There’s nothing better than Sweet, Spicy, & Crispy Asian Chicken with honey coating! A plethora of Asian cooking secrets are combined in this recipe to make honey chicken that remains crispy even after tossing in honey sauce for hours.
With no special ingredients or equipment, this crispy sesame chicken with a sticky Asian sauce is tastier than that naughty takeaway and so much easier to make.
Sweet, salty, crispy, sticky, and a little spicy, it hits all the right notes for one of those meals that everyone devours. It’s a real family favorite.
Let’s Talk Crispy
This is one of my favorite Asian-inspired dishes to prepare at home. We love to serve our crispy sesame chicken with white rice. You can also serve it with steamed rice or brown rice. Yum!.
This dish also goes great with chow mein, boiled or steamed vegetables, a fresh salad, and so much more!
For this crispy honey sesame chicken recipe, I use a super simple batter. After extensive testing, I can say that this is my favorite batter because it makes the chicken crispy while also remaining light and airy.
Why You Will Love this Honey Sesame Chicken Recipe
Light and crispy: The fried chicken bites are light but crispy!
A delectable sauce: The honey sauce with chicken is the ideal balance of sweet and savory.
A family favorite: These crispy chicken bites are a hit with the kids. Trust me when I say there are no leftovers at the end of dinner.
Crispy Asian Chicken Ingredients
My sesame chicken recipe requires the following ingredients:
Cornstarch: Corn starch is a key ingredient in this recipe. It ensures that the batter sticks to the chicken and results in perfectly crispy chicken.
All purpose flour: You will need all-purpose flour for the chicken batter.
Eggs: You’ll also need eggs for the chicken batter.
Chicken: For this recipe, I prefer using boneless skinless chicken breasts chopped into bite-size pieces. However, if you prefer thighs, you can use boneless skinless thighs.
Olive Oil: Olive oil not only adds flavor, but also ensures that the coating sticks to the chicken.
Seasonings: To season the chicken, you’ll need some pepper, garlic powder, salt, and paprika.
Sticky Honey Sauce Ingredients
Garlic: Garlic bring so much flavor to the sauce! If you love garlic, feel free to increase the amount.
Honey: A small amount of honey brings a sweetness and stickiness to the marinade and offsets the savory flavors.
Chinese rice vinegar: It’s the vinegar base of the sauce.
Sweet chilli sauce: Chilli sauce adds just the slightest kick of heat to round out the flavor palate.
Ketchup: The ketchup not only sweetens the sauce, but also thickens it.
Brown sugar: Brown sugar sweetens the sauce.
Soy sauce: You can use low sodium soy sauce or regular soy sauce. Both will work fine.
Check the recipe card for quantities.
Pull this Recipe Out Any Time Life Calls for Asian Food!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):
Spicy Asian chicken stays crispy for 4 hours after tossing with the honey chicken sauce. Of course, the sauce soaks in slightly, but not enough to affect the overall serious crunchy experience.
For frying, make sure you use oil with a high smoke point. Canola and vegetable oil are the most common and easily accessible oils. However, peanut oil and corn oil can also be used!
For the best texture, serve these crispy chicken pieces immediately. If you have leftovers, store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Even better, don’t coat the chicken you don’t think you’ll eat to keep it crispy. When you’re ready to eat them, reheat them in the oven to keep them crispy!
Sure you can! Just keep in mind that depending on the size of your air fryer, you may need to cook the chicken in two small batches.
Top Tips for the Best Crispy Chicken Recipe
You can make the sauce a day or two in advance and store it in the fridge until you’re ready to eat.
The key to keeping this honey sesame chicken crispy after adding the sauce is to avoid drenching the chicken in sauce. The chicken should be generously coated, but not drowning in sauce.
Avoid adding too many pieces of chicken into the hot oil at once. If you put too many pieces of chicken in the oil at once, the temperature of the oil will drop.
Make sure the oil reaches a temperature of at least 350 degrees Fahrenheit. If the chicken is added to the oil too soon, it will become greasy as it cooks.
An Addictive Crunch!
Variations
Vegetables: Load up your dish with whatever vegetables you like. I recommend boiling/steaming them first and then adding them at the end.
Use a different cut of chicken: If you prefer chicken thighs or crispy chicken wings, feel free to replace the chicken breasts with thighs or wings.
Extra heat: Stir in some chili flakes or sriracha sauce to make it spicy.
Crispy Chicken Ingredients
- Olive oil
- eggs, beaten
- cornstarch
- flour
- salt
- pepper
- garlic powder
- paprika
- chicken breast fillets/ chopped into bite size chunks
Sauce Ingredients
- garlic /peeled and minced
- Chinese rice vinegar
- honey
- sweet chili sauce
- ketchup
- brown sugar
- soy sauce
Steps to Prep
For the sauce, mix all ingredients well and set them aside.
First, heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan until very hot.
Meanwhile, place the egg in a small bowl and the corn flour in a large bowl. Add the flour, salt, pepper, garlic and paprika to the flour and mix together.
Now, coat the chicken in the corn flour very well, then add the eggs (make sure all of the chicken is covered in the egg wash), and finally add in the seasoned flour and mix well.
Then, remove chicken then place in a separate plate, leave remaining left over egg wash behind. Add chicken to the heated pot and cook on high heat for 6-7 minutes, turning two or three times during cooking, until well browned.
Finally, toss in the sauce to coat. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Enjoy rice and top with sesame seeds and cilantro.
More Delicious Chicken Recipes You Must Try:
- Shish Tawook Recipe – Lebanese Grilled Chicken Skewers
- Sticky Orange Chicken Recipe
- Greek Salad with Marinated and Grilled Chicken Recipe
- Ground Meat Rice and Chicken (Roz w Jeij)
- Ramen Noodle Chicken Soup (Instant Pot)
- Easy Chicken Curry with Vegetables
- Best Chicken Gallaba
- Cheesy Chicken Stuffed Puff Pastry
- Baked Cumin Chicken and Potatoes
- Easy Chicken Tikka Masala with Coconut Milk
Crispy Asian Chicken
Ingredients
Chicken Ingredients
Sauce Ingredients
- 2 cloves garlic peeled and minced
- 1 tablespoon Chinese rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons sweet chili sauce
- 3 tablespoons ketchup
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 4 tablespoons soy sauce
Instructions
- For the sauce, mix all ingredients well and set them aside.
- Heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan until very hot.
- Meanwhile, place the egg in one bowl and the corn flour in another bowl. Add the flour, salt, pepper, garlic and paprika to another bowl and mix together.
- After that, coat the chicken in the corn flour very well, then add the eggs (make sure all of the chicken is covered in egg wash), and finally add in the seasoned flour and mix well. Remove chicken then place in a separate plate, leave remaining left over egg wash behind.
- Add chicken to the heated pot and cook on high heat for 6-7 minutes, turning two or three times during cooking, until well browned.
- Toss in the sauce to coat. Cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Enjoy rice and top with sesame seeds and cilantro.
Notes
- You can make the sauce a day or two in advance and store it in the fridge until you’re ready to eat.
- The key to keeping this honey sesame chicken crispy after adding the sauce is to avoid drenching the chicken in sauce. The chicken should be generously coated, but not drowning in sauce.
- Avoid adding too many pieces of chicken into the hot oil at once. If you put too many pieces of chicken in the oil at once, the temperature of the oil will drop.
- Make sure the oil reaches a temperature of at least 350 degrees Fahrenheit. If the chicken is added to the oil too soon, it will become greasy as it cooks.
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