasons why I love this recipe, it’s a great Chinese fakeaway that you can make in the comfort of your own home. That being said, I’ve listed a few more reasons why you’ll like this dish as much as I do:

The sauce is sticky, honey and chilli
This recipe uses simple ingredients to make a tasty meal
You get perfectly crispy chicken every time!
It’s easy to make and ready in 30 minutes

Recipe Ingredients

Below is a list of ingredients I used to make this recipe:

Chicken Breast: I always use chicken breasts or chicken thighs (with the bone removed). You can dice the chicken into small pieces yourself (like what I did) or buy a pack that’s pre-diced for you.
Chicken Marinade: A mixture of garlic paste, soy sauce, sesame oil and white pepper is used to marinate the chicken and add extra flavour.
Cornflour: When pieces of chicken are coated in cornflour and then fried, it creates a crispy coating.
Egg: The marinated chicken is mixed into whisked egg before being coated in cornflour.
Honey Chilli Chicken Sauce: To make the sauce I mix honey, soy sauce, Chinese rice vinegar, sweet chilli sauce and ketchup together.

What I love about making Chinese and Asian style fakeaway recipes is that you’ll end up reusing most of the ingredients again and again. For example, garlic and soy sauce are ingredients I frequently use when making Chinese food.

How To Make This Easy Honey Chilli Chicken Recipe

Here’s a summary of how I make this sticky honey chilli chicken. You can get the full recipe instructions on the recipe card below:

Step One:

diced chicken with marinade and egg white

When making this recipe, I usually start with whole chicken breasts that I dice into small chunks. Once diced, I marinate the chicken in a mixture of soy sauce, garlic paste, sesame oil and white pepper. Then I add an egg white into the chicken and mix well.

Step Two:

I pour cornflour into a large plate or bowl and coat each piece of chicken into the cornflour.

Step Three:

Now it’s time to start frying! Depending on the size of the frying pan I’m using, I shallow fry around 4 pieces of chicken on a medium to high heat for 1 to 2 minutes.

Once all pieces of chicken are fried, I like to fry them again for 2 to 3 minutes to get the coating really crispy.

Step Four:

I heat a clean wok on a medium heat, add a tablespoon of oil and fry the garlic for 15 seconds.

Then I add the sauce ingredients (sweet chilli sauce, dark soy sauce, ketchup, honey and Chinese rice vinegar) and mix everything. I leave the mixture to simmer until it starts to bubble and has thickened.

Step Five:

crispy chicken in honey chilli sauce recipe

The chicken pieces are added into the sauce and I mix everything together until the chicken is evenly coated in the sauce.

How To Serve

I love to serve this recipe with a side of vegetables like roasted tenderstem broccoli. It can also be served with basmati rice, chow mein noodles or this special chow mein (that has a bit of everything in it). Though occasionally, I find myself making these homemade dirty fries instead.

You can even go all out and accompany this dish with even more Chinese style fakeaway dishes. Such as my tasty salt and pepper chips, some Chinese crispy beef (for even more crunch) or this tender salt and pepper chicken.

My Top Tips

I’ve learnt a few tips and tricks over time that I find quite helpful and useful:

I prevent messy hands and cornflour splattering all over my clothes by using tongs; it makes a big difference. They’re quite inexpensive yet very effective in staying mess-free.

Don’t be tempted to fry as many chicken pieces as you can at once, the oil temperature will drop resulting in soggy chicken. I like to cook 3 to 4 at a time, though you can add more or less depending on the size of wok or frying pan you are using.

If the oil gets too hot, it will start to splatter everywhere when you put the chicken in it. If the oil begins to splatter, turn the heat down before adding more chicken pieces. Trust me, when it splatters it splatters and goes everywhere, I speak from experience!

Due to the sugar content in honey, the sauce can burn easily. When adding honey to make the honey chilli sauce, turn the heat down to a medium heat.

How to make crispy honey chilli chicken recipe

How To Store

I recommend eating this recipe freshly made whilst the chicken is still crispy. After 30 minutes to an hour the chicken will lose its crispiness as it’s coated in a wet sauce.

However, if you do want to keep it for later, place the chicken in an airtight container and keep it in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat it in the microwave or oven until piping hot throughout.

Recipe Variations

Honey Chilli Sauce: If you don’t have Chinese rice vinegar you can swap it with white vinegar, lemon or Shaoxing cooking wine. You can also replace the sweet chilli sauce with sriracha.

Change The Meat: You can make this recipe with beef, chicken, prawns and even tofu.

Add Vegetables: Stir fry vegetables like bell peppers, chillies, baby sweetcorn and onions will go well with this dish.