It’s the fish sauce that makes this honey garlic chicken strips recipe so delicious.  But you can certainly use soy sauce. Funny how scary fish sauce can be to some folks. It’s certainly an ingredient that needs to be slowly introduced. Fish sauce is stinky but the umami flavors are amazing. If you’re not that daring yet, use soy sauce. These honey garlic chicken tenders are still delicious with soy sauce!

Honey Garlic Chicken Tenders on a baking sheet

Sticky Asian Garlic Sauce For Chicken Tenders

It’s always about the sauce. Our chicken strips are coated in a sticky and super flavorful sauce. We love using fish sauce and it can definitely be very intimidating. We write about the Best Fish Sauce here. The rich umami flavors of the fish sauce is super delicious. But you can certainly use soy sauce or how about trying half fish sauce and half soy sauce? You try your tolerance of fish sauce in stages.

  • These aren’t just any ordinary chicken strips they’re our popular honey garlic chicken strips recipe. They’re sweet and sticky with a nice baked crust.
  • For anyone who loves chicken strips, these are amped up an extra level with a sweet and sticky sauce. Just like the fish sauce chicken wings, make sure you have extra handy-wipes ready.

Video: Honey Garlic Chicken Strips Recipe

Tips on How to Make Honey Garlic Chicken Strips Recipe

Because we want to slowly introduce some of you to the joy of cooking with fish sauce, we’ve adapted this recipe with soy sauce or other options. The technique is the same and you can choose to use either soy sauce or fish sauce.

  • If you buy true chicken tenders, these will be slightly smaller and cooking time might be less. If you’re cutting the strips from boneless skinless chicken breasts, make sure to make them even sized for even cooking times.
  • Baking the strips is definitely the “healthier” way. But for the extra crunch, deep frying them in oil will give you the best crispy outside texture.
  • If you decide to coat the strips with the sauce, you’ll have less crunch because the crust is coated with sauce. Instead of tossing the strips with the sauce, you can just dip them into the sauce. The flavors are the same it’s just the crunch factor that differs.
  • You can use the sauce for any type of chicken from chicken wings to chicken thighs and drumsticks.

Our Favorite Fish Sauce Brands:

Flying Lion Fish Sauce
Flying Lion Fish Sauce

This has been our house fish sauce for decades. Great stuff! We’ll use it to make our dipping sauces as well as marinades.

Red Boat Fish Sauce
Red Boat Fish Sauce

100% all-natural first press extra virgin Vietnamese fish sauce. One of the best artisan fish sauce producers.

Three Crabs Fish Sauce
Three Crabs Fish Sauce

Another good fish sauce. Clean flavors, good depth. It’s the one Diane’s mom most often uses for cooking.

Sweet and Sticky Honey Garlic Chicken Tenders

Yield: 4 servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
The tenders can be cooked by either baking or frying. Baking is healthier and frying is crispier. Since tossing the tenders in the sauce will reduce the crispiness a bit, we've written the recipe up with the baking instructions. For frying, cook the tenders in oil that is about 375°F for about 3-5 minutes per side, or until golden and cooked through. Here's more detailed instructions on our sister site for fried chicken tenders.
The garlic in the sauce comes from the chili garlic sauce. If you like it more garlicky, you can always add more some crushed/minced garlic or garlic powder to the tenders when seasoning them, or to the sauce.
4.80 from 59 votes
PRINT RECIPE Review Pin It

Ingredients

for the chicken strips:

  • 2 pounds (907 g) boneless skinless chicken breast or chicken tenderloins
  • 1 cup (60 g) panko bread crumbs (or regular bread crumbs)
  • 2 (2) eggs
  • 3/4 cup (100 g) all-purpose flour , or more if needed
  • 1 teaspoon (5 ml) kosher salt
  • fresh cracked black pepper to taste
  • optional additional seasonings (additional salt & pepper, crushed or minced garlic, garlic powder, smoked paprika, etc.)

for the sweet and sticky honey soy sauce:

  • 1/2 cup (120 ml) ketchup
  • 1/2 cup (120 ml) honey
  • 1/4 cup (60 ml) soy sauce (or fish sauce cause it tastes better! Fish sauce will be saltier, start with 2-3 tablespoons)
  • 1 Tablespoon (15 ml) chili garlic sauce or any hot sauce (optional)
  • 2 Tablespoons (15 ml) fresh lime juice or rice vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon cornstarch

Instructions 

  • Pre-heat oven to 425°F (220°C). Prepare 1-2 baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
    Preheat oven
  • If using chicken breasts, cut into thin strips. The thicker they are, the longer they take to cook. Make sure the strips are consistently sized so that you get even baking. Optional–For a well-seasoned tender, coat the chicken with salt, pepper, and/or any other seasonings you enjoy (crushed garlic, garlic powder, paprika. etc).
    Seasoning chicken tenders
  • In a bowl, add panko or breadcrumbs. In another bowl, beat the eggs. In a third bowl combine flour, teaspoon of salt, and black pepper.
    Dredge each strip of chicken in flour, then egg, then Panko or breadcrumbs. Lay coated chicken strips on sheet pan. Repeat for all chicken strips.
    Coating chicken tender with panko
  • Bake chicken strips at 425°F (220°C) for about 15 minutes. Flip the chicken strips to the other side up.
    Coated chicken tenders on baking sheet pan
  • Continue to bake for another 5-10 minutes or until crisp and cooked through.
    Baked chicken tenders
  • While the chicken is baking, make the sauce. In bowl, whisk together all the sauce ingredients: ketchup, honey, soy sauce (or fish sauce), chili garlic sauce, fresh lime juice or rice vinegar, and cornstarch.
    Whisking sauce together
  • Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add half of the chicken strips and half of the sauce. Toss to coat and cook for about 30 seconds to 1 minutes on each side or until the chicken strips soak up the sauce on both sides and become sticky. Repeat with remainder of sauce and chicken strips. (Cooking Tip: Don't let the pan get too hot because if the pan becomes too hot, it dries up the sauce and becomes too sticky.)
    Coating tenders in sauce

Notes

Note: If you want the chicken strips extra crispy, fry the chicken strips instead of baking them and then toss them in the skillet with the sauce. The crunchy fried texture is delicious!

Video

Nutrition Information per Serving

Calories: 537kcal, Carbohydrates: 63g, Protein: 54g, Fat: 8g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 2g, Trans Fat: 0.03g, Cholesterol: 186mg, Sodium: 2208mg, Potassium: 1032mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 43g, Vitamin A: 285IU, Vitamin C: 6mg, Calcium: 45mg, Iron: 3mg
Course: Appetizer, Main Course, Side Dish
Cuisine: American, Asian
Calories: 537
Honey Garlic Chicken Tenders on a baking sheet close up

Can you Freeze these Chicken Strips or Tenders?

Yes, you certainly can! Cook a big batch of these and freeze the rest. They’re definitely better than buying frozen chicken strips from the store. To thaw them we like to take them out of the freezer and let them thaw in the fridge for at least a day. Or before heating them in the oven or air fryer, microwave them for a few minutes to warm them through the center. Then bake them in a pre-heated oven at 350°F for about 10-15 minutes OR until they are warmed.

Serve Honey Garlic Chicken Strips with Beer

And of course, don’t forget the beer. These sweet and sticky honey soy sauce chicken strips are screaming to be washed down with beer. Or a cocktail or dry white wine, which pairs perfect with the flavors in these chicken strips.  Or a fruit juice for the kiddies. This honey garlic chicken strips recipe is perfect for game day and for anyone who loves chicken wings, but want more chicken without fighting through the bones. Hope you enjoy these honey garlic chicken tenders!

Can you use the honey garlic sauce on crispy fish?

Our easy honey garlic sauce recipe is great on crispy fish! In fact, you can use it on roasted fish, vegetables or any types of meats. It’s a simple sauce to make but awesome on so many different dishes. It’s even great as a dip for french fries or tossed with some roasted potatoes. Yum.

More Asian Recipes to Enjoy:

Incredible Sticky Fish Sauce Chicken Wings Recipe from @whiteonrice