This fast and healthy honey chicken stir-fry with sriracha is the answer to your weekday food slump. Tender pieces of chicken tossed in a savory, sweet, and spicy sauce. Ready in just 30 minutes!
Table of Contents
Cantonese cooking is all about the sauce. Typically a savory and sweet combination with any protein or vegetable. To switch things up, I add a hot kick of chili paste to the stir-fry. This honey sriracha chicken recipe is a quick 30-minute dish to make weekday dinners more exciting.
Sriracha is a spicy, ruby-red chili sauce that can be used on almost anything! Keeping a bottle in the pantry has become a kitchen staple to add instant flavor. It can be used with various meats, seafood, or tofu recipes. Get ready to serve this dish with a bowl of steamed rice, or divvy it up for meal prep.
Key Ingredients
- Chicken: For lean, quick-cooking protein, use boneless skinless chicken breasts. Thighs can be used if you prefer dark meat. Cut into 1-inch pieces to cook evenly in the wok. Season the poultry with salt, pepper, and cornstarch to help the sauce stick.
- Sriracha: Sold in a clear bottle with a green lid. The hot chili sauce combines chili pepper paste, distilled white vinegar for tanginess, garlic, sugar, and salt.
- Honey Sriracha Sauce: The sauce consists of chicken stock, sriracha, soy sauce, honey, garlic, red chili flakes, and a cornstarch slurry to thicken the consistency.
- Garnish: Sliced green onions add a fresh and subtle allium flavor to the dish. Sesame seeds can also be added for a nutty taste or red chili flakes for a lingering heat.
Make the stir-fry sauce
The savory, sweet, and spicy sauce is made in a small saucepan that comes together in minutes! Whisk together chicken stock, sriracha chili sauce, soy sauce, honey, minced garlic, and red chili flakes.
Once the mixture comes to a boil over medium heat, add a cornstarch slurry mixture to thicken the sauce. Stir constantly to distribute the starches. It takes less than a minute to gelatinize.
Season the chicken
Cut the chicken breast into even-sized cubes, about 1 inch in size. Alternatively, slice into strips against the grain. Season the meat with salt and pepper to enhance the savory taste.
A thin cornstarch coating dries the surface, making it easier to sear and brown for extra flavor. This also creates a primer layer, making the sauce stick better to the chicken.
Cook the chicken
I prefer to use a wok to make the stir-fry. The rounded shape has more surface area, the pan material heats quickly, and it can sear the meat efficiently. However, a stainless steel pan or nonstick pan works well, especially the latter for those new to stir-frying.
Use medium-high heat to sear the chicken in vegetable oil. Add the chicken and don’t move the pieces until they brown on the surface, about 1 minute. Then saute them until fully cooked. The cooking time takes less than 5 minutes.
Add the honey sriracha sauce
Once the chicken is cooked to a tender and juicy texture, drizzle on the warm sauce. Give it a good toss to coat the meat evenly, and you’re ready to dig in.
You can always add more sriracha or chili flakes for a spicier taste or even reduce the amount if desired. Garnish with sliced green onion for a mild flavor and pop of color.
Flavor variations
Now that you know how to make sriracha honey chicken, try these tasty ways to switch up the recipe!
- Protein: Use boneless skinless chicken thighs if you like dark meat. Pork tenderloin, beef, shrimp, or tofu also work well with the sauce.
- Sweetener: Instead of honey, try pure maple syrup. It will have more of a caramelized flavor.
- Spicy: If you don’t have sriracha, try sambal oelek, gochujang, or buffalo sauce. The honey level may need to be adjusted to rebalance the flavor of the stir-fry sauce.
- Vegetables: Add healthy vegetables, like broccoli, Chinese broccoli, mushrooms, bell peppers, onions, or zucchini.
Serving suggestions
- Fried rice
- Brown rice
- Cauliflower rice
- Chow mein or lo mein
- The best stir-fried bok choy
- Crab rangoon
Frequently asked questions
A Thai chili sauce that comes in various versions. The most popular brand was created by David Tran and is sold by his brand Huy Fong Foods. It’s a clear bottle with a green top. It combines ground red chilies, sugar, distilled vinegar, garlic, and xantham gum. It has a thick, ketchup-like consistency. It can be added as a seasoning to sweet, spicy, and garlic flavor to foods.
Sambal oelek is the best chili paste substitute. Gochujang is a very thick Korean chili paste with fermented soybeans. None of these have added sugar, so you may need to add a sweetener to balance the taste. For a thicker spicy sauce, try using buffalo sauce.
Yes, you can mix all the sauce ingredients, then add it to the stir-fried chicken. Cook the chicken for 1 to 2 minutes less to account for the extra time needed to simmer the sauce until thickened. This prevents the meat from overcooking.
How to quickly thicken the sauce
A cornstarch slurry is a common thickener in Chinese cuisine, added in small amounts near the end of cooking to near boiling liquid. For this recipe, the mixture of water, soy sauce, and honey cooks first, and then an equal mixture of cold water and cornstarch is added. Keep the sauce hot for the starches to gelatinize and swell. Whisk together the cornstarch and cold water first. Adding the cornstarch directly to the hot liquid will create a clumpy consistency.
Sriracha Honey Chicken
Ingredients
Honey Sriracha Sauce
- 1 cup unsalted chicken stock, broth, or water
- ⅓ cup honey
- ⅓ cup soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons sriracha
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- ¼ teaspoon red chili flakes
- 1 ½ tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 ½ tablespoons water
Chicken Stir-Fry
- 1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 1" cubes
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- ¼ cup sliced green onion
Instructions
- Make the Stir-fry Sauce – In a small saucepan, whisk together the chicken stock, honey, soy sauce, sriracha, garlic, and chili flakes. Bring to a boil over medium heat.
- Thicken the Sauce – In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch and water to make a slurry. Add to the saucepan, stirring constantly until thickened, about 30 to 60 seconds. Turn off the heat a cover to keep warm.
- Season the Chicken – In a medium bowl, add the cubed chicken. Season with the salt and pepper, stir to combine. Add the cornstarch, and toss to evenly coat.
- Cook the Chicken – Heat a wok, nonstick pan, or stainless steel pan over medium-high heat. Add the vegetable oil. Once hot and shimmering, carefully add the chicken in a single layer. Sear without moving until browned, about 1 minute. Stir-fry until no longer pink and cooked through, about 3 to 4 minutes.
- Add the Sauce – Turn off the heat and pour the sauce over the chicken. Stir to coat. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- To Serve – Garnish with green onions. Serve with steamed rice or desired side dishes.
Equipment
Notes
- Serving Size: 6 ounces of chicken plus sauce.
- Make it Gluten-Free: Use tamari or coconut aminos for soy sauce.
- Storing: Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
- Reheating: Cover and microwave on high setting in 15 to 30-second increments until hot.
Nutrition Facts
Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000-calorie diet. All nutritional information is based on estimated third-party calculations. Each recipe and nutritional value will vary depending on the brands you use, measuring methods, and portion sizes per household.
CakePants says
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!
Jessica Gavin says
Thank you CakePants! I hope you get a chance to try the recipe 🙂
Debi says
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!
Jessica Gavin says
Thank you so much Debi for trying the recipe, I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Hidi says
At what point do you add the honey?
Jessica Gavin says
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.
JJohnston says
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
Jessica Gavin says
Wow, I am totally impressed by your improvisation! Did it sort of taste like the peanut dipping sauce for spring rolls?
Rachel says
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.
Jessica Gavin says
Yay! I’m so glad you guys enjoyed the recipe Rachel! We don’t ever have leftovers either, hehe 🙂
Dawn says
This was amazing!!!! Will make again! Thanks!!
Jessica Gavin says
I’m so happy to hear that you liked the recipe Dawn!
Judy Caywood says
I can’t wait to try this. Just printed it out. Thank you very much Jessica.
Jessica Gavin says
I can’t wait to hear what you think Judy!
Danny Marks says
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.
Jessica Gavin says
Thanks Danny! I love the idea of adding steak instead of chicken. I’ll have to try it!
Crystal says
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!
Jessica Gavin says
You’re so welcome Crystal! I love the substitution of honey for maple syrup, I’ll have to give it a try!
Bman82 says
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.
Jessica Gavin says
It’s for one serving which is 6 ounces of chicken plus sauce. Let me know how it goes!
John W says
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.
Jessica Gavin says
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 🙂