Honey Chicken

Honey Chicken has long been a staple of many a Chinese food order on takeaway night, but we reckon our homemade version is much better than any you’ll buy in a restaurant.

Serves: 4
Time: 30 minutes 

Ingredients

• 800g chicken breast or thighs, cut into 2.5cm chunks
• grapeseed oil, for deep frying

Batter:

• 4 tablespoons cornflour
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 1 egg white

Sauce:

• 2 teaspoons ginger, minced
• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 teaspoons garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 teaspoon cornflour
• sesame seeds, toasted

Method

In a large bowl, mix all the batter ingredients together until smooth. Cover and allow the batter to sit for at least 30 minutes. Then add the chicken to the batter, tossing to coat. In a wok, heat the oil. Fry chicken pieces in batches until batter becomes firm and the chicken is cooked through (you can check by cutting open a piece).
Drain on paper towels.

In a separate wok or saucepan, heat one-and-a-half tablespoons of olive oil. Add garlic and ginger and stir-fry for 30 seconds. Add the salt, honey, vinegar and water. Mix well. Combine one teaspoon of water with one teaspoon of cornflour. Add to the sauce and simmer for two minutes.
Pour the sauce over the chicken and garnish with sesame seeds. Serve with steamed rice and wilted or steamed greens.

Also read: Mary Berry’s Easy-Peasy One-Pot Chicken