Indonesian Honey Garlic Chicken
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Simple Indonesian style honey garlic chicken make in one skillet! The chicken is crispy, the sauce is sticky, sweet, and a little spicy. So good and so easy to make!
STARTING THE WEEK OFF WITH A ???.
I know. It happened. It finally happened. It’s the strangest thing, I made honey garlic chicken thighs and to no one’s surprise but my own, I enjoyed them. It’s a little hard to say no to pan-crisped chicken that’s tender and juicy on the inside. But also the most addicting crunchy skin on the outside. Making it 3x as hard to not like → coating the thighs in an indonesian-style sauce that’s made with simple ingredients. Maybe I don’t hate bone-in chicken thighs after all. (read: maybe it’s just my love for all things drizzled in honey garlic ginger glaze that makes chicken thighs tolerable?)
Speaking of Stranger Things! Are you guys watching? Can we discuss friends. Specifically what went down in the last episode! I mean.. WHAT?! Did you binge watch the first season? Are you addicted too? I won’t spoil anything for those of you that are savoring the show slowly and rationing out the episodes until season 2. But if you aren’t watching, please, get on it! We just finished it and I don’t know if I can wait till next year to see what happens!
P.S. i’m dorkishly obsessed with Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin) and all his cuteness. ?
P.P.S Does anyone else think that Joyce, Jonathan, and Will have the same haircut? Seriously cannot get over that. ?
And yes, these honey garlic chicken thighs are just as addicting as that show. And the best part — there are no special skills required! It’s as easy as browning the chicken in a skillet be it on the stove OR in the oven! I’m giving you directions for both because though it might be cool enough to start up that oven up north, down in the south here we just had a high of 90! Next, we use the pan drippings to make a sweet and tangy sauce that would be perfect to serve over white or brown rice with steamed broccoli as a side.
What really gets me is that glaze-like sauce just cascading down the sides of a crispy chicken thigh that’s hot outta the oven. The sauce would work perfect for chicken wings or even chicken drumettes — insert one happy husband on football Sundays.
The combination of garlic, honey, and ginger is going to make your mouth water. It’s the holy trinity of this recipe. Once the chicken is all cooked up, we’ll make the sauce in that same pan. All those golden delicious bits stuck to the bottom of the skillet will flavor our indonesian style sauce.
All you need is:
✅ garlic
✅ grated ginger
✅ soy sauce
✅ honey
✅ rice vinegar
✅ red pepper flakes
✅ chicken broth
What makes these honey garlic chicken thighs so crispy and delicious? The longer cooking time. Cooking the chicken thighs on the stove allows the skin to sear and renders the fat leaving you with crisper skin and that makes us extra happy. We allow the chicken thighs to cook on the skin side down for 5-7 minutes. Also a bonus, you can discard most of the excess rendered fat.
And I have a feeling that this indonesian sticky sauce would be perfect on sautéed shrimp too. YAS. Honestly I wanted to stand over the stove and sip spoonfuls of it because it was that Good. The perfect combination of sweet, tangy, spicy, and salty.
Golden delicious chicken thighs cumin’ attcha in
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Indonesian Honey Garlic Chicken
Simple Indonesian style honey garlic chicken make in one skillet! The chicken is crispy, the sauce is sticky, sweet, and a little spicy. So good and so easy to make!
Ingredients
- 6 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs
- ½ cup honey
- ¼ cup chicken broth
- 6 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
- 2 tablespoons grated ginger
- 2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- parsley, for sprinkling
Instructions
- Pat down the chicken thighs with a paper towel and sprinkle the chicken breasts with a pinch of salt on both sides.
- STOVE TOP: Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Add the chicken thighs to the skillet facing the skin side down and allow it to sear for 5-7 minutes or until the skin gets nice and crispy. Flip the chicken and continue cooking for 20-28 minutes (flipping every few minutes) or until the chicken cooks completely through.
- OVEN: Preheat an oven to 450ºF. Position a rack in the center of the oven. Place the chicken thighs with the skin side down in a cast iron skillet (or any oven safe skillet) and roast or 15 minutes. Remove the skillet carefully and flip the chicken over and continue roasting for an additional 10-15 minutes. You'll know the chicken is done when the juice run clear.
- Make the sauce: in a bowl combine all the remaining ingredients (except parsley). Remove the chicken thighs to a plate. Drip off most of the rendered fat from the chicken, leaving about 1 tablespoon in the pan. Heat the skillet over medium high heat, and pour in prepared sauce. Use a whisk to loosen any brown bit that may have stuck to the bottom -- that stuff is gold! And let the sauce come to boil then, lower the heat and allow to simmer for 5 minutes. I like to leave the sauce a little loose as is will thicken a bit more as it sits, and we love to drizzle the sauce on rice. For a thicker sauce, you can continue simmering for an additional 2-5 minutes.
- Add the chicken back into the pan and spoon the sauce over the thighs. Sprinkle with parsley before serving.
Notes
- The first time I made these on the stove top it was without a splatter screen and I lost my mind cleaning up chicken splatter from my floors, stove, EVERYWHERE. So consider purchasing a splatter guard or screen to stop from being in that situation. Or you can simply prepare them in the oven!
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11 Comments on “Indonesian Honey Garlic Chicken”
It really was tasty. I didn’t struggle to make it. Thank you for sharing your recipe.
Oh my gosh, I love this recipe! I was online looking for a recipe that was different and craving flavor. I found this recipe, made it………we love it in our family! This recipe is packed with flavor and just the right amount of spice! So glad that I gave this a try!!!
This receipt was AMAZING! I always struggle with cooking meat and my side dishes end up the main course. I cooked this for my son and I for New Years Eve and he loved it. He said it was the best meal I’ve made EVER! LOL. Thanks for sharing such an amazing dish, and I pray you have a Happy 2018.
So happy to hear you and your son enjoyed it, Tamika! Hope you have a fabulous 2018 as well 🙂
What sides would you recommend making with this recipe?
I’d suggest garlic sautéed green beans or roasted broccoli and rice/quinoa works well with that sticky sauce!
Sadly, I only give this recipe 5 stars, which just isn’t enough stars. This is a quick, utterly delicious dinner, excellent over rice, with a side of veg or a salad if you want to skip the starch. Tons of flavor, and everyone I’ve made it for LOVES it. Over the summer, I’ll be grilling the chicken instead…this recipe is a total keepeer.
I’m glad to hear it has been such a hit with your bunch! Thanks for the comment, Susan!
I can’t ever resist a sticky, crispy, juicy piece of chicken. Gorgeous!
Thanks Nicole! 🙂
This looks utterly delicious. Thanks for the inspiration!