Ingredients
Chicken breast- Large chicken breast cut into horizontal fillets Seasoning – Mix of garlic powder, salt, and pepper to add to the flour Flour – All-purpose flour to coat the chicken fillets Cornstarch- makes the coating crispy Oil- Any neutral cooking oil with a high smoking point. Garlic- Minced Honey – Fresh Lemon Juice – I would always recommend fresh lemon juice for best flavor. Chicken Broth – For the base of the sauce Butter – Added to the sauce at the end for flavor and also it makes the sauce glossy.
Variation
The sauce is well balanced as such. You can add a splash of soy sauce at the end for a slight variation. While making the flour mix, add 1/2 teaspoon of paprika for a beautiful color. For extra heat, add a pinch of red pepper flakes
Think of this as the popular Chinese takeout lemon honey, but a healthier version. Instead of deep frying chicken, we are shallow frying the chicken. Super quick to make for dinner and you can also easily make it in advance. The sauce is a perfect balance of sweet and tang, is just so good to spoon over rice.
Prep and Sear Chicken
If you have large chicken breasts, cutting horizontally into two fillets is best for even cooking. For medium or small breasts, wrap them in a plastic wrap or ziplock bag, use a meat mallet and pound them to even thickness. Once cut into fillets, dredge them in seasoned flour. Shake off excess flour. Heat oil in a pan and sear dredged chicken fillets 2-3 minutes on medium-high heat. Keep cooked fillet on a wired rack, loosely covered with foil. Keeping on a wired rack prevents the bottom from getting soggy.
Cook Chicken With Honey Lemon Sauce
Finish of the dish by adding the chicken fillets back to the pan along with a few lemon slices and cook for another 3-4 minutes for the chicken to cook through. The flour from the chicken will get into the sauce and thicken it slightly.
For boneless chicken thighs sear chicken 4-5 minutes on each side. After adding cooked chicken thighs to the sauce, cook for 6-7 minutes until low leat. Add 3/4 cup chicken stock instead of 1/2 cup, as it will take longer for the chicken thighs to cook. If using chicken thighs with bone, I would follow the same steps as above but instead of finishing the cooking on the stovetop, after adding cooked chicken thighs to the sauce, will move the pan to oven and bake until the chicken is cooked through.
The sweet, salty and lemony sauce is also perfect to serve with creamy mashed potatoes.
Storage
Leftovers can be stored for up to 3 days. However, the sauce will thicken further upon refrigerating. It doesn’t freeze well.
Reheating
To reheat, add a couple of tablespoons of warm chicken stock to the leftovers and reheat in the microwave. Keep on mind that upon reheating the chicken might get slightly overcooked.
To Prep ahead
If you are making it in a large quantity or in advance, then cook chicken fillets and honey lemon sauce and store them separately. Just before serving, cook sauce and chicken together until the chicken is warm and cooked through.
Few More Quick Chicken Recipes
