Char Siu Chicken
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Andrea Nguyen’s savory-sweet char siu chicken is easy to make and hard to resist.
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 writes, “Savory-sweet and garlicky Chinese barbecued pork, called char siu in Cantonese and xá xíu in Vietnamese, is hard to resist. Since the classic porky version requires a good hour (better yet, overnight) to marinate, my weeknight approach is to make it with chicken thighs and grill it for a wonderful old-school flavor…Enjoy char siu chicken for dinner with rice and a vegetable or salad. Use leftovers (or make a double batch) for banh mi, a noodle soup, or fried rice.” My only tweak to the recipe was to increase the quantities and double the sauce because it’s that good.
What You’ll Need To Make Char Siu Chicken
The nice thing about this recipe is that very little prep is required; most of the ingredients come out of bottles and jars. The most time-consuming part of the recipe is trimming the chicken thighs (I find it easiest to use sharp kitchen shears). If you don’t want to use dark meat, go ahead and use chicken tenderloins. Just keep in mind that they’ll cook in half the time and you’ll need slightly less since they don’t need to be trimmed.
Step-by-Step Instructions For Char Siu Chicken
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.
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Char Siu Chicken
Andrea Nguyen’s savory-sweet char siu chicken is easy to make and hard to resist.
Ingredients
- 2.5 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs (see note if you prefer white meat)
- 2 large garlic cloves, 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 toasted 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.
- Note: If you'd prefer to use white meat, use 2 pounds of chicken tenderloins. (The reason you'll need slightly less is because they don't need to be trimmed.) Keep in mind that they'll cook in about half the time.
Pair with
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (6 servings)
- Calories: 334
- Fat: 11 g
- Saturated fat: 3 g
- Carbohydrates: 19 g
- Sugar: 16 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 38 g
- Sodium: 844 mg
- Cholesterol: 178 mg
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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Wonderful sweet and delicious, hardly anytime to make.
We made this tonight and it was delicious! Perfect balance of flavors and easy to prep in advance. On a side note, my husband was making a special drink for us to have as we trimmed our tree last night. It was amazing and then he told me it was your “Hot Buttered Cider with Rum” ! All this time he was listening about where I’m getting my recipes for so many meals we’ve enjoyed 😊 Highly recommend that as well!
❤️
Easy and absolutely delicious!
Hi Jenn,
This recipe was fantastic. I am always impressed how well written and clear your instructions are. In the future I would like to make it for a party and cook it ahead of time. Can the chicken be cooked and frozen? And if so, how is it reheated? Thanks.
Glad you liked it, Jasmine! I haven’t frozen this before. I think it’s probably best when eaten right after being cooked but that you could get away with freezing it. I’d reheat it in the oven, covered with foil, just until heated through.
Tons of delicious flavor & easy! This mom thanks you!
Another winner! I was a bit nervous about making this as I thought it might be a little on the sweet side but the balance of savory and sweet was just perfect!! Thighs are the way to go too!
Thanks Jen!
I used chicken tenderloins. Since they’re small pieces, I marinated them for just four hours, and they cooked in about 8 minutes, making this an easy recipe for someone working out of home during this shelter-in-place situation we’re going through. Everyone I’ve told about it has asked for the recipe. I’d like to try the marinade on boneless pork too…bet it would be delicious!
This marinade recipe was bursting with beautiful Asian flavor and it was delicious!
I served both the jasmine rice and ketchup fried rice(would love to view your version of this!) alongside it with salad.
I used a non-stick All-Clad double burner ridged grill pan…The question I have is if that is ok to use or should I switch to the Cast Iron grill pan for better results?—the glaze/sauce turned black and formed black crusts in the pan that stuck to the chicken which I had to remove where possible. How can I avoid this?
Hi JooJoo, glad you liked it! Next time you make this, I’d try turning the heat down a bit. If you have an outdoor grill, you could also try that.
So if grilling outdoor is not an option, the Cast Iron grill pan vs. not should not differentiate between this glaze turning black in pan and crusting?
I thought maybe the Cast Iron conducts heat faster and cooks more thoroughly and maybe won’t have a chance to burn the sugars in the glaze/marinade.
Hi JooJoo, If grilling isn’t an option, I definitely think it would be worth giving the cast iron pan a try!
This dish was unbelievably good, according to my family. Great recipe!
Everyone should make this! 🙂
WINNER WINNER ON YOUR CHICKEN DINNER! Another success! Thank you so much. Flavorful, gorgeous presentation, straightforward/easy to make. Allowed it to marinate about 8 hours.
My alteration to your recipe on 2 things: I used whole chicken pieces on the bone (thigh & drumstick) and we ended up baking it. SUPER delicious!!!! Baked 375 and it was juicy, flavorful.