Sweet & Spicy Sticky Chicken
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Honey, soy sauce, brown sugar, and sriracha come together to make an incredible sauce for this Sweet & Spicy Sticky Chicken Recipe. It offers the perfect balance of sweetness with some heat and sticky glaze. This chicken dish is super easy to make and will easily become a family favorite!
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Sweet & Spicy Sticky Chicken Recipe
This recipe has a pretty self-explanatory name – it’s sweet, it’s spicy, and it’s sticky. And it’s quite honestly one of our family favorites. The flavor combo is awesome with just the right amount of sweetness balanced with some heat, and what’s not to love about a sticky glaze.
To turn this into a complete weeknight meal, just add your favorite rice and a veggie side and you’ve got dinner on the table in just 30 minutes.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Perfect balance of flavors. With brown sugar, honey, soy sauce, and sriracha, this sticky chicken recipe offers ALL the flavors – sweet, spicy, and savory.
- Sticky texture. As the name suggests, this chicken is beautifully sticky. The honey and brown sugar both work together to create that sticky texture which adheres to the crispy chicken. It’s *chef’s kiss*!
- SO easy! I’m not sure this recipe could be any easier. Just toss the chicken with cornstarch, pan fry, and simmer with the sauce. Dinner in less than 30 minutes.
Ingredients Needed
This sweet, spicy, and sticky chicken recipe is made with just a handful of ingredients.
(Scroll below to the printable recipe card for details and measurements.)
- Chicken – You’ll want boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch wide strips.
- Salt & pepper – For seasoning the chicken.
- Cornstarch – Helps achieve a crispy outside on the chicken.
- Vegetable oil – Provides necessary moisture for pan frying the chicken.
- Soy sauce – I always use low sodium to avoid an overly salty dish.
- Honey – Adds the sweet & sticky to the recipe.
- Brown sugar – Also helps sweeten the sauce with deep notes of molasses flavor.
- Sriracha hot sauce – The “spicy” in sweet and spicy.
- Ginger & Garlic – For wonderful aromatics and earthy flavor.
How To Make Sweet & Spicy Sticky Chicken
Here’s an overview of how to make this sticky chicken recipe.
(Scroll to the bottom for our easy printable recipe with the complete directions and don’t miss the video below.)
- Prepare the chicken. Season the chicken with salt and pepper then toss with 1/3 cup of cornstarch until coated.
- Cook the chicken. Heat the oil until it shimmers then add the chicken. Cook (in batches if necessary to not overcrowd the pan) until golden, about 5 minutes per side.
- Make the sauce. Whisk together the remaining ingredients in a saucepan, bringing to a bubble over medium heat to thicken.
- Combine. Pour the sauce over the cooked chicken and simmer for a few minutes, until the chicken is coated and sticky.
Tips for Success
Here are a few important things to keep in mind when making this sticky chicken recipe.
- Coat the chicken completely. The cornstarch gives the chicken the crispy texture, which soaks up the sauce. Be sure to shake until it’s well coated – you can do this in batches if needed – and shake off excess cornstarch to avoid clumps.
- Cook in batches. Depending on the size of your pan, you may need to cook the chicken in batches as you don’t want the pieces to touch. Leaving space ensures they get crispy on all sides. Just add more oil as needed.
- Adjust the heat level. This recipe is pretty balanced between sweet and spicy but if you want a bit more heat, increase the amount of sriracha added or use a spicier hot sauce. You can always use a bit less for a sweeter dish too.
Video: Sweet & Spicy Sticky Chicken
Serving Suggestions
I typically serve this sweet & spicy sticky chicken over rice with a side of roasted broccoli. While I used regular white rice, fried rice or cauliflower rice would be great too.
Proper Storage
- Fridge. Store leftover sticky chicken in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Freezer. Store any cooled leftovers in a freezer-safe airtight container of plastic bag for up to 3 months. Let it thaw in the fridge before reheating.
- Reheat. Reheat the chicken in the microwave or on the stovetop until heated through.
More Easy Chicken Recipes To Try
I hope you love this delicious and easy recipe – be sure to give it a review below! Also don’t forget to follow Belly Full on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube!
Sweet & Spicy Sticky Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 & 1/4 pounds boneless, skinless, chicken breasts, , cut into 1-inch wide strips
- salt and pepper, , to taste
- 1/3 cup + 1 teaspoon cornstarch, , divided
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1/2 tablespoon sriracha hot sauce
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh ginger
- 2 cloves garlic, , minced
Instructions
- Season the chicken strips on both sides with the salt and pepper, then place them in a plastic bag with a 1/3 cup cornstarch. Seal and toss until the chicken is well coated, then shake off any excess.
- Warm oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Once shimmering, add the chicken (cooking in batches if necessary to not overcrowd the pan and adding more oil, as necessary.) Brown chicken strips until golden and cooked through, about 5 minutes per side.
- While the chicken is cooking, make the sauce. Place the soy sauce, honey, brown sugar, sriracha, ginger, garlic, and 1 teaspoon cornstarch in a small saucepan. Whisk together and bring to a bubble over medium heat until thickened.
- Transfer all the cooked chicken back to the skillet and pour sauce over the top. Simmer for a couple more minutes until the chicken is coated and sticky.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information given is an automatic calculation and can vary based on the exact products you use and any changes you make to the recipe. If these numbers are very important to you, I would recommend calculating them yourself.
Did you make this? Leave a rating below!
I made this for dinner tonight I made the sauce and used chicken thighs. So good I will make this again for sure. I think this sauce would be great with pot stickers too! Thank you so much!
Just made this… this was really good. This recipe is a keeper and I will definitely make it again.. some of my pieces of chicken were too thick and I would make sure all pieces were more uniformed in size as the recipe states.
This is the 4th time making!!!! Simple easy recipe made it with beef tonight. I enjoy your videos
My family loved this!
Made this tonight. Very tasty. I reduced the sriracha amount to fit our taste. I used ginger from a squeeze tube which worked fine. I needed a bit more corn starch to coat the chicken. Next time I’ll do that in two batches. I did cook in two batches. It looked almost as good as the video. Maybe next time it will look perfect.