This sticky honey chicken recipe is made with tender chicken thighs coated in cornstarch and cooked in a glossy honey-soy sauce with fresh garlic and ginger. Rice vinegar balances the sweetness, while sesame seeds and green onions add a fresh finish.
The sauce turns thick and shiny around the chicken, making this an easy dinner to serve with rice or vegetables. If you love simple chicken meals, browse my Easy Chicken Recipes for Dinner, try this Baked Crunchy Hot Honey Chicken, make my One-Pan Baked Butter Chicken, or serve dinner with Fresh Cucumber Lemonade with Mint.
What Is Sticky Honey Chicken?
Sticky honey chicken is made by cooking bite-sized chicken pieces in a sweet-savory sauce until the sauce reduces and clings to the chicken.
This version uses honey, soy sauce, rice vinegar, fresh garlic, and ginger. The chicken thighs are coated with cornstarch before cooking, which helps with the exterior texture and also helps the sauce become thick and glossy as everything cooks together.
Table of contents
Ingredients
Let’s Make Sticky Honey Chicken Recipes
- Coat the Chicken
Add the bite-sized chicken thighs to a large bowl.
Sprinkle the 2 tablespoons cornstarch over the chicken and toss until the pieces are lightly and evenly coated.
- Make the Sticky Honey Sauce
In a separate bowl, combine:
- Honey
- Soy sauce
- Rice vinegar
- Minced garlic
- Grated fresh ginger
Stir until evenly mixed.
- Cook the Chicken
Add the vegetable oil to a large skillet.
Add the cornstarch-coated chicken and cook, turning the pieces as needed, until they begin to brown and cook through.
Because your exact tested heat level and timing weren’t provided, keep those out of the published recipe until confirmed.
- Add the Honey Sauce
Pour the prepared honey-soy mixture into the skillet with the chicken.
Stir so all of the pieces are coated.
Continue cooking until the sauce becomes thick, glossy, and sticky enough to cling to the chicken rather than sitting thinly in the bottom of the pan.
- Check the Chicken
- Garnish and Serve
Transfer the sticky chicken to a serving plate.
Finish with the chopped green onions and sesame seeds.
Serve while the sauce is warm and glossy.
How to Get a Thick, Sticky Honey Sauce
The sauce should eventually coat the chicken rather than run off it immediately.
The cornstarch on the chicken helps thicken the liquid as it cooks, while the honey contributes to the glossy, sticky texture.
Don’t add extra water unless your tested method specifically needs it.
Also avoid removing the pan from the heat while the sauce is still very thin. Give the honey-soy mixture enough cooking time to reduce around the chicken.
At the same time, don’t continue cooking long after the sauce has become thick and glossy, because honey-based sauces can become overly concentrated.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Leaving large clumps of cornstarch: Toss the chicken until it has a light, even coating.
Crowding the chicken excessively: The pieces need contact with the pan to cook evenly.
Adding extra salt before tasting: Soy sauce already contributes plenty of salt.
Using powdered ginger instead of the tested fresh ginger: Keep fresh grated ginger for the official recipe.
Letting the sauce stay watery: Cook until it visibly coats the chicken.
Reducing the sauce too far: Stop when it is glossy and sticky rather than dry.
Guessing chicken doneness by color alone: Check the thickest pieces with a food thermometer. USDA recommends inserting the thermometer into the thickest area of poultry pieces.
What to Serve With Sticky Honey Chicken Recipe
This sticky honey chicken works especially well with:
- Steamed jasmine rice
- Basmati rice
- Coconut rice
- Fried rice
- Steamed broccoli
- Green beans
- Cucumber salad
- Cabbage slaw
- Roasted vegetables
Rice is especially useful because it catches the extra honey-soy sauce from the chicken.
FAQs
Coat chicken thigh pieces with cornstarch, cook them in vegetable oil, then add a sauce made from honey, soy sauce, rice vinegar, garlic, and ginger.
Cook until the chicken is done and the sauce becomes thick and glossy.
In this recipe, honey plus cornstarch help create the sticky consistency.
The sauce also thickens as some of its liquid cooks away.
They overlap because this recipe contains both honey and garlic, but this version also includes soy sauce, rice vinegar, fresh ginger, and cornstarch.
The tested recipe uses chicken thighs.
I would keep thighs as the official version unless you have separately tested chicken breast.
More Chicken Recipes
Sticky Honey Chicken
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Add the chicken thighs to a large bowl.
- Sprinkle with the cornstarch and toss until evenly coated.
- In a separate bowl, mix the honey, soy sauce, rice vinegar, garlic, and ginger.
- Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet using your tested heat level.
- Add the chicken and cook until browned and nearly cooked through.
- Pour the honey sauce over the chicken.
- Stir and continue cooking until the chicken reaches 165°F (74°C) and the sauce becomes thick and sticky.
- Transfer to a serving plate.
- Garnish with green onions and sesame seeds.
- Serve warm.
Nutrition
Video
Notes
- Coat the chicken lightly and evenly with cornstarch.
- Stir the sauce before adding it to the skillet so the honey, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, and ginger are evenly distributed.
- Cook only until the sauce is glossy and thick enough to cling to the chicken.
Tried this recipe?
Let us know how it was!Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
