Built-to-last CRISPY Honey Chicken
User Reviews
5
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Prep Time
20 mins
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Cook Time
30 mins
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Marinating & cooling
1 hr
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Servings
4
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Course
Main Course
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Cuisine
Chinese
Built-to-last CRISPY Honey Chicken
Description
This recipe begins by marinating bite-sized chicken thigh pieces in soy sauce, Chinese cooking wine, and cornflour, then dusting them in cornflour before frying. The batter is mixed cold with cornflour, flour, baking powder, salt, and chilled soda water to maintain a light, bubbly texture. The chicken is double fried: first to cook and achieve a pale gold color, then cooled and fried again to deepen crispness and reduce greasiness.
After frying, the chicken is tossed in a honey sauce made from honey, glucose or light corn syrup, soy sauce, and cooking wine, which forms a toffee-like coating that clings without soaking into the crust. The garnish of green onions, sesame seeds, and optionally vermicelli rice noodles adds freshness and texture contrast.
The result is a dish with a crisp crust under a sticky, glossy honey sauce, balancing sweetness and savoriness. The double frying technique is key to long-lasting crispiness even after saucing.
For storage, the chicken can be double fried and cooled, then refrigerated. Reheating in the oven restores the crisp texture before adding warmed sauce. Using glucose or light corn syrup in the sauce aids coating retention. Avoid substituting sparkling mineral water for soda water in the batter, and do not add sour or ketchup-based ingredients, which compromise crispiness.
Ingredients
Chicken & Marinade:
- 300g/ 10oz chicken thighs , skinless boneless, cut into 2.5cm/1" pieces (Note 1)
- 1 tbsp soy sauce or all purpose, NOT dark soy, light
- 2 tsp Chinese cooking wine (sub with soy)
- 2 tsp cornflour or cornstarch
Dredging:
- 1/2 cup cornflour or cornstarch
Stay-Crispy Puffy Batter:
- 6 tbsp cornflour Note 8, or cornstarch
- 4 tbsp flour , plain/all purpose
- 7 - 8 tbsp soda water NOT sparkling mineral water, Note 2, cold, or club soda or seltzer water
- 1/4 tsp baking powder (NOT baking soda)
- 1/4 tsp salt , kosher/cooking (halve for table salt)
Oil, for frying:
- 2 - 3 cups vegetable oil (or canola)
Honey Sauce (Note 8 on sweetness):
- 1/3 cup (100g) honey
- 1.5 tbsp (25g) glucose Note 6, or light corn syrup
- 1 tbsp soy sauce or all purpose, light
- 2 tsp Chinese cooking wine (or more soy sauce)
Garnish / serving:
- 25g / 2 oz vermicelli rice noodles a wad of it (not bean noodles, must be rice noodles, optional
- sesame seeds green onions finely sliced
- green onion green onions finely sliced
Instructions
Recommended step for beginners:
- Place batter mixing bowl in the fridge with the flour, baking powder and salt. (Helps keep batter cold = crispier chicken)
Marinate & Dust Chicken:
- Marinade: Mix Chicken and Marinade in a bowl. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Dust: Spread the 1/2 cup cornflour/cornstarch on a shallow plate. Scatter over about 8 to 10 chicken pieces, toss to coat, shake off excess, put on a plate. Repeat with all chicken.
Cold Batter & Fry #1:
- Rack: Place a rack on a tray (for draining, Note 3)
- Heat oil: Fill small pot or large saucepan with 4cm / 1.7" oil. Heat to 180°C/350°F on medium high stove (or until chicken starts sizzle straight away when dipped).
- Make Cold Batter: Whisk together flour, cornflour/cornstarch, baking powder and salt. Pour in 7 tbsp soda water, then do minimum whisks just to combine (10 or so) - few lumps ok, better than whisking too much (changes coating texture).
- Batter thickness: should fully coat chicken easily, not be see through, but not thick and heavy - see video at 44 seconds. Use extra water 1 teaspoon at a time to achieve right thickness.
- Dredge: Drop 8 or so pieces of chicken into the batter. Turn to coat, then carefully place in oil.
- Fry #1: Cook for 3 minutes until light golden and crispy - when you pick them up, you can tell it's very crispy.
- Drain & repeat: Place on rack, repeat with remaining chicken - I cook in 4 batches, don't crowd the pot, brings oil temperature down too much.
- Cool chicken for 20 minutes (Note 4). Meanwhile, make Sauce.
Honey Sauce:
- Place ingredients in a large saucepan over medium heat. Bring to simmer, then leave to simmer for 3 minutes.
- Consistency should be like maple syrup (video at 1 min 11 sec). Turn off stove, place lid on to keep warm (when cool, gets too thick to toss chicken).
Fry #2 - for ultra crispy!
- Heat oil to 200°C/390°F.
- Add in half the chicken (you can crowd the pot for Fry #2). Cook for 90 seconds until it changes from pale golden to very golden (but not dark golden, chicken will overcook), then remove onto rack. More golden = crispier chicken.
- Repeat with remaining chicken. (Feel the chicken - you can tell it's built-to-last crispy!)
Toss in Sauce & Serve:
- Tumble into saucepan with sauce, use rubber spatula to quick toss until coated with sauce. (Sauce starts thickening if you take too long, so be quick!)
- Pile chicken up over crispy noodles (if using), scatter with sesame seeds and green onion and serve!
Puffy Crispy Noodles (optional):
- At any point while oil is hot, drop wad of noodles into hot oil, wait 3 seconds until it puffs up, then remove with tongs.
- Drain on paper towels, place on plate to top with chicken!
Notes
- Cut chicken thighs into 2.5 cm pieces for best handling and even cooking.
- Marinate chicken with soy sauce, cooking wine, and cornflour for 30 minutes.
- Use fridge-cold soda, club soda, or seltzer water in the batter to ensure crispiness; avoid naturally carbonated mineral water.
- Double frying produces an ultra-crispy crust; cool fried chicken between fryings for best results.
- Glucose or light corn syrup in the honey sauce helps create a sticky, semi-set coating that keeps the crust crisp.
- Make ahead by double frying chicken, cooling, and refrigerating; reheat in oven before saucing to retain crispiness.
- Reheating chicken already coated with sauce will cause loss of crispness.
- Reuse frying oil up to two more times after straining and cooling for similar dishes.
- Adding cider vinegar or hot sauce can reduce sweetness but changes the intended flavor profile and may affect crispiness.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5
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