Honey chilli chicken
- Prepare
- less than 30 mins
- Cook
- 10 to 30 mins
- Serve
- Serves 2
This sticky, crunchy, just spicy enough Chinese-style honey chilli chicken is quicker, tastier and healthier than anything you could order from the takeaway.
Each serving provides 802 kcal, 70g protein, 53g carbohydrate (of which 19g sugars), 33g fat (of which 8.4g saturates), 3.3g fibre and 1.2g salt.
Ingredients
For the honey chilli chicken
- 4 skinless boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite-size pieces
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil, plus extra for frying
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 1 large free-range egg, beaten
- 60g/2¼oz plain flour
- 25g/1oz cornflour
- 1 large garlic clove, very finely chopped
- 3–4cm/1–1½in fresh root ginger, peeled and grated
- 1 red chilli, thinly sliced
- 2 large spring onions, roughly chopped
For the sauce
- 2 tbsp runny honey
- 1 tsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tsp Shaoxing rice wine, or dry sherry
- ½ tsp toasted sesame oil
- ½ lime, juice only
Method
First make the sauce. Whisk all the ingredients together along with 4 tablespoons cold water. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, toss the chicken pieces with the vegetable oil and sea salt. Stir in the egg. Add the flour and cornflour and stir until the chicken is well coated.
Use enough oil to just cover the bottom of a large wok or frying pan. Place over a medium-high heat until the oil is shimmering. Add the chicken in batches and fry for a few minutes on each side until golden. Put the cooked chicken on a plate lined with kitchen paper while you cook the remaining chicken pieces.
Discard all the oil in the pan and carefully wipe it clean with another piece of kitchen paper.
Return the pan to a medium heat and gently fry the garlic, ginger and chilli in a teaspoon of oil for about a minute until fragrant.
Return the chicken to the pan and stir in the sauce. Bring the sauce to a simmer and allow it to bubble away for a minute or so until it has thickened slightly and is coating the chicken.
Serve immediately, with the chopped spring onions sprinkled over the top.
Recipe tips
This dish is delicious served over Jasmine rice with a side of steamed greens, like Tenderstem broccoli or pak choi.
Shaoxing rice wine is available from most large supermarkets. You will find it in the world foods section or with the vinegars.
