Honey Garlic Chicken Rice (Printable)

Slow-cooked chicken in honey garlic sauce paired with fluffy jasmine rice. Easy and aromatic summer meal.

# What You Need:

→ Protein

01 - 1.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs

→ Sauce

02 - 1/3 cup honey
03 - 1/3 cup low-sodium soy sauce
04 - 1/4 cup ketchup
05 - 4 cloves garlic, minced
06 - 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
07 - 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
08 - 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
09 - 1/2 teaspoon chili flakes

→ Slurry

10 - 2 tablespoons cornstarch
11 - 2 tablespoons water

→ Rice

12 - 1 1/2 cups jasmine or basmati rice
13 - 3 cups water
14 - 1/2 teaspoon salt

→ Garnish

15 - 2 green onions, sliced
16 - 1 tablespoon sesame seeds

# How To Make It:

01 - In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together honey, soy sauce, ketchup, minced garlic, rice vinegar, grated ginger, black pepper, and chili flakes.
02 - Place the chicken thighs in the bottom of the crockpot. Pour the sauce evenly over the chicken.
03 - Cover and cook in the crockpot on high for 4 hours or on low for 6–7 hours, until chicken is tender and fully cooked.
04 - Rinse rice under cold water. Combine rice, water, and salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes. Let rice stand, covered, for 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork.
05 - Remove cooked chicken from crockpot. In a small bowl, mix cornstarch with water to form a slurry. Stir the slurry into the sauce in the crockpot.
06 - Return chicken to the crockpot and cook on high for an additional 10–15 minutes, allowing the sauce to thicken.
07 - Arrange chicken and sauce over rice. Garnish with sliced green onions and sesame seeds as desired.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • Honestly, the sauce caramelizes until it’s almost sticky enough to lick off your fingers—and I’ve definitely done that.
  • The chicken turns out so tender, you hardly need a knife, and it’s always a hit at our impromptu weeknight dinners.
02 -
  • If you skip rinsing the rice, it ends up sticky and clumpy; I made that mistake once and never again.
  • Letting the chicken rest briefly before adding back to the sauce gives juicier results—the difference is subtle but real.
03 -
  • Cornstarch slurry is best stirred in while the sauce is bubbling, not cold, to ensure smoothness.
  • Letting the chicken soak in sauce before thickening gives it a flavor boost that’s worth the wait.
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