Do you have a dish that’s comfort food AND super healthy at the same time? And one that your kids ask for again and again? That’s the dream, right? Honey Ginger Chicken is all of that and more. This easy chicken recipe for dinner is full of flavour, packed with veggies and you may even have all the ingredients for it already. Enjoy!
Years ago I found an old edition of Australian Women’s Weekly where I found a beef stir-fry recipe that used a combination of honey and ginger. This piqued my interest because the honey and ginger combo has, as per traditional Indian wisdom, tremendous immunity-boosting properties for healing sore throats and coughs. Since then it has become a standard addition to many of my recipes, incl. marinades and stirfries, like this one.
Honey Ginger Chicken
This chicken stir fry dish is a family favourite, one that my kids ask for at least once a week. I love making it because 1) it’s easy 2) you can tweak to whatever ingredients you have on hand 3) it has more than enough veggies to assuage the *5-8 servings* guilt that we all live with.
Easy Chicken Recipe for dinner
My kids used to be picky eaters. But one thing that they ate even in their pickiest of phases was snap peas. The crunchy freshness of snap peas is fabulous raw but it’s even better in this stirfry. Most of the ingredients in this recipe are commonly available, and I often tweak it to accommodate what needs to be used that day. It’s the combination in this dish that is oh so addictive and comforting.
With the global crisis, we have all been self-isolating and maintaining physical distance. As a result, grocery visits have become infrequent and strictly planned. I go with a list but often come back with different ingredients based on what’s available on the shelves. Recently cuts of chicken have been running out in my grocery store, and so one day when it was available, the kids of course asked for their favourite dish.
“Can we have Honey Ginger Chicken, Mom”
Here’s the recipe along with my tried and tested (many times over) tips.
Real-life Kitchen Tips
- The veggies in this dish are more than double the quantity of the chicken, easily more than #HalfyourPlate, the recommendation in Canada’s Health Guide.
- I have tried broccoli, cauliflower, and beans instead of snap peas in this dish. Those veggies taste different but still fabulous. Use what you have.
- The honey, onion, ginger are a crucial flavour combination in this recipe. In addition, lime, coriander powder and garlic are important too. Everything else is flexible.
- I often make this dish with coriander stems and leaves. It’s been hard to find fresh herbs recently. If you do have them, finely chop the coriander stems and add them with the chicken. The leaves can be added at the end with the snap peas.
- This is a relatively dry dish, think stir fry more than curry.
- Add the snap peas right at the end so they don’t over-cook. An extra min will quickly turn the freshness soggy.
- Serve with rice, brown preferably with it’s higher nutritional value.
Honey Ginger Chicken {Easy Chicken Recipe for dinner}
Ingredients
- 1 cup finely chopped onions you can even try sliced onions
- 1 tbsp chopped ginger
- 1 tsp chopped garlic
- 1 tbsp honey
- 500 gms chicken (chopped in bite-sized peces) I prefer chicken thighs
- 1 packet (approx 400 gms) snap peas trim the strings out
- 4 green onions green and white parts separately chopped (optional)
- 1/2 red finely chopped red pepper (optional)
- 2 red chillies (thai or indian)
- Salt
- 1/2 juice of a lime
- 1 tsp oil
Spices
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 1/2 tsp black pepper powder
Instructions
- Add oil to a hot pan or wok
- Add onions, ginger and garlic (in this order)
- Let it all cook for 5-6 mins while stirring every so often
- Add the chillies at this stage. You can always skip this step or take the chillies out at a later stage if you want the flavour and very little heat.
- Add the chicken and the white part of green onions (if using)
- Add coriander powder and black pepper and toss.
- Saute and cook for a couple of minutes
- Add honey. salt, red peppers and green onions, toss and cook for 15 mins.Let the chicken caramelize in the honey a little bit
- Turn the heat off, toss and add the snap peas.
- Serve with rice – white or brown. Enjoy 🙂
