Crispy honey soy chicken with rice is the perfect easy weeknight dinner or meal prep recipe. It has the perfect mix of sweet from the honey and salty from the soy sauce, a bit of tang from the ginger and vinegar, tart from the lemon and slight BANG from the garlic. It's a winner for the tastebuds and the crispy chicken coating just adds to the deliciousness.
I absolutely love those honey soy chicken wings you can get from Woolworths, but there's always never enough and you get your fingers super sticky from trying to bite the very little meat they contain.
This is why I decided to make my own honey soy marinade recipe and make it a high protein meal prep that can be enjoyed all week long - WITHOUT the need to handle chicken bones with sticky fingers you have to wash every 3 bites.
Not only is it a good alternative to wings and drumsticks (although, you can use the marinade to make your own if you like sticky fingers), but it's a fantastic fakeaway recipe to replace those Asian takeaways which are getting awfully pricey.
If you're a fan of easy Asian fakeaway recipes, you could also try my Lemon Chicken, Pad See Ew or Sweet and Sour Pork.
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Honey Soy Marinade Ingredients
Soy sauce. All-purpose soy sauce is the best option for a honey soy chicken marinade.
Honey. Any honey will do. I would recommend not using honey with the honeycomb in it as it might change the texture.
Vinegar. As well as adding a slight tangy acidity to the marinade, vinegar can help tenderise the meat. This will help if you're eating the honey soy chicken for leftovers.
Lemon. The lemon helps balance the sweetness from the honey.
Sesame oil. This is optional, but highly recommended. The sesame adds an extra layer of dimension to the flavour.
Garlic and ginger. A must in an Asian marinade recipe.
See recipe card for quantities.
Crispy honey soy chicken ingredients
Protein. I use chicken breast for this recipe. But you can substitute for any cut of chicken you like. Wings and drumstick will have to be cooked in the air fryer or oven, thighs and breasts can both be cooked on the pan.
If you're not a fan of chicken, why not try my Honey Soy Tofu recipe?
Cornstarch and breadcrumbs. This helps the crispy coating of the chicken.
How to make crispy honey soy chicken
In a small bowl add soy sauce, honey, vinegar, lemon, sesame oil, garlic and ginger. Whisk or mix with a fork.
With a large sharp knife, dice chicken.
Beat an egg in a large bowl and add diced chicken and 2 tablespoon of the sauce mixture.
In a large ziplock bag, combine cornstarch, breadcrumbs and salt & pepper. Add diced chicken, close the ziplock and shake to coat well. This helps make it a crispy honey soy chicken (and it's DELICIOUS).
Heat sauce in a large pan over medium heat until it starts to bubble and thicken. Add chicken and flip every couple of minutes until cooked through (approx. 5-8 minutes). You can test this with a meat thermometer measuring the chicken at 74C.
Serve with rice or Fried Rice and your favourite vegetables. Garnish with sesame seeds and spring onion.
Substitutions
Honey. If you're after a vegan alternative, I suggest using maple syrup. In a pinch, you could use brown sugar for the honey soy marinade to ensure it still has a sweet component.
Soy sauce. Try NOT to use dark soy or light soy alternatives as this will change the flavour profile. However, you can opt for sodium-reduced soy sauce in this Asian marinade recipe if you're watching your salt intake.
Lemon. If you don't have fresh lemon, you can use the lemon juice you buy in the bottle from the supermarket. You could also use lime, orange or more vinegar as all of these will help cut through the sweetness from the honey. They may change the flavour of the honey soy chicken recipe slightly.
Vinegar. I use a white wine vinegar for this recipe, but you could opt for any other neutral vinegar such as white vinegar or apple cider vinegar.
Protein. I have an almost identical recipe for my Honey Soy Tofu if you're not a fan of chicken. But you could also substitute this for beef or pork (it will change the flavour profile, but it will still be delicious as Asian marinades work well with most proteins).
Cornstarch. Substitute for arrowroot powder if gluten-free.
Breadcrumbs. Substitute for a gluten-free breadcrumb if required.
Chicken and rice meal prep
Honey soy chicken is a great meal prep recipe as the marinade keeps the chicken really tender. Add in a grain, like rice or noodles, and your favourite vegetable, and you have a balanced meal prep for your week.
Storing honey soy chicken with rice
You can store honey soy chicken with rice in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days. Make sure to always follow the Australian Food Safety Standards (most countries have similar guidelines).
Freezing chicken meal prep
You can freeze cooked chicken for approx. 3 months. Store in an airtight container (not much bigger than the chicken you're freezing), a reusable ziplock bag or in a vacuum seal bag.
Thaw in the refrigerator the night before you want to eat it and then follow the steps below.
Reheating chicken meal prep
Reheat chicken and rice by drizzling a tablespoon of water over it. This helps prevent it from drying out in the microwave. Reheat on 1 minute intervals until cooked through (approx. 3 minutes), stirring in between each interval to make sure it reheats evenly.
Honey soy chicken FAQ
There are so many options for sides with honey soy chicken. You can go simple rice and veg, or mix things up with a Fried Rice with Pineapple.
You could also try other delicious sides such as my Potato Salad, Honey Roasted Carrots or Rainbow Cous Cous Salad.
My honey soy marinade thickens once you add in the chicken breast as these are coated with cornflour.
If you want to thicken the sauce without adding in the chicken to the fry pan, add 1 tablespoon of cornflour to ¼ cup water mixed together, then add to the sauce. This can then be used to coat other items with the honey soy marinade such as wings or drumsticks which can then be baked in the oven or airfryer.
To make this recipe compatible with wings or drumsticks, cook the sauce separately with 1 tablespoon of cornflour and ¼ cup water mixed together then added to the sauce. The honey soy marinade can then be coated onto the chicken wings or drumsticks and baked in the airfryer or oven for 20 minutes or until the chicken reaches 74C
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More Recipes
Looking for other recipes? Try these:
Recipe
Crispy Honey Soy Chicken
Ingredients
Chicken Bites
- 500 g chicken breast diced
- 1 egg
- ¾ cup cornstarch Note 1
- ⅓ cup breadcrumbs Note 1
- Salt and Pepper
Honey Soy Sauce
- ⅓ cup all-purpose soy sauce
- ¼ cup honey Note 2
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar Note 3
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil optional but recommended
- 1 cloves garlic crushed
- ¼ teaspoon ginger grated
Instructions
- Beat egg in a bowl and add diced chicken.
- Combine soy sauce, honey, vinegar, lemon, sesame oil, garlic and ginger in a saucepan. Add 3 tablespoon of the mixture to the chicken bowl.
- In a large ziplock bag combine cornstarch and breadcrumbs. Add chicken mixture and shake to coat well.
- Heat sauce over medium heat until it starts to bubble and thicken. Add chicken and flip every couple of minutes until cooked through (approx. 5-8 minutes)
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