Make this delicious, healthier, takeout fake-out Honey Ginger Chicken Stir-Fry for dinner tonight. The sauce is sweet and savory with soy sauce, garlic, ginger, and sesame oil and the dish comes together in about 30 minutes. Serve it with rice and a steamed broccoli for a meal that’s worthy of the regular dinner rotation.
It’s been a strange first few weeks of 2021 with a packed online school schedule for first graders Molly and Clara and busy work schedules for Frank and I. Two-year-old June is, as usual, along for the ride, prancing around the house in Elsa pjs and wondering when the next snack will appear.
In the midst of this crazy season of life, we are no strangers to takeout. I love a good Chinese-style stir-fry and love it even more when it’s brought to my door without me having to dirty a single pan. However, whenever I make one of these takeout-inspired dishes myself, I’m always impressed at how delicious and simple they can be. Next time you’re tempted to order takeout, give this one a try instead.
The key to a great homemade takeout fake-out dish is in the details. Fresh ginger and garlic make all the difference in transforming a simple sauce into something that tastes special.
I’m hungry just thinking about it. Let’s make Honey Ginger Chicken!
Ingredients
- Chicken Breast - Use cubed chicken breast here. It also works with chicken thighs, shrimp, or extra-firm tofu.
- Cornstarch - Tossing the chicken with cornstarch before cooking not only helps it to brown nicely in the pan, but it thickens the sauce.
- Ginger and Garlic - The recipe will work without these, but they add so much flavor that I strongly encourage you to put in the couple of extra minutes it takes to prepare them. Be sure the ginger is very finely diced or grated before using it.
- Toasted Sesame Oil - Look for this in the Asian / international aisle at the grocery store. It should be dark in color.
- White Sesame Seeds - Stir these into the sauce to give it some texture. Feel free to sprinkle some on top of the finished stir-fry as well for some color.
- Honey, Soy Sauce, Ketchup - Pantry staples you’ll need to make the sauce.
- Green Onions - These add fresh flavor and color when stirred into the dish at the end of cooking.
How to Make Honey Ginger Chicken
- Make sauce. Combine all ingredients for the sauce.
- Toss chicken with cornstarch. This recipe uses a good amount of cornstarch to insure that the sauce thickens. It may not all stick to the chicken, but give it a good stir to coat it as much as possible.
- Sear chicken. Sear chicken until golden brown.
- Add first part of sauce. Add 3 tablespoon of sauce until chicken is sticky and coated.
- Add second part of sauce. Add all remaining sauce and simmer for a few minutes until chicken is fully cooked.
- Finish and serve. Stir in green onions and serve!
Why Add Sauce in Two Parts
When I was testing this recipe, my goal was to find a balance between chicken that is really coated in a sticky glaze of sauce and still has plenty of liquid sauce remaining in the pan to spoon over rice. The key is to add the sauce in two additions. The first small portion of sauce reduces way down and completely coats the chicken. The second larger portion cooks for just a couple of minutes so it doesn’t get quite as thick. The result mimics the sticky, saucy consistency of a great takeout stir-fry.
Possible Variations
- Make it vegetarian - Use cubed extra-firm tofu instead of chicken.
- Add vegetables - Stir some steamed broccoli, diced bell peppers, or chopped steamed green beans into the dish.
- Make it gluten-free - Use gluten-free Tamari in place of the soy sauce to easily make this recipe gluten-free.
More Chicken Stir-Fry Recipes
Favorite Tools
- Anchor 3-Piece Glass Mixing Bowls
- Whisk
- 6-inch Global Knife
- Cutting Board
- Joyce Chen Carbon Steel Wok
- Wok Spatula
Honey Ginger Chicken Stir-Fry
Equipment
- Mixing Bowl
- Wok or Large Skillet
Ingredients
For the Sesame Sauce:
- 1 tablespoon Fresh Ginger, very finely diced (see note)
- 2 cloves Garlic, minced
- ¼ cup Honey
- ⅓ cup Low-Sodium Soy Sauce (sub Tamari for a gluten-free version)
- 3 tablespoon Ketchup
- 2 teaspoon Toasted Sesame Oil
- 1 teaspoon White Sesame Seeds, plus more for topping
For the Stir-Fry:
- 1 ½ lbs Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast
- 2 tablespoon Cornstarch
- 3 tablespoon Cooking Oil
- 2 stalks Green Onions, chopped, plus more for topping
Instructions
- Make sauce by whisking together garlic, ginger, honey, soy sauce, ketchup, sesame oil, and sesame seeds. Set aside.
- Toss chicken with cornstarch until evenly coated.
- In a wok or large skillet, heat cooking oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken and let cook for a moment without stirring until browned on the bottom, 3 to 5 minutes.
- Give the chicken a stir and pour in about 3 tablespoon of sauce (it doesn’t have to be super precise, so you can just estimate it by tipping in about a quarter of the sauce). Cook chicken in sauce, stirring frequently until chicken is well coated and looks sticky with sauce.
- Pour in the remaining sauce and bring to a simmer. Simmer until the sauce reduces slightly and chicken is cooked, 4 to 5 minutes more.
- Stir in the 2 stalks of green onions.
- Serve chicken over rice with some more sesame seeds and green onions on top.
Alex
I made this tonight! It had a real depth of flavor to it and it was so easy. I really liked how the chicken really felt and tasted like take out. Your directions on how to cook the meat in steps was very helpful. My hubby absolutely loved it. I added some broccolini from our garden too.
Jess Smith
So glad you liked it Alex!! (I'm jealous of your garden-fresh broccolini!)
Maiesha
Just made for dinner tonight. I like how the cornstarch keeps the chicken nice and moist. I enjoyed how the flavors melded together and it was super simple to make. The presentation was just as good as the taste. I have not been out to eat since my birthday last Christmas. Trying to eat at home 99.9% of the time. Will keep on standby for lazy days (everyday is a lazy day).
Marc
Made this at the weekend and it was absolutely amazing! I added two chillies to the sauce for a little bit of kick as well. The sauce is so clean tasting and really has that fake-out vibes I was after.
Do you think it's possible to make a batch of the sauce, freeze it and it would be okay?
Keep up the great work-your recipes are fantastic! 😀
Jess Smith
Thanks so much for the kind note. Yes! The sauce freezes well! I freeze sauces like this in small 8 oz mason jars (leaving a good amount of headspace) and they're so easy to defrost in the microwave for really quick weeknight meals.
Kathy
Can you recommend any substitutions for Ketchup?
Jess Smith
Try using tomato paste that has been thinned with a small amount of water. You'll still get the same texture, color, and flavor, though it will have slightly less sweetness.
Jessica
This recipe is AWESOME. I think the two-step sauce instruction made all the difference in making it taste like it really could have come from an actual Chinese restaurant. We all loved it. The only change I made was to add a little extra honey because the sauce seemed slightly bitter.
This is DEFINITELY going into the recipe rotation!
Jess Smith
So glad your family enjoyed it as much as our family does!
karen
my husband and two sons each said that it was very good... write it down. At our house ,when we write it down... it's a keeper! Thank you for the great recipe. It was very tasty and quite simple to make. Your directions were easy to follow and the meal was better than take out.
Jess Smith
Love that!
Damali
Seriously!!!! This is an ABSOLUTELY AMAZING meal! I’m scanning to see how long the sauce would last in the refrigerator. It is sooooooo good! I’ve been sharing it with EVERYONE! 🥰
Jess Smith
Yay! So glad to hear this! Thanks so much for the kind note. The sauce will definitely be fine for 5 days in the fridge.
Susan
Absolute lovely! Love the ginger flavor which is so subtle. Family very pleased
Jess Smith
So happy to hear this!
Lee
Amazing!!
This site is always my go to for meals. Great recipes!
Is a physical cookbook in the pipeline? My kitchen needs it
Jess Smith
There might be!! 😉 We'll have news on that later this year, but I'm so glad you enjoyed this!
Pete
Very tasty and easy to put together. Excellent.
janna p
my husband and i love this recipe! so quick and easy but flavorful and feels healthy.
Jess Smith
I'm so glad you like it as much as we do!
Patti Emmons
I printed the recipe to try it tonight. I’ve read through it several times and in the ingredients, it calls for 3 T cooking oil, “divided”. I’m unclear why divided because it says nothing about the other half of divided oil? I’m always nervous trying a new recipe so want to be sure I understand the divided part and when do you use the other half?🤷🏼♀️
Jess Smith
Patti - you are absolutely right! That is an error on our part, and we have updated the recipe. The oil does not need to be divided. You will use it all at one time to fry the chicken. Thank you for catching that and sending us a note.