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This easy Asian Chicken Thighs Recipe is about to become your new weeknight favorite. Juicy, tender chicken thighs are baked in a sticky, sweet, and savory glaze that caramelizes perfectly in the oven. It’s an easy one-pan meal with incredible flavor that’s ready in under 45 minutes.
Why This Chicken Recipe works
This Asian Chicken Thighs Recipe is all about the simple, powerful glaze and the cooking method this is the secret on how Asian make their chicken so tender. By baking the chicken directly in the sauce, the thighs stay incredibly juicy while the glaze reduces, thickens, and intensifies. The simple combination of soy sauce (for savory depth), honey (for sweetness and caramelization), garlic, and ginger creates a perfectly balanced sticky sauce that coats every single piece. It’s a true “dump-and-bake” recipe. You just mix the sauce, pour it over the chicken, and let the oven do all the work. Finish this dish off with some garlic butter rice and you have a complete meal for the family.
On days when I am craving some Asian food, I almost always end up making my Honey Soy Baked Chicken Thighs or my favorite Honey Garlic Chicken. This recipe is inspired by those flavors, but it has a beautiful, crispy, and caramelized exterior that makes it even better.
Simple Ingredients. Big Flavour.
- Chicken thighs: I used bone-in and skin-on chicken thighs here. The skin crisps up beautifully in the oven and gives that bit of crunch, while the inside stays soft and juicy. This is one of the ways in which chinese restaurants make their chicken so crispy.
- Aromatics: Fresh ginger and garlic. This duo brings in that beautiful aroma and savory Asian flavor.
- Veggies: I used baby bok choy and some chopped green onions to garnish. Using baby bok choy gives you a more delicate flavor and its more sweeter than the larger variety.
- Soy sauce: The star of any good Asian recipe- soy sauce. This adds a splash of color to the chicken and a depth of umami flavor. I would recommend using the Kikkoman naturally brewed soy sauce for its consistent blend of salty, sweet and slightly acidic taste. You can buy the low sodium variety if your worried about the sodium levels, it will still taste just a good.
- Rice wine vinegar: Vinegar adds a burst of tangy flavor to the sauce while tenderising the meat. Use white vinegar or apple cider vinegar if you don’t have rice wine vinegar.
- Honey: For that beautiful glaze, and of course, the delicate sweetness. If you want to use the best honey which will actually tenderize the chicken as use raw honey is also beneficial for you digestive and immune health!
- Brown sugar: To balance out the other flavors and lend a nice bit of sweetness to the sauce.
- Sesame oil: For that authentic Asian flavor. You could use avocado oil, olive oil or another neutral cooking oil too, but if you can find sesame oil, I would highly recommend using it.
Note: please see recipe card at the bottom for list of full ingredients and measurements
Let’s Make It Step By Step
It’s the perfect easy chicken dinner recipe that the whole family will love! The sweet, savory, and sticky glaze and the delicate, tender chicken is just a combination that’s hard to beat!
- Prepare the sauce: Preheat oven to 425°F (220°C). In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the sesame oil, honey, vinegar, brown sugar, ginger, and garlic. Boil, then heat on low and simmer until thick.
- Coat chicken: Pat the chicken dry and transfer to a skillet or an oven-proof baking dish. Pour ⅔ of the sauce over the chicken and mix well until nicely coated.
- Cook until crispy: Place the chicken skin down on the pan and bake for 30 minutes. Cooking the chicken with the skin not only seals in the juices but also enhances the crispness. Always try to find skin on thighs for this reason. Flip it over and cook for another 15 minutes, being careful not to burn it.
- Finish up and serve: Change the oven setting to boil in the last 5 minutes of cooking to get the skin nice and crispy. Meanwhile, steam the bok choy. Once the chicken is done, serve it with the bok choy.
Perfect Sides to Make It a Meal
Enjoy these Roasted Asian Glazed Chicken Thighs with some steamed rice to make it a wholesome meal. I love pairing it with my classic Fried Rice with Bacon. If you’re looking for a low-carb side to team up with it, try my simple Cauliflower Fried Rice or Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice recipe.
Something fresh? My Asian Carrot Salad with Ginger Peanut Dressing is the side you’ve been missing. And for the sweet treat at the end, my Peanut Butter and Jam Nutella Banana Blondies are a MUST in your meal.
Recipe FAQ’s
You absolutely can! I love using chicken thighs because they have a lot of flavor. You can use chicken breasts or even chicken drumsticks if you want to.
Use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature of the chicken. If it is 165 degrees or more, it is safe to eat. If you don’t have a meat thermometer, cut through the thickest portion to see if the juices run clear and the meat is no longer pink.
Yes! You can prep the sauce and coat the chicken a few hours ahead. Keep it covered in the fridge, then bake when you’re ready to eat. The flavor gets better as it sits!
Reheat the chicken in a skillet over medium heat or the oven at 350°F until warmed through. You can also microwave it, but adding a splash of water or sauce will help keep it juicy.
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Simple Asian Glazed Chicken Thighs
Ingredients
- 6 chicken thighs bone in and skin on
- 1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar or coconut sugar
- 2 tablespoons pure sesame oil
- 4 cloves garlic crushed
- 1 teaspoon crushed ginger fresh
- 2 bunches baby bok choy quartered horizontally
- 1 stem sliced green onion/shallot to garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 220°C | 425°F
- Wash chicken thighs and pat dry with a paper towel.
- Whisk the vinegar, soy sauce, honey, brown sugar, sesame oil, garlic and ginger together in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a rolling boil; reduce heat to low and allow to simmer for about 5 minutes while stirring occasionally until sauce thickens. Take off heat and allow to cool slightly. Place chicken thighs into an oven proof pan/skillet or baking dish. Pour ⅔ of the sauce mixture over the chicken, rotating each thigh until evenly covered. Rotate the chicken to be skin side down, and bake for 30 minutes. Turn thighs and continue to bake until beginning to brown on the skin (about another 15 minutes). At this point, start steaming your bok choy (or any other vegetable), to your desired texture (crunchy, soft, etc).
- Change oven settings to grill/broil on medium heat and grill until the skin changes to deep golden in colour (about 5 minutes).
- Allow chicken to rest for 10 minutes. Serve with the steamed bok choy, shallots/green onion slices and remaining ⅓ sauce mixture.
Notes
- Pair: works best with fried rice with bacon or easy garlic butter rice.
- Broiling: Watch the chicken very closely under the broiler. The glaze has honey, which can go from perfectly caramelized to burnt in less than 30 seconds.
- Boneless Chicken: If using boneless, skinless thighs, reduce total bake time to 20-25 minutes.
- Storage: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. The glaze is also great on leftover rice.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I did not marinate it and the chicken tasted so bland inside 😭
When do you utilize the remaining 1/3 of the sauce?
Hi Ashley, simply serve it with the finished dish, pour on top of the chicken when serving, step 5. Hope you enjoyed the dish! Xx
Came to ask the same
Really really great! There is more liquid after the chicken finishes cooking, so i removed the chicken from the pan, added in the final 1/3 of the reserved sauce and made a quick pan sauce on the stove with some water and corn starch to go over the chicken and rice! Full of chicken flavor from the drippings and tangy richness from the leftover marinade and silky smooth from the corn starch! Turn a problem into a delicious solution!
Well done Robert, great way to save the day! Xx
THIS WAS REALLY GOOD JUST THE WAY IT IS.
Agree with other poster who said there is way more sauce than you need, so next time I will cut the sauce in half. It’s a tasty and easy recipe. I will make it again. Thank you!
Very easy to make and family enjoyed the dish!
I just made this Asian chicken recipe and it’s a really great Chinese taste.
My daughter’s boyfriend typically makes various Chinese dishes and this was right on par with his cooking.
He’s is traveling now so we are missing his food… this is a really great one and we will make it again when he’s back!
I’m sure he’ll love it 😍…
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe! For now, this one should do the trick and keep those Chinese food cravings totally satisfied. Can’t wait to hear what you’ll try cooking next!
Delicious, my new go to recipe. Thankyou
This is my go-to chicken recipe. I make it, at the very least, once a month. My family loves it and it pairs well with ginger-garlic rice.
Amazing!