A little spicy, a little tangy, a lot delicious!! This honey rum chicken recipe uses only ONE dish! It's great served over rice with steamed veggies, or in tacos or over a salad. Read the notes below the recipe for tips for grilling and pan-frying this chicken, as well as how to make a rum sauce for the chicken.
¼cupsoy sauce(for a gluten-free chicken use coconut aminos)
2tablespoonshoney(or up to ¼ cup (4 tablespoons) if you like a sweeter chicken)
½tablespoonsriracha or favorite hot sauce (optional, omit for no spice)
1½poundschicken breastboneless skinless (chicken tenders will work too!)
optional garnish: chopped fresh cilantro leaves or scallions
Instructions
Combine all the ingredients aside from the chicken in your microwave-safe baking dish. Microwave for 30 seconds at a time and gently stir until well combined. If you don't want to microwave, you'll just need to stir it very carefully until the honey is dissolved into the rest of the marinade.
Add the chicken and coat it in the marinade. Marinate for at least 30 minutes (leave at room temperature), or if marinating for longer than 30 minutes, place in the fridge.
When you're ready to bake, preheat the oven to 400F.
Bake the chicken in the marinade for 30-40 minutes, or until the center of the chicken is fully cooked and registers 165F with a meat thermometer. Remove chicken from the marinate and serve over rice or salad.
Notes
If you want to turn the marinade into a sauce: Transfer the marinade to a small saucepan and add a few tablespoons of honey. In a small cup, combine ½ tablespoon corn starch with a tablespoon or two of water (or orange juice for a citrusy tang) and use a fork to whisk together to make a slurry. Add the slurry to the saucepan, turn on the heat, and bring to a gently boil, stirring frequently. Cook for a minute or so, or until the sauce thickens. If it thickens too much, add a splash of water or orange juice. If it's too thin, make another slurry with cornstarch and add it. Adjust to taste with more honey, soy sauce, or lime juice.If you want to pan-fry rum chicken: Preheat a large pan, add olive oil, and transfer the chicken from the marinade into the preheated pan. Cook on each side until it is golden brown and fully cooked inside. If you are using thicker chicken breasts that start to get too brown before cooking all the way through, just add a little water to the pan and cover it to let the chicken steam and cook without burning.If you want to grill: Remove the chicken from the marinade and place directly on a preheated grill. Grill for 7-8 minutes per side, or until the chicken is fully cooked. The cook time will depend on the thickness of the chicken breasts.