Adding a savory sauce full of Asian ingredients to chicken is an easy way to up the flavor without doing a lot of work. Here, a simple mixture of soy sauce, honey, and ginger is warmed in a saucepan. Then chicken thighs or thinly pounded chicken breasts are sautéed until brown, covered with the sauce, and cooked until the sauce has thickened. Serve this quick weeknight meal with rice and our baby bok choy recipe.

For more flavorful chicken inspiration, check out our How to Make Sweet and Sour Sauce guide. We also recommend our Asian Marinated Chicken recipe.

  • Yield: 2 to 3 servings
  • Difficulty: Easy
  • Total: 30 mins

Ingredients (7)

  • 3/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons peeled, grated fresh ginger (from about a 1-1/2-inch piece), grated on the small holes of a box grater
  • 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 4 teaspoons vegetable oil
  • 2 medium scallions, thinly sliced

Instructions

  1. Bring the soy sauce and honey to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring often until the honey has completely dissolved, about 5 minutes. Add the ginger, stir to combine, remove from the heat, and set aside.
  2. If using chicken breasts, place them on a cutting board and cover with a sheet of plastic wrap. Use a meat mallet or a frying pan to gently pound them to a 1/2-inch thickness. Cut each in half so you have 4 pieces roughly the same size. (If using chicken thighs, no need to pound or cut.) Season both sides of the chicken with pepper.
  3. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over high heat until shimmering. Add the chicken in a single layer and cook without disturbing until browned, about 3 minutes. Flip and cook the second side until browned, about 3 minutes more.
  4. Reduce the heat to medium, slowly pour in the reserved sauce, and cook, flipping the chicken occasionally to coat in the sauce, until cooked through, about 3 minutes.
  5. Transfer the chicken from the pan, letting the excess sauce drip off, to a clean cutting board. Reduce the sauce in the pan over medium heat until slightly thickened, about 3 minutes more. Slice the chicken crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces. Place on a serving dish, top with the sauce, and sprinkle with the scallions.