Honey Butter Chicken Tenders
Equipment
- Wok or medium sized pot
Ingredients
Chicken & Batter
- 16 oz. chicken tenderloins
- ½ cup rice flour
- ½ cup potato starch
- ½ tsp salt
- ¾ cup water, adjust as needed for viscosity
Honey Butter Sauce
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp rice vinegar
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1 tsp minced ginger
Optional Garnishes
- Sesame seeds
- Scallions
Instructions
- In a bowl, combine rice flour, potato starch, salt, and water. Mix thoroughly until smooth and slightly thinner than pancake batter.
- Add the chicken tenderloins to the batter and coat thoroughly.
- Heat oil to 375°F (190°C) and fry the tenders for about 10–11 minutes, or until golden brown and cooked through. Remove and let rest briefly.
- In a separate pan, melt the butter. Add soy sauce, rice vinegar, honey, and minced ginger, then simmer until the sauce reduces slightly to your desired consistency.
- Add the fried chicken tenders to a bowl, pour over the sauce, and toss until evenly coated.
- Plate the chicken tenders and optionally garnish with sesame seeds and scallions.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Table of Contents
- Honey Butter Chicken Tenders Recipe
- Introduction
- How This Honey Butter Chicken Tenders Recipe Is So Good
- Why The Sauce Is So Important In This Honey Butter Chicken Tenders Recipe
- Honey Butter Chicken Tenders Recipe Ingredients
- How to Make Honey Butter Chicken Tenders
- What to Serve with Honey Butter Chicken Tenders
- How to Store Honey Butter Chicken Tenders For Meal Prep
- Honey Butter Chicken Tenders Substitutions
- What to Make Next
Introduction
Chicken tenders are delicious, but they get a bad rep for not being super exciting unless you do something different with them. This Honey Butter Chicken Tenders Recipe saves that reputation! It takes a classic Korean-fried chicken batter, combines it with a chicken tender, and is coated in a rich, addicting glaze that has that amazing sweet and savory flavor profile. I love chicken tenders, and I love restaurants that serve them, but unfortunately, this Honey Butter Chicken Tenders Recipe takes the cake!
How This Honey Butter Chicken Tenders Recipe Is So Good
This Honey Butter Chicken Tenders Recipe is very similar to my Honey Butter Chicken recipe, but you have more surface area to get even more crunch because of the chicken tenderloin. The batter uses a classic Korean-style mix of rice flour and potato starch, which creates a light and airy coating that gets crispy and stays that way, even with the sauce on top! These are always a crowd favorite because they’re portable, delicious, and stay crispy even after sitting out for a few hours!
Why The Sauce Is So Important In This Honey Butter Chicken Tenders Recipe
The honey butter glaze in this recipe may seem simple, but this is the result of testing many sauces and aromatics. In this case, the sauce is designed to control the sweetness rather than being just overtly sweet like many other fried chicken sauces. The honey provides the primary source of sweetness, but its viscosity helps emulsify the butter and smooth out the other flavors from the soy sauce and rice wine vinegar. Ultimately, this results in a sauce that’s well balanced and is a perfect component to a piece of fried chicken.
Honey Butter Chicken Tenders Recipe Ingredients
Chicken tenderloins + batter (rice flour, potato starch, salt, water) – The tenderloins stay juicier than chicken breast but still cook quickly, while the batter creates a light yet extremely crunchy exterior.
Neutral oil – Used for frying and ensures the tenders cook evenly while developing that crispy, golden exterior.
Sauce (butter, soy sauce, rice vinegar, honey, ginger) – A balanced mixture that creates a sweet and savory glaze that coats the chicken perfectly.
Optional garnishes (sesame seeds, scallions) – Add texture and color to finish the dish.
How to Make Honey Butter Chicken Tenders
In a bowl, mix together rice flour, potato starch, salt, and water until smooth and slightly thinner than pancake batter.
Add the chicken tenderloins to the batter and coat thoroughly.
Heat oil to 375°F and fry the tenders until golden brown and cooked through, then remove and let rest briefly.
In a separate pan, melt the butter and add soy sauce, rice vinegar, honey, and ginger. Simmer the sauce until it thickens slightly.
Add the fried tenders to a bowl and add the sauce. Toss until evenly coated.
Serve immediately and optionally garnish with sesame seeds and scallions.
What to Serve with Honey Butter Chicken Tenders
This Honey Butter Chicken Tenders Recipe is rich and can be heavy, so I like to pair it with simple sides to help balance those flavors out. A few of my favorite side dishes to serve with this are:
- Pickled vegetables. Any vegetable lightly tossed in seasoned rice vinegar is perfect served alongside these chicken tenders.
- Steamed white rice. This is always great for soaking up the sauce and also compliments that crunchy texture perfectly.
- Garlic rice. An amazingly aromatic dish that compliments this Honey Butter chicken Tenders Recipe perfectly.
How to Store Honey Butter Chicken Tenders For Meal Prep
This Honey Butter Chicken Tenders Recipe is best eaten fresh, but you can store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. In order to reheat it, there are a couple of ways you can go about this:
- Air fryer or oven. This is the best way to reheat your chicken tenders and get some of the crispiness back. Reheat at 300°F (149°C) for 15 minutes in order to restore that crunchy texture and not burn the glaze.
- Microwave. You will lose that crispy texture; however, the flavors will still be there! Microwave for 2 minutes at medium-high power.
Honey Butter Chicken Tenders Substitutions
This Honey Butter Chicken Tenders Recipe is flexible, and you can adjust a few ingredients depending on what you have available. A few of my favorite substitutions are:
- Chicken breast. If you don’t have tenderloins, sliced chicken breast works. When slicing, try to keep the pieces even for consistent cooking.
- All-purpose flour. This can be used instead of rice flour and potato starch, although the coating will be slightly heavier and not be as crispy.
- No ginger. You can omit the ginger if needed, and the sauce will still taste amazing!
What to Make Next
Want another crispy chicken dish? Try my Taiwanese XXL Fried Chicken!
Craving something sweet instead? You’ll love my Matcha Tiramisu!
Feeling like a quick meal? Cook my Korean Ground Beef!
