Honey Garlic Chicken

Golden brown chicken with a perfectly savory, sweet, garlicky, sticky glaze. That's a mouthful; an amazing mouthful. Plus, this super-simple dish uses pantry staples and hits the table in about 20 minutes. I don't know about you, but I find all that pretty desirable on a busy weeknight.

And when I use the word perfectly before savory, sweet, garlicky, and sticky - I mean it. It all balances and creates the MOST delicious sauce/glaze for the chicken. Truth is, the mixture actually starts as a sauce and simmers down to the sticky glaze - meaning you can stop at any point in the "reduction" if you want more sauce (my boys like extra sauce for the rice). And I do suggest you serve the chicken over rice or some sort of noodle (Asian or other variety) so you don't miss a drop of that divinely sticky sauce.

Here's a truth: The sauce is so sticky, I had honey-garlic fingerprints all over my phone after taking these pictures...

Honey Garlic Chicken 

1 tablespoon peanut oil
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, halved horizontally
Salt and ground black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder or granulated garlic
3 cloves garlic, finely grated
1/3 cup honey (use a variety/flavor you like since the flavor comes through)
1/4 cup chicken broth or water
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar (or apple cider vinegar, or any white vinegar)
Fresh cilantro leaves for serving
Serving suggestion: 1 cup rice cooked according to the package directions

Heat the peanut oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season the chicken all over with the salt, pepper and garlic powder and add to the hot pan. Sear until the chicken is golden brown on both sides, about 3 minutes per side.
Add the garlic to the pan, between the chicken pieces, and cook for 30 seconds, until fragrant. Add the honey, broth, soy sauce, and vinegar and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the sauce thickens and reduces to a syrup and the chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes.
Top with cilantro before serving.

Serves 4