My honey garlic lemon chicken is a Cajun-Chinese fusion of flavors and textures that you'll never, ever forget, y'all!! Marinated boneless chicken breast pieces, breaded and fried. Then, added to a skillet sauce featuring browned trinity veggies and of course, honey, garlic, and lemon. Balancing just the right amount of sweet and savory contrasts, this dish jazzes up your usual menu rotation with feisty yum-deliciousness. Yep and yay...
Jump to:
- Three Prominent Ingredients Keep Those Flavors Popping, Y'all...
- Honey Garlic Chicken Ingredient Essentials & Substitutions
- Top Recipe Tips
- Considerations
- A Word About the Sugar
- How to Make Honey Garlic Lemon Chicken
- Other Original Chicken Recipes
- Honey Garlic Lemon Chicken Side Dish Pairings
- Honey Garlic Lemon Chicken
Three Prominent Ingredients Keep Those Flavors Popping, Y'all...
Honey garlic lemon chicken is a Cajun-Asian cuisine hybrid. It features marinated and fried chicken pieces that are tossed in a sauce featuring the three eponymous flavors and browned Cajun trinity veggies and garlic.
This is an original recipe of mine that I created in the spring of 2020. I was craving take-out food, but couldn't run out and get it. So, I brought it home to me with this dish that delights the palate with signature south Louisiana base notes that are enlivened with pops of traditional Chinese flavors.
This honey garlic lemon chicken is a three-step process of marinating the poultry, browning the veggies, and then pulling it all together with the easy homemade sauce. It's not intimidating at all to make. And, I've added an ingredient that cuts down on the prep time, and numerous tips to help you achieve optimal success the very first time that you make it.
Honey Garlic Chicken Ingredient Essentials & Substitutions
- Boneless skinless chicken breast holds up well through frying, y'all. So, it's my top cut of chicken for this recipe. However, you can also use chicken tenders or boneless skinless thighs.
- Make sure that you use a digital meat thermometer throughout the frying process to ensure that you do not undercook the chicken. Each piece should read at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit before removing from the frying pan.
- I use and love Kikkoman gluten free soy sauce and San-J Tamari. I recommend them both and they are easy to get from Amazon.
- Using Creole mustard is ideal in this recipe. However, you can also use a coarse brown mustard if that's what you have on hand. Your honey garlic lemon chicken will be missing a slight south Louisiana flavor sass, but the texture will be almost the same.
- I used mayonnaise in the chicken marinade, y'all. Since mayo is a natural binder, it sticks to the cassava flour super well throughout the frying process. So, I didn't need to use eggs. I just submerged the marinated chicken pieces into the flour, shook off the excess, and placed the pieces in the hot oil. It worked out awesome, y'all!! And, I'm definitely going to go this route again very, very soon. Indeed.
- There's a lot of minced garlic in this honey garlic lemon chicken recipe. So, I recommend using the jarred garlic. Or, if you want to use fresh, then peel the garlic and pulse it in your food processor.
- Make sure that you use fresh lemon juice. I can't stress this enough, y'all. The bottled stuff probably just won't cut it, and you'll likely be left shaking your head in disappointment once you taste the finished dish.
Top Recipe Tips
Cut the Cajun trinity veggies and garlic the night before you plan on making this honey garlic lemon chicken recipe. Keep the garlic separate from the rest of the veggies. Bag them up, then store them in the fridge until you're ready to start cooking.
You can also cut the chicken breasts the night before, as well, and bag them in the fridge until it's time to make the marinade.
Considerations
I found the marinade 'sweet spot' to be three hours for this recipe. You might be able to get away with longer, but I would NOT go over six hours.
The soy sauce called for in the marinade can get way, way too salty during prolonged marinade times. Or, other times it could be just fine. I've lived through both experiences.
So, I wouldn't marinate the chicken overnight, or even all day when you're at work to avoid a recipe failure that could cost you time, energy, and money.
A Word About the Sugar
The sugar in this dish accentuates the honey, which deepens the flavor of the dish and makes it a bit more delightfully complex.
That said, sometimes I use brown sugar, and other times I use white sugar to make this honey garlic lemon chicken. The brown sugar makes the dish taste more elevated, like a dish you would expect to order in a higher-end eatery.
On the other hand, the white sugar makes the dish taste more like take-out Chinese. That said, I like this dish with both types of sugars. However, I do prefer the white sugar just a bit more than the brown sugar, as the dish tastes more nostalgic with the white sugar.
How to Make Honey Garlic Lemon Chicken
To begin, pour all of the marinade ingredients into a large glass bowl. Then, whisk until combined. The mixture will be lumpy.
Add the chicken breast pieces to the marinade, then, stir to combine. Cover and refrigerate for at least three hours, but up to six hours.
When ready to fry the chicken, heat the oil in a cast iron skillet or Dutch oven. Then, fry the marinated, floured chicken breast pieces until cooked through. Transfer the fried chicken pieces to a paper towel-lined plate. Keep the plate warm in a closed microwave until ready to use.
Now, brown the Cajun trinity veggies in oil or butter. When browned, add the garlic and cook for another minute.
Then, add the cornstarch, and stir until combined.
While the veggies are browning, make the sauce.
Pour the sauce into the browned veggie mixture.
Stir until well combined.
Then, add the fried chicken pieces to the skillet. Stir to coat, and cook for just a few minutes longer.
And that's it, y'all!!
The first thing you notice about this honey garlic lemon chicken is its WOW factor. Yep. It knocks your culinary socks right off with its deep, browned veggie base, super tender fried chicken, and electrifying sauce that pops right off of your tongue in all of the RIGHT places.
Then, as you enjoy bite after bite of deliciousness, you realize that your soul is just as satisfied as your stomach. By the time you've polished off your plate, you've reached your happy, happy place, y'all. All warm, fuzzy, and satiated inside, and ready to recommend this dish to all of your friends and family members. Sure thing!!
Share this honey garlic lemon chicken with those who love you more than you even love yourself. And see y'all on the yum side...
Other Original Chicken Recipes
Here are some other of my original chicken recipes that you may also like.
Honey Garlic Lemon Chicken Side Dish Pairings
Serve these dishes alongside your prepared honey garlic lemon chicken.
NOTE: This post was originally published on March 26, 2020, and was updated and republished on March 14, 2024.
Honey Garlic Lemon Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized cubes
For the Chicken Marinade
- ⅓ cup soy sauce I use Kikkoman gluten free soy sauce or San-J Tamari
- 2 teaspoons Zatarain's Creole mustard
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- ½ cup mayonnaise or two beaten eggs see notes
For the Fried Chicken Pieces
- oil for frying
- 1 cup cassava flour
For the Browned Vegetables
- 3 tablespoons butter or oil
- 1 medium-sized yellow onion, chopped
- 1 medium-sized green bell pepper, chopped
- 2 celery ribs, trimmed and chopped
- ¼ cup minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
For the Sauce
- ½ cup water
- ⅓ cup lemon juice
- ⅓ cup sugar see notes
- ½ cup honey
Instructions
- Whisk all of the marinade ingredients together in a large bowl.
- Submerge the chicken in the marinade, and toss to coat.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least three hours, but up to six hours. Then, remove and let come down to room temperature for about 15 minutes before using.
- Heat oil in a deep cast iron skillet to 350 degrees F.
- Use a large slotted spoon to remove the chicken breast pieces from the marinade.
- Submerge each piece in the cassava flour, then shake off the excess flour.
- Fry the floured chicken breast pieces in batches for several minutes, removing each batch when a digital thermometer inserted into the fried chicken cubes reads 165 degrees F.
- Set the fried chicken pieces aside on a paper-towel-lined plate. Put the plate in the microwave in-between removing batches to keep the chicken as warm as possible.
- Once you're done frying the chicken, place the chopped onion, bell pepper, celery, and butter or oil into a well-greased 12-inch cast iron skillet set over medium heat.
- Cook until the veggies are browned, about 10 to 15 minutes, stirring often.
- When the veggies are browned, add the garlic to the mixture and cook for one additional minute, stirring constantly.
- Stir the corn starch into the mixture, and stir constnatly until it all is incorporated into the browned veggies completely.
- Stir the water, lemon juice, sugar, and honey together in a bowl.
- Pour the sauce into the skillet, then add the fried chicken cubes to the skillet in batches, coating the cubes and the browned veggies mixture into the sauce until all of the ingredients are combined thoroughly.
- Cook for about 2 minutes, or until the sauce reduces slightly and the chicken pieces are heated back through.
- Remove from heat and serve immediately.
Notes
The information shown is an estimate provided by a third-party, online computer-generated nutrition calculator, not a registered dietitian or certified nutritionist. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods and individual portion sizes, along with other factors.
See our full nutrition disclaimer here.
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