Sweet and Spicy Chicken Recipe (2024)

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Who doesn’t love a complete meal in a bowl in 30 minutes or less? Sweet and spicy chicken is an Asian-inspired dinner that will remind you of orange sesame chicken or general tso’s chicken. It’s a slightly healthier, non-fried alternative made with honey, orange juice, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, and spices.

Served over white rice, sweet and spicy chicken is a sticky, sweet, and slightly spicy entree that’s really rich and flavorful. Thanks to chicken thighs, the chicken is really tender and juicy and won’t dry out like tenders or chicken breast. This recipe also makes for a great pairing with small broccoli florets. You should have enough sauce to mix in some broccoli and give it a nice sticky coating as well!

Cooking for a crowd? This recipe can be made along with my beef skewers, crab rangoons, fried rice, and beef and broccoli for a medley of Chinese takeout-inspired flavors!

Sweet and Spicy Sauce

My homemade sweet and spicy sauce is made with honey, orange juice, sriracha, soy sauce, minced garlic, fresh ginger, and cornstarch as a thickener. Whisk everything together in a small bowl or measuring glass and simmer with the chicken. The honey will carmelize and thicken with some help from cornstarch. If you’re skeptical of cornstarch, just note you should not skip this ingredient. The sauce will simply not thicken without it and will be watery.

A large naval orange will render about 1/2 a cup of fresh orange juice. If you have OJ on hand, by all means, you can use that. I just don’t drink orange juice otherwise so I don’t buy it.

Tips for Making Sweet and Spicy Chicken

• Use chicken thighs for tender, juicy meat. I’ve made this recipe with tenders and chicken breast and it’s just not the same. Chicken thighs don’t dry out like other cuts. I also always trim the larger denser portions of fat off the thighs so there aren’t any unpleasant pieces.
• Lightly coating the chopped chicken in cornstarch helps to retain moisture. This is an awesome hack that helps keep smaller bits of chicken from drying out when cooking.
• I cannot stress this enough. The cornstarch in the sweet and spicy sauce is essential to thicken the sauce. Without it, you will be left with a runny sauce that will not coat the chicken.
• A nonstick pan works best, especially when working with sauces and glazes. Use a rubber spatula to continually scrape the pan and mix the sauce around the chicken as it simmers. A cast iron skillet also works well.
• Fresh garlic and fresh ginger make a big difference in terms of overall flavor. Freshly grated ginger is very aromatic and flavorful in comparison to its dried counterpart. I always recommend fresh ginger over ground spices when possible.

You’ll Also Love

• Hibachi chicken
• Hibachi fried rice
• Honey garlic chicken thighs
• Grilled honey sriracha chicken
• Sesame orange cauliflower