My favorite thing to do with a recipe is to pare it down as far as possible while maintaining big flavor. I’ve made a lot of Asian inspired marinades and glazes over the years, but this time I took my marinade down to the bare bones, and guess what? I think it’s my favorite one by far. You just can’t beat simple. So, if you’re new to cooking, this Sticky Ginger Soy Glazed Chicken is probably a good recipe to start with because it’s so damn simple and I promise you’ll impress yourself with the flavor. ;)
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Sticky Ginger Soy Glazed Chicken pictured here with jasmine rice and a drizzle of sriracha!
Can I Use Chicken Breast?
This super simple marinade can be used on chicken breast or thighs, but I prefer thighs because they’re usually already in small, manageable, and quick-cooking pieces that stay juicy and tender. If you’re using chicken breasts, I suggest cutting them into smaller pieces or pounding them thin to both increase chicken to marinade contact and to make sure they cook quickly.
Cook OR Grill Your Sticky Ginger Soy Glazed Chicken
Once marinated you can cook the Sticky Ginger Soy Glazed Chicken in a skillet or on a grill (I almost used my George Foreman, but decided a skillet made for better pictures #foodbloggerlife). A grill probably gives you better browned edges and caramelized sugars, but a skillet is just SO easy.
And I like easy.
Pictured with jasmine rice and Cucumber Mango Salad.
Sticky Ginger Soy Glazed Chicken
Servings 8 piecesIngredients
MARINADE
- 1/4 cup brown sugar ($0.16)
- 3 Tbsp soy sauce ($0.26)
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.16)
- 1 Tbsp fresh ginger, grated ($0.05)
- Freshly cracked pepper ($0.05)
- 1 Tbsp cooking oil ($0.04)
CHICKEN
- 8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 1.75 lbs total) ($7.10)
- 1/2 Tbsp cooking oil ($0.02)
GARNISHES (optional)
- 2 green onions ($0.17)
- 1 tsp sesame seeds ($0.07)
Instructions
- Mince the garlic and grate the ginger using a fine holed cheese grater or box grater. In a small bowl stir together the brown sugar, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, some freshly cracked pepper (about 15 cranks of a pepper mill), and cooking oil. Place the chicken thighs in a shallow dish or a gallon size zip lock bag. Pour the marinade over the chicken and turn to coat. Cover the chicken and marinate for at least 30 minutes or up to a day (refrigerated).
- When ready to cook the chicken, heat a large skillet over medium flame. Once hot, add 1/2 Tbsp cooking oil and swirl to coat the bottom of the skillet. Add half of the chicken pieces and let cook until well browned on each side and cooked through. Remove the cooked chicken to a clean plate, then repeat with the second batch.
- Once all the chicken has been removed from the skillet, pour the leftover marinade into the skillet and allow it to come up to a boil. Whisk the marinade as it boils to dissolve any browned bits from the skillet. Let it continue to boil until it reduces to a thick glaze*. Turn the heat off, add the cooked chicken back to the skillet, and dredge it in the thick glaze. Garnish with sliced green onions and sesame seeds if desired.
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Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!See this recipe used in my weekly meal prep.
How to Make Soy Glazed Chicken – Step by Step Photos
To prepare the awesomely easy ginger soy marinade, mince two cloves of garlic and grate about 1 Tbsp fresh ginger (more information on how to buy and use ginger can be found here). Combine the garlic and ginger with 1/4 cup brown sugar, 3 Tbsp soy sauce, 1 Tbsp cooking oil, and some freshly cracked pepper (about 15 cranks of a pepper mill).
Place eight boneless, skinless chicken thighs in a shallow container or gallon size zip lock bag and pour the marinade over top. Turn the thighs to coat in the marinade, then cover and marinate (refrigerated) the chicken for at least 30 minutes or up to one day.
When ready to cook, heat a large skillet over a medium flame. Once hot, add 1/2 Tbsp cooking oil and tilt the skillet to swirl the oil over the surface. Add half of the chicken thighs and cook on each side until well browned and cooked through. Remove the chicken from the skillet onto a clean plate, then repeat with the second batch of chicken.
The reason the marinade is not poured in WITH the chicken and the chicken is cooked in two separate batches is because too much moisture in the skillet will prevent those nice browned edges and caramelized sugars. So, work in two batches and cook the marinade separately.
Once the second batch of chicken has been cooked and removed from the skillet, pour in the leftover marinade and let it come to a boil. Whisk the marinade as it boils to dissolve the browned bits from the skillet. Let it continue to boil until it reduces to a thick glaze (this only takes a few minutes because there isn’t much marinade). This cooks the marinade, just like you cooked the chicken, to kill bacteria (it’s no less safe than the actual chicken or the marinade that is on the surface of the chicken when it cooks). FDA foodsafety guidelines for marinades. If this still makes you uncomfortable, you can skip this extra glaze (the chicken will still be nice and sticky), or double the amount of marinade in the beginning and only use half on the chicken. You can cook the second “clean” half in a sauce pan until it thickens to a glaze.
Return the cooked chicken to the skillet and dredge it on both sides in the sticky glaze. Top the chicken with sliced green onions and sesame seeds, if desired.
I paired my Sticky Ginger Soy Glazed Chicken with jasmine rice and Cucumber Mango Salad. The cold and tangy Cucumber Mango Salad was the PERFECT side to this dish (plus I was lucky enough to get mangoes on sale 3/$1 this week!!).
Any other ideas for sides besides the cucumber mango salad? Mangoes are super pricey right now!
How about the regular Thai Cucumber Salad? That one is really simple and would also be great with this. :) Or you could just do some steamed broccoli, like they do at take out places.
I used cold pickled carrots cut into matchsticks.
Enjoyed it, thanks!
The recipe states “8 pieces “. Did you mean to type Servings -“8” ?
How many servings does this make? I’m guessing 1.75 lbs chicken serves around 4-5 people?
It made eight pieces of chicken, so the number of servings just depends on if you like to have one or two pieces of chicken. I personally ate one per serving, but they were a little on the small side, so I can see how some people might want two.
This is delicious!!! I used about half the amount of chicken with the same amount of marinade, and it was amazing like that! Also cut the thighs into bite sized pieces first, marinated for a couple hours, then cooked on medium heat for about 10 mins. Such a yummy and easy dish!
I’m contemplating using this for wings. I usually do my wings in the oven, but with the smaller size (I get the frozen ones in the bag. Pretty small pieces), do you feel it would do well in a skillet? I worry about cooking them all the way through with them being bone in.
Hmm, yeah, I’m not sure about doing wings in a skillet. You can do this sauce in the oven with your wings, though. Just use some sort of deep dish, like a casserole dish, to hold in the sauce and make sure the wings aren’t too crowded so that evaporation can happen and the sauce can thicken. It may take a while to get the sauce to reduce in the oven, but I’ve done it before. Stir it occasionally, too.
This dish is fantastic! Had it with the mango & cucumber. Very easy to make with outstanding flavours
Made this tonight and it was awesome! Just like takeout but better!
I’m not sure what happened but my marinade/glaze at the end of this recipe was not so much a glaze. It was the consistency of a mole sauce… I’m not sure what I did wrong?
Hmmm, I’m not quite sure either. I can’t imagine what would make it like a mole sauce.
I just made this recipe and it turned out like that also….Not sure why?
yummy yummy, my stomach starts screaming
This is amazing. Made the entire meal (jasmine rice and cucumber mango salad) as written (except for sesame seeds…just one of those ingredients I feel like I can always skate without so I never buy). Thanks for dispelling the myth that lower income people can’t afford to eat healthy or feed their kids nutritious food :)
Wow, delicious! I made for the husband , he was happy :) Thank you :)
The cucumber mango salad was so perfect with this! Yum! My only complaint is that I could not stop eating it!
The Sticky Ginger Soy Glazed Chicken was awesome! I used chicken tenderloin breasts instead of the thighs. The recipe was super easy and fast. We all loved it and will make this again and again. Thanks!!!!
Making this tonight with some steam spinach and jasmine rice. The smell of the marinade alone is heaven!
I’m gonna make this just now. Already got print of this page. Thanks Beth…
This is excellent! We have to stick to a tight grocery budget, and your website has made all the difference for us. We are able to consistently eat well every day. Thank you so much!