This Honey Sriracha Chicken is the perfect blend of sweet and spicy, offering a deliciously sticky glaze with just the right amount of kick. Crispy fried chicken is coated in a tantalizing sauce made from honey, sriracha, lemon, and garlic! It's ideal for an easy weeknight dinner or as a crowd-pleasing party appetizer.
This recipe is super easy to make and only takes a few simple ingredients that you probably already have in your kitchen. You can serve it with rice, veggies, or even in lettuce wraps for a lighter option.
Side note: My Indo-Chinese Chicken Manchurian and Hot Honey Wings deliver a similar flavor profile, with crispy chicken tossed in a sweet and savory sauce.
The best part about this crispy Honey Sriracha Chicken recipe? You can adjust the heat to make it as mild or spicy as you like.
It's a quick, flavourful dish that's perfect when you want something tasty without a lot of fuss and it still comes out looking impressive!
For more 30-minute Asian takeout dishes try: General Tso's Shrimp, Thai Cashew Chicken, Beijing Beef and Chinese Kung Pao Chicken.
Table of Content
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Better and healthier than takeout - By making this spicy Asian chicken recipe at home you use fresh ingredients and can adjust the flavours to your liking.
- Myriad of flavours - The honey adds a sticky sweetness, balanced by the heat of sriracha and the tang of lemon, while the crispy, juicy chicken brings a satisfying crunch to every bite. My Salt & Pepper Chicken Wings are another flavor bomb you might love!
- Spice is adjustable - You can easily make this sweet sriracha chicken milder or hotter depending on your preference.
- 30-minute recipe - Perfect for busy days, this recipe is so simple and easy that it will be at your food table in just 30 minutes. Check out more 30-minute meals!
Ingredients & Substitutions
See recipe card for quantities.
For Chicken:
- Chicken - Use boneless skinless chicken thighs or breast. Both options are fine, however, I have used chicken breast.
- Seasoning - You'll need garlic powder, ginger powder, salt, cayenne pepper and white pepper. Garlic and ginger powder can be subbed with freshly minced garlic and ginger. Cayenne pepper, depending on your spice tolerance, can be switched with smoked paprika. Black pepper can be used instead of white pepper as well.
- Green Onion - Slice only the green part of the green onion. Chives will also work as a substitute.
- Sesame Seeds - Use hulled sesame seeds. I prefer the white ones but you can also use black sesame seeds or combine the two.
- Oil - Use any neutral oil like vegetable oil, canola or rapeseed for frying.
For Coating:
- Flour - Use plain white flour.
- Cornflour - called Cornstarch in the US. It's used in the coating as well as the sauce.
- Egg - makes the flour stick better.
- Smoked Paprika - I love the hint of spice in smoked paprika. But you can also opt for sweet or regular paprika.
- Salt
For Sauce:
- Sriracha Sauce - Adjust sriracha according to your heat preference. It does have quite a kick so use anywhere between 2-4 tablespoon for this recipe. This dish won't be honey sriracha chicken then, but you can sub the sriracha with sambal oelek.
- Honey - to balance the heat.
- Butter - Use unsalted!
- Soy Sauce - Only light or regular soy sauce will work! Don't use dark soy sauce since it will be very strong.
- Lemon Juice - can be substituted with lime juice.
You will also need water, cornstarch and garlic powder for the sauce.
How To Make Honey Sriracha Chicken
- Season the chicken with salt, cayenne pepper, ginger powder, garlic powder and white pepper.
- Combine flour, cornflour (cornstarch), baking powder, salt and smoked paprika in a shallow plate.
- Mix a whisked egg into the chicken pieces. Take each chicken piece, and coat well with the flour mixture.
- Heat a pot of oil for deep frying. Fry the chicken in batches till they are golden brown and crispy.
- Melt butter in a pan and add the sauce (see recipe card). Bring to a simmer while stirring and turn off heat.
- Toss the chicken in the sauce and add some green onions. Remove from heat.
- Garnish with more green onions and sesame seeds. Serve this spicy honey sriracha chicken with boiled rice.
Expert Tips
- When dredging the chicken with seasoned flour, make sure you press firmly and rub the flour on each piece to achieve a flaky coating.
- Fry the chicken in batches and don't overcrowd the pot, or the temperature of the oil will drop and the chicken won't be as crispy.
- Take out the fried chicken on a wire rack or in a sieve. A paper towel will make the chicken soggy.
- Remove the pan from heat as soon as the honey sriracha sauce thickens or the cornflour (cornstarch) will make the sauce very gloopy.
Serving Ideas
Crispy Honey Sriracha Chicken is a great appetizer so you can totally serve it alone! The spicy sticky sauce feels so dynamic in the mouth.
And if you are fancying a full meal, serve it with white steamed rice, brown rice, steamed broccoli or green beans. If feeling a bit laborious, make my Garlic Butter Fried Rice.
This sweet and spicy chicken will also pair beautifully with Chinese stir fried noodles, like my Garlic Chili Oil Noodles.
Craving some crispy fried chicken? Try my KFC-Style Crispy Chicken Burger or Crispy Homemade Chicken Popcorn.
FAQ
Sriracha sauce definitely has a kick. If you can't handle the heat, you can reduce the amount of sriracha in the spicy sauce, balancing it with honey to even out the flavor. If you're craving it hotter, add cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes to the sauce.
Although fried chicken doesn't stay as crispy after going in the fridge, you can still keep this dish in an airtight container for upto 3 days. And later reheat it in the microwave.
You definitely can! Fill a frying pan with oil till it covers half of the chicken and flip sides midway for even cooking.
Video
More Asian Recipes
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Let's Stay Connected! Follow me on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest for the latest updates. And subscribe to my YouTube channel for video recipes.
📖 Recipe
Honey Sriracha Chicken
Ingredients
For the chicken
- 500 g (1.1 lb) boneless chicken, cut in 4 cm (1") cubes
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon white pepper
- ¾ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon ginger powder
- 1 egg whisked
- Cooking oil for frying
For coating
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup cornflour (cornstarch)
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
For the sauce
- 2 tbsp (30g) unsalted butter
- 3-4 tablespoon sriracha sauce see note 2
- 2 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce regular or light
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon cornflour (cornstarch)
- ½ cup water see note 3
For the garnish
- Sesame seeds white & hulled
- 2 green onion green part finely sliced
Instructions
- Season the chicken with salt, white pepper, cayenne pepper, garlic powder and ginger powder. Mix and put aside for 10-15 minutes while you prepare rest of the things.
- In a shallow dish, combine flour, cornflour (cornstarch), baking powder, salt and smoked paprika.
- Bring a pot of oil to a temperature of 175°C (350°F) for deep frying the chicken.
- To the chicken cubes, add a whisked egg and mix well.
- Then press each chicken piece into the seasoned flour firmly on all sides. Rub it in to create a flaky texture.
- Drop the chicken pieces into the hot oil, in a single layer, without overcrowding the pot. Move around with a slotted spoon after 3-4 minutes to have even browning.
- Fry on medium heat till the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°C (74°F), which will take approximately 7-8 minutes. Remove in a sieve or on a wire rack when the chicken pieces are golden brown and crispy.
- Combine all the sauce ingredients except butter in a small bowl.
- Melt the butter in a medium-sized pan. Then pour in the sauce. On low heat, let the sauce thicken while stirring around. Keep an eye or the sauce will get lumpy because of the cornflour (cornstarch). Immediately remove the pan from heat when the sauce is slightly thicker.
- Toss the fried chicken into the sticky honey sriracha sauce. Mix in half of the green onions and remove on a serving plate.
- Garnish with sesame seeds and some more of the green onions. Serve with steamed white rice!
Video
Notes
- You can use boneless chicken breast or thighs. It's totally up to you.
- Start with 2 tablespoon of sriracha sauce if you are not a fan of spicy food. Taste and add more if required.
- Depending on how much sauce you like in your honey sriracha chicken, you can increase or decrease the quantity of water. If you like it more sticky and with less sauce then start with ⅓ cup of water for this recipe and adjust accordingly from there.
Nutrition
PIN IT FOR LATER
Jawad says
Very Delicious.
👍👍👍