Are you in need of easy party appetizer ideas for the busy fall and holiday season? This crispy and sticky garlic chicken recipe is just what you’re looking for!
Nuggets of chicken breast meat are breaded and fried in a skillet. Then they’re covered in a sweet Asian inspired glaze with garlic, honey and soy sauce.
These yummy bites works perfectly for football, Thanksgiving or Christmas parties – or serve them with your favorite sides for dinner.
Hello there, late to the party as ever!
Since the entire internet and its grandmother (who would that even be? Black and white TV? Radio? Books? OMG, books guys…! Remember those things?) has been making garlic chicken I thought I’d chime in with my own take on it.
Apparently it’s a take out classic in the US? Sometimes I really envy you all but then my waistline calls up and reminds me of how expanded it would be if I was constantly surrounded by all. the. food.
So, late to the party again. I just can’t help it but it’s always me – literally and figuratively speaking that is. I do for one really have trouble with being on time. I’m fashionably (read: terribly) late to almost everything.
And guys, I’ve tried all the tricks in the books to counteract this, but not even setting my clock five minutes early helped in any way!
And now with a baby there’s no chance I’m going to show up on time anywhere, ever. So let’s just skip on that topic and move on, shall we?
Because I’m also fashionably late to about every fashion out there, including food.
Skinny jeans? So totally refused to buy them until there was practically nothing else available in stores anymore – and now I love them!
Apple (the company, not the fruit)? Yeah, refused that one too until I was, you know, converted.
Sticky, sweet and garlicky chicken? HELLO I-have-a-food-blog-and-didn’t-even-notice-you-until-last-week! And now I’m glad times infinity to have discovered it because it is SO good!
The same goes for so many things in the food department. Slow cooker? Hi, Sticky BBQ Slow Cooker Meatballs, where have you been all my life?!
Now there are an awful lot of baked versions out there but I decided to go another way so these are pan fried.
Also, I already have a ton of baked chicken recipes on the blog: Crispy Oven Fried Chicken, Healthy Baked Chicken Nuggets or Maple and Mustard Glazed Chicken are just a few to mention.
Pan frying uses maybe a bit more oil than baking, but still much better than deep fried (not that I have anything against the occasional deep fried treat… Hello glorious Honey Lime Crispy Chicken Wings!).
And also, if you use a really good non-stick pan like this one I’ve been eyeing for ages* – you really don’t need to use a lot of fat!
So there you have it, just in case you aren’t sick of me talking yet (or you’re late to the party just like me!) – perfectly salty-sweet, sticky, crispy, garlicky (seriously, how many adjectives can one put before a food?) chicken just waiting for you to make tonight!
Also, if you want to be all edgy and different and try something new – make these with my teriyaki sauce instead of the one in the recipe.
Really, I wasn’t joking about that “make it tonight” part. Just do it, mmmkay?
Crispy Garlic Chicken
Ingredients
For the Sauce
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 6 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons barbecue sauce
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce
- 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
For the Chicken
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks
- 1/2 cup flour
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
- Oil for frying
Instructions
To Make the Sauce
- Add all sauce ingredients to a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until starting to thicken. Set aside until all the chicken is done.
To Make the Chicken
- Pat the chicken dry. To a shallow dish add the flour. Whisk the eggs together in a second dish and put the breadcrumbs into a third. To bread the chicken coat it first with flour, then with eggs and finally with breadcrumbs. (For a more thorough tutorial on how to correctly bread chicken to give it a nice crispy coating check out this post.
- Heat a nonstick frying pan over medium high heat. Add oil and cook the chicken in batches for 6-8 minutes or until golden and crispy on the outside and cooked through on the inside.
To Assemble
- Add all the cooked chicken into the pan and pour the sauce over it. Toss until everything is coated and the sauce has thickened to a syrupy consistency.
Nutrition (this is an estimate)
* I make a commission for purchases made through these links.
Rose
hello, would it make it dfferent if I put dark soy sauce instead of soy sauce. and I don’t have wine vinegar, can i just put a normal vinegar?
Nora Rusev
Hi Rose, I haven’t tried it with dark soy sauce, but I’m sure it would taste just fine. I would probably just skip the vinegar! Hope that helps.
Angela Nunes
Can someone send me the instructions? I cannot see them for some reason 🙁
Nora
I’m incredibly sorry, Angela. There have been technical issues with the program I use to make sure the recipes can be printed. It deleted the instructions from random recipes 🙁 I fixed them here, I’m SO sorry for the inconvenience!
Patricia
Hi Nora,
Thanks for sharing this recipe. Will try tonight.
But sweet or salty soy sauce? (Why is it never mentioned in recipes?)
Thanks so far,
Kind regards, Patricia
Nora
Hi Patricia, we don’t get sweet or salty soy sauce here. I didn’t know there’s a sweet version, actually! I’m pretty sure you’ll need the salty one. Hope that helps – let me know how the chicken turns out for you! – Nora
Patricia
Hello Nora,
Thanks for your quick reply. Maybe order online?
I have found a wiki link just as a ‘fyi’. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweet_soy_sauce
And I will definitely let you know the outcome in the kitchen. Have a nice Sunday.
KR, Patricia
Nora
Hi Patricia,
thank you for that link! Now I know what you mean – sweet soy sauce is sold as kecap manis here. That’s why I never thought about differentiating in a recipe. Thank you for letting me know, I’m always happy to learn something new.
Hope you have a lovely Sunday,
Nora
Patricia
Hello Nora,
I realy enjoyed the garlic chicken. But as I am not a honey eater it was a bit too honey. I hoped the other ingredients would have overtaken the taste. So I twisted the recipe today (2nd time I cooked this one).
Lot less honey, added palmsugar (2 tablespoons) and some grated fresh ginger (about 2 teaspoons).
Thanks again for sharing.
Tasty regards, Patricia
amanda
I’m in the process right now! The sauce smells amazing and my chicken is sizzling… I’m excited!
Nora
Yay, hope you enjoyed the chicken, Amanda! – Nora x
Barbara Karr
On the way to the kitchen to pull chicken breasts out of the freezer! Your photo has me hungry! Barb
Nora
Mission accomplished 😉 Hope you enjoy the chicken, Barb!
Jennifer Shugart
Oh my gosh, I wish I could make and eat this right now!!!
KIm
Is seafood sauce the same as fish sauce?
Nora
Sorry, I have never seen anything called seafood sauce before! You could just leave it out if you don’t have any fish sauce on hand!
Tammy
Is the garlic supposed to be put in as whole cloves for the sauce?
Nora
Sorry Tammy, what an oversight in my recipe writing! It’s minced, but you can add it in whole cloves and then remove them later if you’re not a fan of garlic bits. Hope that helps!
Abi
This sounds delicious, gonna try right away. But, do you recommend marinating chicken a night beforehand?
Nora
Hi Abi, you certainly can if you feel like it, but it’s not necessary!
Abi
Thanks for the quick revert, Nora. Will let you know how the crispy garlic chicken tastes.
Hannah hartzell
Hi! Looks amazing but can I substitute the fish oil? Thank you!
Nora
Hi Hannah! Sure, just use an extra teaspoon soy sauce 🙂 Hope that helps!
Jessica
Hi Nora,
This recipe looks delicious and I can’t wait to try it!! I don’t do much frying though – how much oil and what kind would you recommend I use? Thanks in advance!
Nora
Hi Jessica! Since it’s just shallow-frying and not deep frying you’ll be fine with generously coating the bottom of the pan – half a finger of oil will be plenty! Hope that helps 🙂
Maureen
Can this be made ahead for an appetizer? I have to take something to a friends house and don’t want to cook there…
Nora
Hi Maureen, I would recommend making the sauce and chicken at home. I would wait to combine both until you’re with your friends though, because otherwise it might get soggy. You can also try serving the sauce as a dip instead of coating the chicken 🙂 Hope that helps!
Evelyn Almeida
Nora your garlic chicken bites look n sound yum sure they will taste as good definitely going to try them soon…
Evelyn
Nora
Thank you so much, Evelyn! I hope you will enjoy them!
Kim
I came across this recipe on Pinterest and thought I’d try it tonight. While making the sauce I had second thoughts (bbq sauce, really?)….but oh my goodness…these crispy garlic chicken bites are fantastic!!! You have a new fan.
Nora
I’m so glad you loved the chicken in the end, Kim! Sometimes I have second thoughts while cooking as well, I’m glad it didn’t turn out as a failure for you 🙂
Cheyanne
Nora, these look fantasitc! I have no idea why I am just finding these on your blog (thank you pinterest! ). definitely going to be making these 🙂 Cheers chickie!
Nora
The power of Pinterest, ha! I’d send some over… In exchange for some Lobster Truffle Mac and Cheese WHICH IS HAUNTING ME AT NIGHT! 🙂
PT
What can I use in place of white wine vinegar? I have rice wine vingar and apple cidar vinegar. Please let me know. Thanks.
Nora
You can just leave the vinegar out or use apple cider vinegar if you like the tangy taste!
Sarah Marchant
Looks simple enough to make and very tasty!
Nora
Thank you Sarah!
Olivia @ Olivia's Cuisine
Nora, I can’t stop looking at your pictures! They are amazing. I love your photography style.
Also, I need this chicken right now! YUM!
Nora
Thank you so much Olivia! 🙂
Annie @Maebells
How fantastic!! This chicken looks amazing! I love good “saucy” recipes like this! Delish!
Nora
Thank you Annie!
fareseason
Nora, this chicken looks great. Making me hungry!
Nora
Thanks Nicole! Now I’ve made two people hungry, time to retire 😉
Annie @ ciaochowbambina
Whenever I see the words crispy and garlic in the same sentence, I must check it out! This looks incredible!
Nora
Thank you Annie! I can totally relate, I’m just the same… 🙂
Liz @ Tip Top Shape
This is actually the first garlic chicken recipe I’ve seen. I must be reading the wrong blogs! Anyhoo, this looks DELICIOUS!!!!
Nora
Huh, maybe I’m not so late after all 😉 Thank you Liz!
Flick @TheyCalledItTheDiamondBlog
Ok you’ve made me hungry and your photos are fabulous…how is this blog only 3 months old!!
Nora
Ha! Making people hungry is my number one goal in life! 😉 And thank you SO much! Such compliments mean a lot to me!