What Is Honey Garlic?

Honey garlic sauce is a popular sweet and sour sauce that usually combines the flavors of both honey and garlic. Its main ingredients generally include fresh honey and garlic salt or fresh, chopped garlic cloves. Honey garlic sauce generally contains other flavorful ingredients, such as soy sauce, lemon juice, brown sugar, and red pepper. Chicken broth or butter are sometimes added to honey garlic sauce for additional savoriness. This sauce may be popular because it can be used on just about any type of meat, and it can also be used to flavor vegetable dishes.

Chicken, beef and pork dishes may all be improved with the addition of honey garlic sauce. Ribs, buffalo wings, and meatballs are some of the dishes often seasoned with this type of sweet and sour sauce. Asparagus, broccoli, and other vegetables are often prepared with a topping of this sauce. The taste of honey garlic sauce can be adjusted by adding more or less of the main ingredients, such as soy sauce, sugar, and lemon juice. Beer, thyme, and other ingredients are included in some recipes.

A typical serving of honey garlic sauce, which is usually about two tablespoons (30 grams) can have as many as 140 calories. This sauce is also generally high in sodium. Home cooks can generally adjust the sodium content of this sauce by adding less salt, or by using a salt substitute in the recipe.

Carbohydrates provide most of the nutritional content of this sauce. Honey garlic sauce also has a have a high sugar content, like many sweet and sour sauces. The average serving of honey garlic sauce contains about 35 grams of carbohydrates, of which about 14 grams are simple carbohydrates, or sugars. The sugar content of this sauce can vary according to the recipe used to make it, as some recipes call simply for honey, while others call for the addition of brown sugar as well as honey to the mix.

This sauce is nevertheless considered fitting for grilling, basting, and baking meats of all sorts. In Western cuisine, honey garlic sauce is often used to barbecue meats. It's often found in stir fry dishes and other Asian-influenced dishes.