This sticky chicken recipe is made with bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs with an Asian-inspired sticky sauce. It cooks up easily in one pan on the stove-top for a quick and easy weeknight meal.
My freezer always seems to have one or two packages of bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, so I have a dozen and one ways to cook them. This sticky, sweet and spicy asian chicken is a family favourite and is a great one-pan, weeknight meal.
Ingredients and substitutions
A few notes about the key ingredients …
Chicken thighs – I love this stick chicken with bone-in/skin-on chicken thighs, but boneless, skinless chicken thighs will also work.
Asian Chili Garlic Sauce – this sauce is pretty easy to find in most grocery stores these days. Look for it in with the Asian sauces. If you can’t find it, substitute Sriracha or Sambal Oelek.
Recipe tips!
- Adjust the amount of Asian Chili Garlic sauce to taste, depending on your heat tolerance. You could also use a lesser amount of Sambal Oelek.
- If you don’t have Asian Chili Garlic sauce on hand, you could try this substitute of 1-2 Tablespoons. ketchup or tomato paste mixed with 1/8-1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes.
Serving suggestions
I like to serve this sticky chicken with rice and a vegetable. Bok Choy or snap peas are nice with this one, as is steamed broccoli. This would also be nice with some Asian noodles. Or skip the carbs altogether and double up on the vegetables :)
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Get the Recipe: Asian Sticky Chicken
Ingredients
- 1-2 Tablespoons cooking oil
- 5-6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs , or boneless chicken thighs
- 2/3 cup chicken broth, or water
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar, well-packed
- 1/4 cup orange juice, (freshly squeezed is best if you can)
- 1/4 cup soy sauce, reduced-sodium recommended
- 1-2 teaspoon Asian Chili Garlic sauce, or Sriracha or 1/2-1 teaspoon Sambal Oelek
- 2 Tablespoons white or rice vinegar
For serving:
- Sliced green onions, sesame seeds and orange zest, for garnish
Instructions
- In a bowl, combine the broth, brown sugar, orange juice, soy sauce, Asian Chili Garlic sauce and vinegar. Stir to combine. Set aside.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Dry the chicken thighs and season with a bit of salt and pepper. Place in a hot skillet, skin-side down if using skin-on, and cook until golden brown, about 8-10 minutes for bone-in chicken thighs (or4-5 minutes for boneless chicken thighs). Flip and cook the other side for the same amount of time. Remove the chicken to a plate and discard any oil/fat in the pan.
- Add the sauce to the pan and bring it to a light boil. Return the chicken to the pan and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook uncovered, flipping chicken occasionally, until cooked through and the sauce thickens and becomes syrupy, about 30 minutes.
- Serve garnished with sesame seeds, sliced green onions and orange zest. Nice with rice.
Notes
More chicken thigh recipes to love!
Hi! I’m Jennifer, a home cook schooled by trial and error and almost 40 years of getting dinner on the table! I love to share my favourite recipes, both old and new, together with lots of tips and tricks to hopefully help make your home cooking enjoyable, stress free, rewarding and of course, delicious!
Loved this, teenager approved too
So glad to hear, Janine :) Thanks so much!
This was delicious. We added sweet peppers, baby carrots, and onion wedges.
So glad you enjoyed it Sheri. Thanks so much!
This is honestly one of the best recipes ever. It’s SO easy and SO delicious. I’ve made it four times in the last two weeks and I cannot wait to make it again. The sauce is next level delicious!
So glad to hear, Nicole :) Thanks so much!
Morning Jennifer.
I made the dish yesterday and it was so fantastic and delicious. I had to prepare everything in the morning because we play bridge all afternoon. I poured the sauce over the browned chicken and put it in the fridge. When we got home I finished the dinner off. I did seven thighs, I ate two and my husband ate five and asked if there was more! If I could I would give this so many stars.
Stay well.
Susan
So glad you both enjoyed them, Susan :) Thanks!
So glad I came across this recipe! It’s exavtly what I was craving. This is the best recipe I’ve tried in years. Thank you so much for sharing this. I didn’t have Asian garlic sauce and appreciate your suggestions. I ended up just using Sriracha with some garlic and it turned out great. Like others have commented, we are adding this to our meal rotation. Thanks again for sharing such a flavourful meal.
So glad you enjoyed it, Krista :) Thanks so much!
I made this recipe for the first time about 6 months ago and it was a huge hit! It’s since become part of my monthly rotation meals. I host a ladies night one Saturday a month and cooked this along with steamed pea pods, Asian salad and jasmine rice and they all loved it! I gave them the recipe and they all made it at home and their families enjoyed it! Sesame seeds, orange zest and chopped green onions are a must and make this meal look fancy. Thank you!
Thank you, Kathy! So glad everyone is enjoying it :)
This has become a recipe in our regular rotation. It’s perfect!
Made these for dinner & they were delicious!! Thanks for posting the recipe!
So glad to hear, Rachel :) Thanks for coming back to let me know!