If you’re a fan of Chinese takeaway then you’re going to love this healthier Asian-style chicken. It’s sweet, sticky and packed with aromatic oriental flavour!
This sticky Asian chicken is super easy to prepare. You don’t need to marinate the chicken and this recipe doesn’t require any expensive ingredients, most of which are likely to already be in your kitchen, meaning you can cook this dish on a whim and without having the break the bank.
Start by preparing the sticky sauce. All you’ll need to do is whisk all the sauce ingredients (chopped garlic and ginger, soy sauce, honey/vegan alternative and tomato ketchup) until combined. My mum and I experimented with this recipe a fair bit before we achieved perfect ratio of sauce. This delicious chicken dish has been on our dinner menu rotation weekly, so I knew it was a definite blog-worthy meal to share.
Once you’ve got your sauce all ready to go, fry the chicken or vegan substitute in a hot pan until it’s nicely golden and cooked all the way through. Add the sauce and reduce it until it’s thickened and coats all the pieces of chicken. So simple, see I told you it was easy!
The recipe will take you less than 30 minutes to make from start to finish and I know if you’re anything like me this is the kind of food you want when you come home to from a long day at work when you don’t have the time or the energy to cook.
We love serving the chicken on fluffy rice with an assortment of stir-fried vegetables. Mum stir-fried some beansprouts, sliced bell peppers and mangetout with some chopped chilli. You can serve the chicken just with rice if your prefer but we love the addition of the veggies. Also, this chicken is great served with noodles if you want to try something different.
Why eat takeaway when you can cook an easy and super flavourful meal like this in a fraction of the time it would take you to order a takeaway? You’ll save money and you will be eating healthier!
If you’re not eating meat you can substitute the chicken for a vegetarian meat alternative. Cook the meat substitute until crisp as you would with the chicken and then add the sauce, simmer and then serve. We use a vegan chicken substitute, but a block of firm tofu is also a great choice for a meat-free version of this dish.
Asian Sticky Chicken (With Vegan Option)
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil (sesame oil adds brilliant flavour)
- 300 g skinless boneless chicken breast, cubed - you can use a meat alternative like Quorn Chicken Style Pieces or extra firm tofu
Sticky Sauce:
- 2 large cloves of garlic finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger
- 4 tablespoons dark or light soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons honey or maple syrup
- 3 tablespoons tomato ketchup
Instructions
- In a small mixing bowl mix together the garlic, ginger, soy sauce, honey/maple syrup and tomato ketchup until thoroughly combined.
- Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan, saucepan or wok. Fry the chicken on a medium to high heat until it's cooked all the way through and is just beginning to turn a golden colour.
- Once the chicken is cooked add the sauce you prepared earlier to the pan. Turn the heat up to high and reduce the sauce until it's starting to caramelise and coats the chicken. This will take about 4-5 minutes - adjust the consistency of the sauce by adding more soy sauce or a splash of water if needed. Serve the chicken immediately with fluffy rice or noodles and stir-fried vegetables of your choice. The chicken tastes great the next day and makes really good leftovers.
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