Chicken Recipes
Honey Garlic Chicken
Chicken breast pieces coated in a thick honey garlic glaze with rice vinegar, soy sauce, and an optional touch of chili.
By PedroPublished August 24, 2026 · Updated September 14, 2026i
Estimated total time. This covers the full recipe from start to finish, including preparation and any resting, chilling, baking, or cooling. Some of that time is hands-off.
When you want a bowl of rice with something sticky and savory on top, this honey garlic chicken fits. The sauce coats the bite-sized pieces instead of sitting thinly underneath them, so you get some of it with every forkful. It’s sweet from the honey, with vinegar and soy sauce to balance it.
I’d add the optional chili flakes for a little heat with that sweetness. You can leave them out and still have plenty of garlic in the glaze, with parsley and sesame seeds over the top. Have the rice ready before finishing the chicken; this is a bowl I’d want to eat while it’s warm, with a spoonful of the remaining sauce over it.
Ingredients for Honey Garlic Chicken
I use chicken breast in bite-sized pieces, with cornstarch and salt for the coating and olive oil and butter as the cooking fats. Acacia honey, rice vinegar, light soy sauce, and garlic make up the glaze. Parsley, sesame seeds, optional chili flakes, and steamed white rice are for serving.
- 450 g chicken breastcut into bite-sized pieces
- 15 g cornstarch
- 3 g fine salt
- 30 g extra virgin olive oil
- 15 g unsalted butter
- 3 cloves garlicfinely chopped
- 80 g acacia honey
- 15 g rice vinegar
- 15 g light soy sauce
- 4 g fresh parsleyfinely chopped, for serving
- 1 g dried chili flakesoptional, for serving
- steamed white riceas needed, for serving
- white sesame seedsas needed, for serving
How to Make Honey Garlic Chicken
Have the glaze mixed and the garnishes chopped before the skillet goes on the heat. Once the chicken reaches the oil, the short cooking stages follow one another quickly.
Prepare the glaze and chicken
Stir the acacia honey, rice vinegar, and light soy sauce together in a small bowl and set it aside. Put the chicken pieces in a separate bowl, add the cornstarch and fine salt, and mix until every piece is evenly coated.
Brown the first side
Heat the extra virgin olive oil in a large skillet. Once hot, add the chicken in a single layer and cook for about 4 minutes without moving it too much, allowing a golden crust to develop.
Turn the chicken
Turn the pieces over and cook for another 2 minutes.
Add butter and garlic
Lower the heat and add the unsalted butter. Once it melts, stir in the finely chopped garlic and cook for about 30 seconds without letting it brown too much.
Glaze the chicken
Pour the prepared sauce over the chicken and raise the heat slightly. Stir to coat all the pieces, then cook for another 4 to 5 minutes, until the sauce has reduced to a thick, glossy glaze. Check the largest piece: it should be opaque with no pink in the center and reach 74°C (165°F) on an instant-read thermometer.
Finish and serve
Turn off the heat. Finish with the chopped parsley, optional chili flakes, and white sesame seeds. Serve immediately with steamed white rice and spoon the remaining pan sauce over the top.
Tips that make a difference
- Keep the chicken in one layer and leave it mostly undisturbed for the first 4 minutes so a golden crust can form.
- Lower the heat before adding the garlic because it needs only about 30 seconds and should not brown too much.
- Mix the honey, vinegar, and soy sauce in a separate bowl so the glaze reaches the skillet evenly combined.
- Wait for the sauce to become thick and glossy before turning off the heat so it clings to the chicken.
The sauce changes quickly once it hits the skillet. It starts loose, then tightens around the chicken into a glossy coating that carries the honey, garlic, vinegar, and soy in every spoonful.
The Glaze at the End
I keep the chicken moving during the final minutes so the glaze reduces evenly around the pieces. It is ready when the sauce no longer sits loosely in the skillet and instead leaves a thick, glossy coating on the chicken.
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Honey Garlic Chicken
Chicken breast pieces coated in a thick honey garlic glaze with rice vinegar, soy sauce, and an optional touch of chili.
Ingredients
Instructions
- 1Prepare the glaze and chicken
Stir the acacia honey, rice vinegar, and light soy sauce together in a small bowl and set it aside. Put the chicken pieces in a separate bowl, add the cornstarch and fine salt, and mix until every piece is evenly coated.
- 2Brown the first side
Heat the extra virgin olive oil in a large skillet. Once hot, add the chicken in a single layer and cook for about 4 minutes without moving it too much, allowing a golden crust to develop.
- 3Turn the chicken
Turn the pieces over and cook for another 2 minutes.
- 4Add butter and garlic
Lower the heat and add the unsalted butter. Once it melts, stir in the finely chopped garlic and cook for about 30 seconds without letting it brown too much.
- 5Glaze the chicken
Pour the prepared sauce over the chicken and raise the heat slightly. Stir to coat all the pieces, then cook for another 4 to 5 minutes, until the sauce has reduced to a thick, glossy glaze. Check the largest piece: it should be opaque with no pink in the center and reach 74°C (165°F) on an instant-read thermometer.
- 6Finish and serve
Turn off the heat. Finish with the chopped parsley, optional chili flakes, and white sesame seeds. Serve immediately with steamed white rice and spoon the remaining pan sauce over the top.
Questions you might have
Why should I avoid moving the chicken at first?
Leaving it mostly undisturbed for about 4 minutes gives the first side time to develop a golden crust.
How do I know the chicken is cooked through?
Check the largest piece. It should be opaque with no pink in the center and reach 74°C (165°F) on an instant-read thermometer.
