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Sticky honey soy garlic chicken thigh with rice, cucumber shallot salad, sesame seeds and nanami togarashi

Sticky Honey Soy Garlic Chicken with Cucumber Shallot Salad

Pan-seared chicken thigh in a sticky honey soy garlic glaze, served with rice and a cool, crunchy cucumber shallot salad. Ready in about 35 minutes.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Marinating Time 10 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings: 1 hearty serving
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Asian
Ingredients Method Video Notes

Ingredients
  

Chicken & Marinade
  • 240 g boneless chicken thigh cut into 6 pieces
  • 1 pinch white pepper
  • 1 tsp light soy sauce
  • 2 1/2 tsp corn flour cornstarch
Honey Soy Sauce
  • 1 1/2 tbsp light soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp honey
  • 1 tbsp water
  • 1 tsp lime juice
Cooking
  • 1 1/2 tbsp cooking oil
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
Cucumber Shallot Salad
  • 1 small cucumber about 150 g, finely diced
  • 1 small shallot about 20 g, finely diced
  • 1 tbsp lime juice
  • 1 tsp honey
  • 1/2 tsp sesame oil
To Serve
  • steamed rice from about 80 g uncooked rice
  • toasted sesame seeds
  • nanami togarashi optional

Method
 

  1. Make the salad first. Dice the cucumber and shallot into small, even cubes, about the size of a pea.
  2. Add the lime juice, honey and sesame oil, toss well, then chill in the fridge until serving.
    Finely diced cucumber and shallot dressed with lime juice, honey and sesame oil
  3. Trim any excess fat from the chicken thigh and cut it into 6 pieces.
    Boneless chicken thigh trimmed and cut into 6 pieces on a wooden board
  4. Season the chicken with the white pepper and soy sauce and mix well. Add the corn flour and mix again until every piece is coated. Rest for 10 minutes.
    Chicken thigh pieces seasoned with soy sauce and white pepper, then coated with corn flour
  5. In a small bowl, mix the soy sauce, honey, water and lime juice until the honey dissolves.
    Honey soy sauce mixed with water and lime juice in a small white bowl
  6. Heat the oil in a nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Lay the chicken in one piece at a time, in a single layer, and leave it alone for about 3 minutes until golden underneath.
  7. Flip and cook the other side for about 3 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through (74°C / 165°F in the thickest piece).
  8. Turn the heat down to medium-low. Add the garlic and fry for about 30 seconds, until fragrant.
  9. Pour in the sauce and let it simmer for 1 to 2 minutes. Keep flipping the chicken, or swirl the pan, so every piece gets coated. It is ready when the glaze coats a spoon and leaves a trail across the pan.
    Golden seared chicken thigh simmering in honey soy garlic sauce in a nonstick pan
  10. Put the rice on a plate, add the chicken and the salad next to it, then sprinkle with sesame seeds and nanami togarashi. Spoon the remaining sauce over the chicken.
    Close-up of glossy honey soy garlic chicken with sesame seeds, rice and cucumber salad

Video

Notes

What I tested: I cook this in a nonstick pan. A steel pan works too, but preheat it well so the corn flour coating does not stick.
Watch the honey: Honey burns quickly, so make sure the chicken is cooked through and the heat is on medium-low before the sauce goes in.
Stickier glaze: Stir 1/2 tsp corn flour into the sauce before cooking for a thicker, glossier glaze.
Less salty: Cut the soy sauce in the sauce to 1 1/4 tbsp, or add an extra splash of water.
Salad: Toss the dressing in just before serving if you can. The cucumber releases water as it sits, so serve it with a slotted spoon.