Char Siu Chicken
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Andrea Nguyen’s char siu chicken proves you can get big flavor without any fuss—and that sticky, flavorful glaze makes it a surefire favorite for your dinner rotation.
Photo by Aubrie Pick © 2019
This easy char siu chicken recipe comes from Vietnamese Food Any Day: Simple Recipes for True, Fresh Flavors by Andrea Nguyen. Nguyen describes char siu as “savory-sweet and garlicky Chinese barbecued pork, called char siu in Cantonese and xá xíu in Vietnamese.” Since the classic pork version needs a long marinade—an hour or ideally overnight—her weeknight take uses chicken thighs for that wonderful old-school flavor.
Enjoy this char siu chicken with jasmine rice or a salad for dinner, then use leftovers for banh mi, noodle soup, or fried rice. The only tweak I made was doubling the sauce because it’s that good.
“I’ve had char siu pork but never chicken—it was fantastic! It tastes like chinese bbq. I’ll be adding this dish to my faves for sure!”
What You’ll Need To Make Char Siu Chicken
- Boneless, Skinless Chicken Thighs: Juicy and full of flavor, chicken thighs stay tender and juicy and soak up the marinade beautifully. If you’d rather use white meat, chicken tenderloins work too; keep in mind they cook in about half the time, and you’ll need a bit less since there’s no trimming needed.
- Garlic: Fresh garlic adds a savory kick and depth to the marinade.
- Chinese Five-Spice Powder: This fragrant blend (typically made up of star anise, cloves, Chinese cinnamon (or cassia), Sichuan peppercorns, and fennel seeds) brings warm, slightly sweet spice notes that pair perfectly with the sticky glaze.
- Honey, Hoisin Sauce, Soy Sauce & Ketchup: This combo creates a sweet, tangy, and salty marinade that caramelizes beautifully as the chicken cooks.
- Sesame Oil: Adds a subtle nutty richness that ties all the flavors together.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions For Char Siu Chicken
Step 1: Make the marinade. In a large bowl, mix together the garlic, five-spice powder, honey, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, ketchup, and sesame oil until smooth.
Step 2: Marinate the chicken. Set aside about half the marinade for glazing later. Add the chicken to the bowl and toss to coat well. Cover and marinate at room temp for 30 minutes or in the fridge for up to 24 hours.
Step 3: Cook the chicken. Lightly oil a cast-iron grill pan and set over medium-high heat. Cook the chicken for 6 to 10 minutes, turning a few times. Test for doneness by piercing with a knife—the juices should run clear. During the last 2 minutes, baste with the reserved marinade for extra flavor and shine. Alternatively, you can cook the chicken on the grill.
More Asian Chicken Recipes You May Like
Char Siu Chicken
Ingredients
- 2½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs (see note if you prefer white meat)
- 2 large cloves garlic, put through a press or minced and mashed
- ½ teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
- ¼ cup honey, preferably amber colored
- Brimming ¼ cup hoisin sauce
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons ketchup
- Scant 4 teaspoons sesame oil
Instructions
- Pat the chicken thighs with paper towels to remove excess moisture, then trim and discard any big fat pads. If the thighs are large or super-uneven in thickness, butterfly each one. Lay the thigh, smooth-side down, on your cutting board. Wielding your knife horizontally, slash the big mound of flesh to create a flap of meat, stopping just shy of cutting all the way through. Fold back the meat flap that you just created. The thigh should now be about 50 percent longer and relatively even in thickness. If the result seems awkwardly large, cut it crosswise into two smaller, square-ish pieces. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, stir together the garlic, five-spice powder, honey, hoisin, soy sauce, ketchup, and sesame oil. Remove about half the marinade and set aside for glazing the chicken. Add the chicken to the bowl, coating the pieces well. Cover with plastic wrap and marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes, or refrigerate up to 24 hours (return to room temperature before cooking).
- Lightly oil a cast-iron stove-top grill pan and set over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook for 6 to 10 minutes, turning several times. To test for doneness, pierce the flesh with the tip of a knife; the chicken is cooked when clear juices flow out. During the last 2 minutes, when the chicken feels firmish, baste with the reserved marinade to freshen flavor and add sheen. (Alternatively, prepare a medium charcoal fire or preheat a gas grill to medium and cook the chicken for 10 to 12 minutes, basting during the last 3 minutes.) Transfer to a platter and let rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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I made this with boneless, skinless chicken thighs in the oven, and it was delicious! I kept about a third of the marinade aside to glaze the chicken for the last 30 minutes of cooking. A definite repeat!
I just made this tonight for my family. It was easy and delicious. My 22-year old son who is visiting for the Thanksgiving holiday loved it and asked for the recipe. I forgot to add the honey and it was still wonderful. Have made many recipes from your blog and your cookbook and all have been great!
Fan-tas-tic.
As with everything I have tried that bears your stamp.
Turned out exactly like the picture (!) and, most importantly, delicious.
Thank you so much, Jenn!
Hi Jenn,
I plan on marinating your Char Siu Chicken tonight. I was trying to find the amber colored honey you mentioned. After some internet searching (https://ajarofhoneysanjose.files.wordpress.com/2016/03/honey-color-guide.jpg), amber colored honey is pretty dark.
So, I went to the store and found Lowell Honey-Dew honey from Poland. It is quite dark, but isn’t made from blossoms at all. It is described as “Color: Dark to very dark, honey colored, sometimes with green fluorescence.
Taste: Intensity: medium, woody and warm. Medium sweetness with weak acidity. No bitterness with a medium aroma. Medium persistence/aftertaste and sometimes astringent.
Aroma: Woody and warm.”
I have to agree that it looks very dark, closer to the dark amber on the link above.
Do you think this would work or should I find something lighter in color made from blossoms?
Thanks for your help.
Hi Rhonda, Without having tried it, it’s hard for me to say how that honey would work. For the most predictable results, I’d probably stick with standard honey. Sorry about the extra effort you went to to find that! Hope you enjoy the chicken. 🙂
This is an amazing recipe for chicken! Question: I’ve got guests coming that are vegetarian/pescaterians, so I was thinking about trying this marinade with wild shrimp 16/20 count and grilling them on the BBQ. Do you think that would work? If not shrimp, do you think it would work with fish and if so what kind?
PS: Love your website! Bought your book and really like the “tips”, but the constant stream of new recipes keeps me and my family happy.
I do think it’d work well with shrimp, but I’d only marinate for 30 minutes. So glad you like the recipes, Lisette!
Could this be used in a slow cooker to make a pulled pork-type dish? Perhaps with a pork tenderloin?
Hi Michael, I don’t have a lot of wisdom to share because I don’t have experience with a slow cooker, so it’s hard to say for sure but I think this would be a great marinade for pork. You may want to consider pork shoulder though as I think you’ll get a more tender finished product. (I’m not a huge fan of pork tenderloin.) Here are some tips on converting recipes to slow cook versions that you may find helpful. Please LMK how it turns out if you try it!
Amazingly delicious and sooo easy to make! I actually had all the ingredients in the house already, so only had to buy chicken. Will definitely be making this again!
This chicken was so delicious! I used boneless thighs and boneless breasts and they both came out tender and moist. Definitely restaurant quality. Love your recipes, Jenn!
Not my favorite. I like the other similar but spicy one you have here with the balsamic and honey at the end.
I think it might be that 5 spice powder that doesn’t agree with me. It has a very definite taste.
This meal was easy and tasted amazing! I was pleasantly surprised that even my kids loved it and they typically don’t like Chinese food. Thank you for all the quality recipes! You make my life so much easier! I hope you write second cookbook🤞
My kids loved it!!!!!!thank you Jenn! Because of your link to this recipe, I went and ordered this book. Great book with lots of notes and clear directions. I love reading cook books and this one will be in use a lot once my family calls for asian dinner.
Could I use chicken breasts sliced in half so that they’re thinner?
That should work, Veronica. Enjoy!