We ended up with this delicious Asian Crispy Honey Chicken recipe after discovering and loving this Baked Sesame Chicken so much that I just had to experiment a little more.
Asian Crispy Honey Chicken
I’m not usually the biggest fan of fried foods as it makes the whole house smell like oil so we cooked up half in the air fryer and half in the good ol’ cast iron dutch oven. The only difference was that the air fryer wasn’t as golden in color, but that probably could have been fixed by drizzling a little more oil over the chicken before cooking. Either way, we loved that the crispy honey chicken ended up all crispy, juicy on the inside and of course the best part, all sweet and saucy.
Is Honey Safe To Eat?
Raw honey can contain spores of the bacteria which may make a baby sick.
But, raw honey is safe for healthy adults.
Regular processed honey has gone through pasteurization and filtration which helps eliminate any bacteria and gives a longer shelf life.
Are Sesame Seeds Good For You?
Sesame seeds are actually good for you.
They contain healthy fats like polyunsaturated fatty acids and Omega-6.
They also contain fiber, iron, calcium, magnesium and phosphorus that helps boost energy levels.
Will Chicken Broth Go Bad?
Commercial chicken broth, if properly stored, can have a shelf life of around a year beyond the printed date.
Once the broth is opened, the shelf life will decrease to about five days.
Asian Crispy Honey Chicken
Asian Crispy Honey Chicken
Ingredients
For the Sauce
- 1/2 Cup Honey
- 2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce, low sodium
- 1/8 teaspoon Sesame Seed Oil
- 1 Dash Red Pepper Flakes
- 1 Tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon Cornstarch
- 1 Tablespoon Water
For the Chicken
- 2 Chicken Breasts, cut into 1 1/2" cubes
- 1 1/2 Cups Flour
- 1 teaspoon Chili Powder
- 1 teaspoon Cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon Coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon Onion Powder
- 1 cup Buttermilk
- Peanut or Canola Oil , for frying
Instructions
- In a saucepan over medium heat, add the honey, soy sauce, sesame oil, red pepper flakes and apple cider vinegar.
- Whisk and bring to a boil.
- In a separate bowl stir together the cornstarch and water.
- Once the mixture is boiling, while continuing to whisk, slowly add the cornstarch mixture.
- Bring back to a boil and then turn down to simmer for 10 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and allow to finish thickening. The sauce will be only a little thick, as too thick will be hard to toss the chicken in and will taste too cornstarchy.
- Meanwhile, heat the oil in a cast iron dutch oven over medium high heat (or we do just over medium).
- In a dish, mix the flour and spices.
- Now, toss the chicken in the flour, then the buttermilk and back into the flour.
- Once the oil is hot cook the chicken, turning occasionally until golden and cooked through, about 3-5 minutes.
- Drain on a paper towel and then toss in the sauce and serve over sticky rice.
Eunice
I am excited to try this! I plan to make it in my air fryer, and was wondering what temperature and for how long do you cook it in there? Thank you!
Sweet Basil
Hey Eunice! I haven’t tried these in an air fryer yet, so I would go with whatever is suggested for your air fryer for chicken nuggets.
Noemi
Made this and it was great. My husband loved the sauce but it was a bit too sweet for me. What can I do to cut down on the sweetness?
Sweet Basil
Hi Noemi,
You can either cut down on the honey, or if you like spicy you could always add in some red pepper flakes to spice things up.
Reema
Hello – Do we use fresh corriander or corriander powder?
Also – Do you use cumin seeds or ground cumin?
Thanks!
Sweet Basil
Hi Reema, it’s powder and ground cumin. Thanks for asking!
Donna Booterbaugh
Where is the nutritional information on your recipes or are they not available?
Sweet Basil
Hi Donna, that is not a feature on our site as I am not an expert in that area. I’m sorry.
Tally
yum!
Sharlene
The times on this were SO out. It took me over and hour to complete. 2 minutes prep? Pfftt! My husband thought the sauce was Ok, but I thought it was horrible. The chicken was lovely on its own so I dipped it in sweet chilli.
Sweet Basil
Sharlene, Sorry about the times, that old recipe plugin wasn’t working so it wasn’t the times I entered but I’ve fixed it. Sorry you didn’t enjoy it.
N @ Clean Eating Recipes Blog
Nice recipe! We like the short ingredients list. We use corn starch to thicken the sauce as well. And how awesome is honey-flavored Asian sauce! Thanks for the wonderful idea.
Diana
Made this last night for dh and ds.
It was a hit! I tossed in a fresh chili pepper while making the sauce for a little bit of heat.
The sweet sauce was the perfect amount of sticky to coat the chicken pieces.
Served with fried rice and egg rolls.
Dh requested veggies added to the dish so will work on that next time. Other than that….perfect!
Thanks for this fantastic recipe!
Sweet Basil
ohhhh egg rolls with it sound perfect!
Yas
Hello. I’m wondering what do you do with the spices ‘for the chicken’? Your method only instructs to dip chicken in flour, buttermilk then flour again. (Typo there – four instead of flour. I know I know…grammar police?!)
Thank you!
Sweet Basil
Thank you!!! Sometimes I miss those darn mistakes and I definitely want to correct them! You mix the flour and spices then dredge the chicken. I added that forgotten line too. 🙂
Amrita
I’m so making this tomorrow. Will let you know how it goes. And you have a LOVELY blog out here!
Sweet Basil
I hope you love it like we do! And thank you so much!
Adia
What is an air fryer?
Auntiepatch
Happy Birthday Carrian! The best is yet to come!
Brenden M.
I’m having this for dinner right now!!! It is good.. It has a great flavor, its sweet but not too sweet.. It came out great, and I didn’t have quite a few ingredients.
Ana
Hi! This looks amazing! I was wondering how much oil you would recommend to use? Thanks!
Cindy
Hi, looks yummy but am wondering if I couldn’t still get the great flavor by cooking the chicken in the oven on a sheet pan with a little oil on it?
Sweet Basil
Hi Cindy, I’ve done that as well as used an airfryer and while both were a little different it wasn’t a big deal to us. The key is definitely the oil drizzled over them and a little on the pan so they will crisp and brown without tasting floury.
Aangel
Made this the other night and it was great! I didn’t bother breading and frying the chicken in oil though – I just sauteed the chicken, then added some sauce near the end to coat it.
I’ll definitely make this again. Thanks!
Sweet Basil
Angel, I’ve started doing that as well. A little healthier is never a bad thing, plus then we can toss it with veggies stir fry style!
Dana Evans
Hi – Just found your site. Do you think we could substitute almond milk for the buttermilk? We have a dairy allergy in the family! I will test it at some point and let you know. Just curious if you knew anyone who has done a dairy free sub!
Donna
You can use a beaten egg (or egg white) instead of the buttermilk. If eggs aren’t an option either, use coconut milk.
Dana Evans
Yeah eggs are a problem too 🙁 Goes hand in hand with a dairy allergy often. We will give the coconut milk a whirl! Thank you Donna 🙂
Sweet Basil
Hi Dana, we use almond milk or coconut milk all the time!
Emily
Looks SO yummy!
Gaby
This is making me so hungry! I need to make some right now!
Shannon @ Bake.Frost.Repeat.
Oh wow. This looks amazing. I love crispy honey chicken so this is totally going on my dinner rotation.
Sweet Basil
Hope you enjoy!
Jessica @ A Kitchen Addiction
I wish this were dinner!
Sweet Basil
I’m kinda wishing that too!
Lindsay @ Life Love and Sugar
This looks amazing! It looks so full of flavor and not too breaded! Love it Carrian!
Sweet Basil
Thanks girl!
Nicole ~ Cooking for Keeps
Ohmygosh. So yummy looking Carrian!
Sweet Basil
Thanks Nicole!
sally @ sallys baking addiction
Ok, we’re totally changing our dinner plans because I have to try this Carrian! The “sweet & saucy” description (and photos) won me over.
Sweet Basil
Yay! Hope you love it. I was seriously dripping extra sauce all over them!
Meagan @ A Zesty Bite
I am going to be thinking about these all day long.
Sweet Basil
I already have been. Dang crispy chicken suckers me in!