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This sweet and spicy, Asian-style Chili Chicken Breast recipe makes the juiciest, tender chicken that is so appetizing for a simple meal at home. Chicken breast seared in a sweet garlic sesame oil sauce. A quick meal you can serve on top of rice or noodles, vegetables, or cauliflower rice!
You may also like my honey garlic chicken meal prep recipe.
Recipe Overview
These chicken breasts come out so tender and are cooked in minutes. Perfect for easy dinners just for two or around a table for family dinners at home. Made with a sweet chili marinade that is easy to prepare and contains sweet, bold flavors that make the chicken so moist and flavorful.
You can serve this up any way you like, and they are great for meal prepping as well. This recipe will become one of your favorite ways to prepare chicken.
Love Asian-Style Meals?
My kids love chicken and love Asian dishes, so they ask me to make this all the time. I usually make it with some white rice and a side of air-fried broccoli. When I am watching my carb intake, I serve mine with this cilantro lime cauliflower rice.
If you make this, I hope you enjoy it.
Ingredients needed
Below is a visual image of the list of ingredients you will need to make this dish. Full measurements are listed further down below in the recipe card.
How to Make it
- Make the marinade: In a small bowl, whisk the soy sauce with the honey, sesame oil, garlic, crushed chili, and ginger until mixed. In a separate bowl, combine the cornstarch with three tablespoons of water to create a thick slurry to thicken the marinade and sauce.
- Marinate chicken: Next, place the chicken breasts or other cut of chicken in a Ziplock bag ⅓ of the soy sauce mixture. Close the bag and massage the marinade into the chicken breasts. Refrigerate the chicken for at least an hour or overnight.
- Cook the chicken: Pour the remainder of the soy sauce mixture into the cornstarch slurry and mix with a spoon. Next, heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the marinated chicken and cook for five to six minutes on each side until lightly brown. The chicken should no longer be pink on the inside but not overcooked. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.
- Simmer the sauce: Add the soy sauce mixture to the pan the chicken was in so it can absorb the cooked chicken flavors. Reduce the heat to low and simmer the sauce while stirring often–about two three minutes. The sauce should thicken after a few minutes, but if not, cook until it has thickened.
- Add chicken to sauce: Finally, add the cooked chicken breasts back into the pan in with simmering sauce. With a spoon or basting brush, baste the chicken breasts with the sauce. The chicken breasts should be at least 165 degrees Fahenhreit internally.
- Serve: Turn off the heat and serve the spicy Asian chili chicken with fresh green onions and sesame seeds if desired. Enjoy!
Recipe notes and tips
- If you are using chicken thighs, then you may need to cook the chicken for a longer. Just make sure the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
- You can use maple syrup or any other type of liquid sweetener in place of the honey.
- For a gluten-free option, use coconut aminos or Tamari.
- Arrowroot powder will work in place of cornstarch. Tapioca starch can also work.
- Fresh ginger and garlic will add extra bold flavors.
- For a vegetarian version, use tofu instead of the chicken. Crispy tofu is delicious!
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can! The great thing about this recipe is that you can prepare it in advance and let it marinate until you are ready to cook the chicken. Be sure to not allow the chicken to marinate for longer than 24 hours.
Store the leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to four days. Reheat in the oven or microwave.
Yes. If you do not have time to marinate, no worries. Once you mix the chicken with the marinade ingredients, just go right to the next step and cook the chicken.
If you want to use any other protein, you can. Consider swapping the chicken with salmon, shrimp, or Cod.
What to serve it with?
This dish is delicious with sautéed or roasted veggies. Serve this recipe with foods like broccoli and squash, different types of rice, rice noodles, zoodles, and more. Here are some ideas:
You may also like
- Asian Chicken Cups Recipe
- Asian Chopped Chicken Salad
- Miso Glazed Salmon
- Spicy Shrimp Tacos Recipe with Pineapple Mango Salsa
- Quick and Easy Teriyaki Shrimp
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Chili Chicken Breast Recipe
Ingredients
- ½ cup soy sauce, low sodium
- ¼ cup honey
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon chili flakes
- ½ teaspoon ginger, ground
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 pounds chicken breasts, boneless skinless
- 3 tablespoons water
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- sesame seeds, optional for serving
- green onions, optional for serving
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk the ½ cup soy sauce, with ¼ cup honey, 2 teaspoons sesame oil, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon chili flakes, and ½ teaspoon ginger. In a small bowl, combine the 1 tablespoon cornstarch with 3 tablespoons water until smooth.
- Place the 2 pounds chicken breasts in a Ziploc bag and add 1/3 of the soy sauce mixture. Mix through the bag to evenly coat. Allow the chicken to marinate in the fridge for 1 hour.
- To the remaining ⅔ of the soy, mixture adds the cornstarch slurry and whisk until well to combine.
- Heat the 2 teaspoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the marinated chicken and cook for 5-6 minutes on each side, or until golden-brown on the outside and no longer pink on the inside. Set aside.
- To the same pan add soy sauce mixture and reduce the heat to a low. Simmer the sauce, stirring continuously until thickened, about 1-2 minutes.
- Return the chicken into the sauce and bast with the sauce. The internal temperature in the center of each chicken breast should read 165F.
- Garnish with sesame seeds and green onions.
Notes
- Don’t have time to marinate? That’s fine, skip it, and this dish will be ready in under 30 minutes.
- You can use maple syrup or any other type of liquid sweetener in place of the honey.
- For gluten-free Asian chili chicken, use coconut aminos or Tamari.
- Arrowroot powder will work in place of cornstarch. Tapioca starch can also work.
- Fresh ginger and garlic will add extra bold flavors.
- Instant Pot Directions: Follow the directions as you would for the stovetop, but use the Sauté function on the IP. Add the chicken to the pressure cooker once hot. You will follow the exact cooking time and everything!
- Bake this spicy and sweet Asian chicken breast in the oven at 450 degrees Fahrenheit for fifteen to eighteen minutes. The skin on the chicken will be crispy! Chicken thighs will take longer to cook. Make sure the internal temperature is 165 degrees Fahrenheit with a meat thermometer.
- For a vegetarian version, use tofu instead of chicken. Crispy tofu is delicious!
- Store the leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to four days. Reheat in the oven or microwave.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I like trying new things i hope my chicken breast is use good use your one thanks for sharing your recipe
This is the second recipe I made from you. Both have been a home run. My husband is a chef dinner critic And both recipes I’ve made he’s asked me to keep on the rotation! ♥️ The best part is I had everything on hand. Serve with a quarter cup serving of rice and broccoli with garlic and butter.
Wildly salty sauce. There isn’t enough acid in the recipe to temper the saltiness of even low sodium soy.
This recipe is so full of flavor. I served it with lo mien noodles to soak up the thick sauce. Very authentic Asian flavor.