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Honey Ginger Chicken is a fast one-pan dinner that’s flavorful, delicious and easy for any night of the week, or good enough to serve to friends. With the special flavors we associate with good quality take-out Chinese food, this 30 minute dinner is faster to make, healthier and even quicker to serve than getting take-out.
Gluten-free, Paleo, AIP, VAD, Anti-Inflammatory and great for most.
Ingredients in Honey Ginger Chicken
- chicken thighs, boneless, skinless
- honey, or maple syrup actually tastes great, too
- apple cider vinegar
- coconut aminos
- tapioca flour
- fresh garlic and fresh ginger root
- olive oil
- sea salt
How to make Honey Ginger Chicken
When making Honey Ginger Chicken, it’s best to measure and assemble your ingredients before you start cooking. This recipe cooks up really fast, and because we use pretty high heat, you’ll be stirring most of the time.
So prep the handful of ingredients first.
- In a small bowl, stir together the tapioca flour and coconut aminos. Set aside.
- Heat sauté pan over medium high heat. Add olive oil, chicken and sea salt. Stir and continue to cook just until the outside of the chicken is no longer pink, about 8 minutes. As I mention above, this is higher heat cooking, a lot like wok or stir fry cooking, where you “stir don’t stare” the whole time. 😉 (I can’t remember which celebrity chef says that … !, but it’s a good way to remember.)
- Turn the heat down to medium. Add garlic, ginger, honey and vinegar. Mix together somewhat and then: Give the coconut aminos mixture a thorough stir, and add it, too.
- Sauté everything together, and bring to a simmer. Simmer gently, stirring, until chicken is cooked through and the sauce thickened, about 5 minutes. (Don’t overcook, to keep the chicken nice and tender.)
- Garnish with sliced green onions. Serve over cauliflower rice, Roasted Cauliflower or for those not grain-free, white or brown rice. Serve with a steamed green veggie: asparagus or green beans for VAD, or broccoli/bok choy.
What makes this Honey Ginger Chicken healthy
If you’ve heard of this classic Chinese recipe before, you probably know that it’s usually made with inflammatory ingredients:
- soy sauce, brown sugar, cornstarch, wine and worst of all, vegetable oil
- sometimes processed ingredients like hoisin sauce
Instead, this version uses:
- coconut aminos in place of soy sauce (soy is estrogenic)
- honey or maple syrup instead of brown sugar (much less inflammatory)
- tapioca flour instead of cornstarch (even though cornstarch is very refined, it has lectins, which cause inflammation)
- no alcohol — The liver prioritizes detoxing alcohol over other toxins, because it’s so bad for the body. While small amounts may indeed not be harmful for some, it’s still very problematic for many and an added expense, so great to avoid this ingredient.
- olive oil instead of vegetable oil
- no processed sauces, which always contain inflammatory ingredients
Yet, this sauce is so yummy, you may just want to eat it with a spoon … and you’ll certainly love your veggies and rice swimming in it!
Honey Ginger Chicken (Paleo, Gluten-free, AIP)
Equipment
- 12 to 14-inch skillet, wok or big sauté pan
Ingredients
- ¼ cup coconut aminos
- 1 Tablespoon tapioca flour
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 3 to 3-½ pounds chicken thighs boneless, skinless, cut into 2-inch pieces
- 1-½ to 2 teaspoons sea salt (base the amount on whether you use 3 pounds of chicken or 3-½)
- 3 cloves garlic crushed or minced, or 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 Tablespoons ginger root grated
- ⅓ cup honey or maple syrup
- 1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup sliced green onions for garnish (omit for VAD)
Instructions
- Measure and assemble your ingredients so they’re ready (this recipe cooks up quickly).
- In a small bowl, stir together the tapioca flour and coconut aminos. (Stir well because tapioca clumps more in coconut aminos than when dissolving in water.) Set aside.
- Heat sauté pan over medium high heat. Add olive oil, chicken and sea salt. Stir and continue to cook just until the outside of the chicken is no longer pink, about 8 minutes. (This is higher heat cooking, a lot like wok or stir fry cooking, where you "stir don't stare" the whole time, which allows even fast cooking.)
- Turn the heat down to medium. Add garlic, ginger, honey and vinegar. Mix together somewhat and then: Give the coconut aminos mixture a thorough stir, and add it, too.
- Sauté everything together, and bring to a simmer. Simmer gently, stirring, until chicken is cooked through and the sauce thickened, about 5 minutes. (Don't overcook, to keep the chicken nice and tender.)
- Serve over cauliflower rice, Roasted Cauliflower or for those not grain-free, white or brown rice. Garnish with green onion slices. Serve with steamed green veggie: asparagus/green beans for VAD, or broccoli/bok choy.
Sarabeth Matilsky says
Yum!! This is SO tasty! Our sixth baby was just born last week, and my older kids have been making dinner most nights since. They now know that when Megan Has a New Recipe, it is worth trying! And this is no exception, like your General Tso’s recipe (which we love) but quick to make on the stove.❤️ Thanks, as always, for your delectable taste
Megan says
SO kind, SO glad, and HUGE congrats on the precious new baby, Sarabeth!! Thank you, and how sweet that the older kids made this dinner and chose the recipe. I am all filled up with happy joy for the sweetness of this picture. 🙂
Dan says
This is a wonderful recipe. It takes just like Chinese food, albeit much cleaner. I made the full meal you suggested (honey ginger chicken, riced cauliflower, steamed broccoli and bok choy). It was delicious. Even better, the leftovers really bring out the flavor of the honey-ginger sauce. This recipe is going into the regular rotation.
Thank you so much for sharing!
Megan says
Great, Dan! Thanks, too, for sharing your meal and great results! So glad.
Laura says
I made this last night. Delicious! Thank you for this recipe. This will be my new “Chinese” stir fry recipe. My husband liked the sauce and plans to try it with shrimp.
Megan says
So great to hear, Laura! Thank you so much for sharing!