Quick & Easy Honey Sesame Chicken
Crispy fried chicken tossed in a sweet honey sesame sauce. This quick and easy honey sesame chicken is made in 30 minutes with simple ingredients. A delicious main for a busy weeknight meal, saving you money on takeout! I also share how to air fry the chicken in the Notes section below.
- Prep time
- 20 min
- Cook time
- 10 min
- Yield
- 3 servings
- Difficulty
- MEDIUM
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 1 lb skinless boneless chicken thighs ()
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup cornstarch (or potato starch for coating chicken)
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil (or any neutral oil)
- 1/2 green onion (finely chopped)
- ½ cup honey (plain liquid kind)
- 2.5 tbsp regular soy sauce
- 2 tbsp sesame oil
- 1/2 tbsp white granulated sugar (or cane sugar)
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds
- 1 tbsp cornstarch (or potato starch)
- 3 garlic cloves (minced)
- 2 tsp Shaoxing Cooking Wine (or dry sherry wine, dry white wine or chicken broth for non-alcoholic version)
- 2 tsp rice vinegar (or apple cider/white vinegar)
- ¾ cup water (room temperature)
Instructions
- 1
In a small bowl, combine the sauce ingredients as listed and set aside.
- 2
Dice chicken thighs into 1.5-inch pieces and transfer to a large bowl. Season diced chicken with salt.
- 3
Add cornstarch to the diced chicken and evenly coat each piece. Feel free to add more cornstarch if needed. Set aside.
- 4
Heat vegetable oil in a large pan on medium-high heat. Fry coated chicken in small batches until golden brown and crispy, about 6-8 minutes in total, flipping halfway. Remove and transfer fried chicken to a wire rack or a paper towel lined plate.
- 5
Remove any excess oil in the pan and pour the sauce to simmer until thickened.
- 6
Toss in fried chicken into sauce until evenly coated. Remove off heat. Garnish with green onions. Enjoy!