Author:Nagi
Prep: 4 mins
Cook: 8 mins
Total: 12 mins
Mains
Western
4.98 from 196 votes
Servings4
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Recipe video above. An incredible quick and easy way to serve up chicken breast – seared then simmered in the most amazing honey garlic sauce. Don’t be deceived by the short ingredient list! It’s absolutely worth the extra step of dusting the chicken with flour because it creates a crust for the sauce to cling to. BONUS: See notes for how to make this with any protein – beef, pork, lamb, prawns/shrimp, tofu!
INGREDIENTS
- 500g / 1 lb chicken breast , boneless and skinless (2 pieces)
- Salt and pepper
- 1/4 cup (60g) flour (Note 1)
- 3.5 tbsp (50g) unsalted butter (or 2 1/2 tbsp olive oil)
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 1.5 tbsp apple cider vinegar (or white or other clear vinegar)
- 1 tbsp soy sauce , light or all purpose (Note 2)
- 1/3 cup (90g) honey (or maple syrup)
INSTRUCTIONS
- Cut the breasts in half horizontally to create 4 steaks in total. Sprinkle each side with salt and pepper.
- Place flour in a shallow dish. Coat chicken in flour and shake off excess.
- Melt most of the butter in a large skillet over high heat – hold back about 1 tsp for later.
- Place chicken in skillet and cook for 2 – 3 minutes until golden. Turn and cook the other side for 1 minute.
- Turn heat down slightly to medium high.
- Make a bit of room in the pan and add garlic and top with remaining dab of butter. Stir garlic briefly once butter melts.
- Add vinegar, soy sauce and honey. Stir / shake pan to combine. Bring sauce to simmer, then simmer for 1 minute or until slightly thickened.
- Turn chicken to coat in sauce. If the sauce gets too thick, add a touch of water and stir.
- Remove from stove immediately. Place chicken on plates and drizzle over remaining sauce.
RECIPE NOTES:
- Gluten free – use cornflour / cornstarch instead. It won’t brown quite as evenly but once covered in sauce, you won’t know the difference.
- Soy Sauce – Light or all purpose soy sauce is suitable for this recipe. I don’t recommend using Dark Soy Sauce (flavour will dominate, bottle label will say if it is Dark Soy Sauce).
- Other proteins: This sauce is ideal to use for any protein that is suitable for searing in a pan. Use chops, steaks, cutlets! Follow the recipe as written, including dusting the protein with flour. Just adjust the cook time – the trick is to add the garlic and other sauce ingredients before it is fully cooked through, so the meat finishes cooking as the sauce reduces down into a syrupy consistency.
Tofu – Use FIRM tofu. Cut “steaks” about 0.75cm / 1/4″ thick. Pat dry, spray or rub with oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, THEN lightly coat with flour. Coat base of skillet with oil over medium high heat, then cook tofu 1 min each side until crispy, then remove onto paper towels. Then make the sauce in a small saucepan or skillet using just 2 tbsp (30g) butter (instead of 3.5 tbsp), following recipe from Step 5. Serve with crispy tofu!
Prawns/shrimp – use large prawns (thaw, drain well and pat dry if using frozen). Lightly coat prawns with flour per recipe and sear for 1 minute on the first side, then just 30 seconds on the other side before proceeding with Step 5.
Fish – cook per recipe for chicken breast. This sauce is very, very good with fish! This is a good sauce for economical fish because it’s a strong flavoured sauce. For expensive fish, I think it’s better to let the flavour of the fish come through and serve with an elegant sauce like this Lemon Butter Sauce. - Nutrition per serving, assuming you scrape every drop of Sauce from the pan, and why wouldn’t you? 🙂
NUTRITION INFORMATION:
Serving: 166gCalories: 323kcal (16%)Carbohydrates: 23g (8%)Protein: 28g (56%)Fat: 13g (20%)Saturated Fat: 7g (44%)Cholesterol: 107mg (36%)Sodium: 400mg (17%)Potassium: 486mg (14%)Sugar: 21g (23%)Vitamin A: 350IU (7%)Vitamin C: 2mg (2%)Calcium: 12mg (1%)Iron: 1mg (6%)
Keywords: Baked Chicken Breast, chicken breast recipe, honey chicken, Honey Garlic Chicken, sauce for chicken