Fast and flavorful spicy sriracha honey chicken stir-fry is the answer to your weekday food slump. Tender pieces of chicken tossed in a savory sweet sauce.
When 6 o’clock rolled around at my house when I was just a little sprout, I would instantly hear the rustlings of my mom and grandpa busily shuffling around the kitchen. They were conjuring up something seriously delicious for dinner. Within a few moments, the sounds of cool meat sizzling in hot oil appeared and then the rhythmic clang of a hard metal spatula hitting the side of a hot wok continued until a feast for a hungry family of six was presented on the table.
It was pretty remarkable how quickly dinner could be ready, plus so much flavor infused into each enticing bite. Cantonese cooking is all about the sauce, typically a yummy savory and sweet sauce to toss with any protein or vegetable.
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Now with my own family to care for, I’m short on time from daycare pick up to bedtime. Fast and flavorful meals have become a necessity. I recently began my obsession with Sriracha , the spicy ruby red thick chili sauce that people use on just about anything! I’ve discovered that it’s even more incredible in a big bowl of steaming hot sriracha honey chicken stir-fry, nom nom nom!
Let’s chat about the sauce for a minute. This is a great base sauce that you can tweak once you’ve made it a few times and want to infuse more or fewer flavors. It starts with soy sauce, honey, water, chili sauce, chopped fresh garlic and dried red chili flakes, that’s it!
You can cut back on the heat or add more if you are sassy, but if you remove the sriracha completely you have a teriyaki sauce base that is also yummy! The key to thickening this sauce is adding a little bit of cornstarch “slurry.”
Large chunks of chicken breast are stir-fried in a large roomy wok, or a large saute pan. The chicken cooks up very quickly in the super hot pan, so you have to keep the meat moving to evenly cook each piece. Don’t cook too long, as chicken breast can get dried out pretty quickly if you let it.
Tender and saucy, you can’t get better than this! I like to make sure I have my own little cup of sauce on the side so I can dip, pour and enjoy. I don’t like to share unless I have to, hehe.
I try to make a balanced meal of protein, vegetables, and carbs at dinner time. Things can get hectic at work for Jason and me, and we don’t always get the chance to have a healthy meal. I made some brown jasmine rice and steamed some fresh broccoli, carrots, and zucchini for about five minutes to serve with this irresistible sriracha honey chicken stir-fry.
There was not one piece of chicken left in the wok, I even gave a nibble to baby James, and he enjoyed it! Weekday meals don’t have to be complicated and hectic. I love breaking out my wok and tossing together a quick, healthy meal for my family.
Chinese stir-fry recipe you might also like
- Stir-Fried Garlic Noodles with Chicken
- One-Pan Orange Chicken
- Stir-Fry with Broccolini and Mushrooms
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo #jessicagavin on Instagram. I’d love to see what you come up with. Cheers, friends!
How do you quickly thicken the Sriracha Honey Sauce?
A cornstarch slurry is a very common thickener in Chinese cuisine, added in small amounts near the end of cooking to nearly boiling liquid. For this recipe, the mixture of water, soy sauce, and honey was bubbling first, and then an equal mixture of cold water and cornstarch whisked together was added, stirred and thickened within minutes. You must keep the sauce hot for the starches to gelatinize and swell. Don’t skip the step of whisking together the cornstarch and cold water, if you add the cornstarch directly to hot liquid, it will clump and give a not so pretty thick sauce.
Stir-Fried Spicy Honey Sriracha Chicken
Ingredients
Sriracha Honey Sauce-
- 1 cup water
- 2 tablespoons sriracha, add more for spicier sauce, hot chili sauce
- 5 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1/4 cup honey, plus 1 more tablespoon
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
- 1/4 teaspoon red chili flakes
- 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 1/2 tablespoons water
Chicken-
- 1 1/2 pounds chicken breast, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, for stir-frying
- salt, as needed for seasoning
- black pepper, freshly ground, as needed for seasoning
- 1/4 cup green onion, sliced for garnish
Instructions
- In a small-medium saucepan, combine 1 cup of water, sriracha, soy sauce, honey, garlic and red chili flakes, stir to combine. Bring mixture to a boil over medium heat.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and water to make a slurry.
- Add to the saucepan and stir until thickened.
- Reduce heat to low, and begin making the chicken.
- Add cubed chicken and 2 tablespoons cornstarch to a large resealable plastic bag. Seal the bag and shake to coat the chicken.
- Add vegetable oil to a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat.
- Once the oil is hot, carefully add the chicken and saute until browned, and chicken is cooked through.
- Add the sauce and toss to coat the chicken pieces.
- Season with salt and pepper as desired. Serve with rice and vegetables, garnish with green onions.
Notes
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This looks like a wonderful, healthy, and satisfying meal! My parents made a lot of stir-fries when I was growing up, but never with anything like this sriracha-honey sauce…can’t wait to try it!
Thank you CakePants! I hope you get a chance to try the recipe 🙂
Made this for dinner tonight . It is quick and very flavorful. Served extra sauce on the side which was a hit for those who like a little more of a kick. Delicious!
Thank you so much Debi for trying the recipe, I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
At what point do you add the honey?
Thank you Hidi for the question! I’ve just updated the recipe, you add the honey along with the other sauce ingredients at the beggining.
Great looking recipe. Went to make it and realized I had no honey, ended up using peanut butter instead! Turned out far better than expected
Wow, I am totally impressed by your improvisation! Did it sort of taste like the peanut dipping sauce for spring rolls?
I made this last night and it was easy & SO good! My husband loved it and we had no leftovers. I thought the heat level was just right and the instructions were very easy to follow.
We were in a pinch and only had frozen veggies, so I knew we needed a really good sauce to elevate the chicken/veggie stir fry. We will definitely make this again.
Yay! I’m so glad you guys enjoyed the recipe Rachel! We don’t ever have leftovers either, hehe 🙂
This was amazing!!!! Will make again! Thanks!!
I’m so happy to hear that you liked the recipe Dawn!
I can’t wait to try this. Just printed it out. Thank you very much Jessica.
I can’t wait to hear what you think Judy!
Yeah really nice this one. So much tastier when you make the sauce yourself. I used steak instead of chicken and added a little ginger.
Thanks Danny! I love the idea of adding steak instead of chicken. I’ll have to try it!
Thanks for this recipe, Jessica! I didn’t have honey and used real NH maple sryup instead. It was still very tasty. It’s spicy, healthy, and very satisfying!
You’re so welcome Crystal! I love the substitution of honey for maple syrup, I’ll have to give it a try!
Sounds like a great recipe and I will be making this tonight. Just one question on the nutrition breakdown. It that for the entire meal? I didn’t see an amount per serving.
It’s for one serving which is 6 ounces of chicken plus sauce. Let me know how it goes!
Very yummy! I added mushrooms and spiraled zucchini noodles for a low carb dinner. I also substituted half sugar free maple syrup for the honey to lower the sugar content since I’m diabetic. My wife loved it also. Note: the sauce was almost too spicy when I tasted it out of the saucepan. But once it was added to the chicken and veggies, it was perfect.
Thank you so much John! I like how you added the extra vegetables for a low carb and healthy boost, I’ll have to try it! Nice sub for with the sugar-free maple syrup. I’m so happy that you both enjoyed the chick stir-fry 🙂