Description
Honey soy chicken thighs is a dish where tender, caramelized chicken gets glazed in a glossy mixture of soy sauce and honey that creates such deep flavor you can’t stop eating. Your kitchen will smell incredible while these cook, and getting dinner on the table becomes wonderfully simple because everything happens in one pan.
Ingredients
Scale
Protein:
- 6 pieces chicken thighs, bone-in and skin-on
Sauce and Seasoning:
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
Garnish:
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
- 2 stalks green onions, sliced
Instructions
- Combine 1/4 cup soy sauce, 3 tablespoons honey, 2 tablespoons rice vinegar, 3 minced garlic cloves, and 1 teaspoon grated ginger in a bowl, whisking everything together until the honey dissolves.
- Pour 1 tablespoon vegetable oil into your large skillet and heat it over medium-high heat for about 2 minutes until it shimmers.
- Place your 6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs skin side down in the hot skillet and let them brown for 5 to 7 minutes without moving them around.
- Flip each of your chicken thighs over carefully and pour the entire marinade mixture over them.
- Lower your heat to medium, cover the skillet, and simmer for 20 minutes until your chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit at the thickest part of the thigh.
- Uncover your skillet and cook the chicken for 5 additional minutes at medium heat so your sauce reduces and thickens around the meat.
- Sprinkle 1 teaspoon sesame seeds and 2 sliced green onion stalks across the top of your chicken thighs before transferring them to serving plates.
- Season your finished dish with black pepper to taste and drizzle any remaining sauce from the pan over each thigh.
Notes
- Bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs work best because the skin gets crispy while the meat stays juicy, unlike breast meat which dries out easily.
- Don’t move the chicken around while it’s browning skin side down – let it sit undisturbed for the full 5-7 minutes so the skin develops a golden, crispy exterior.
- If your sauce seems too thin after cooking, remove the lid earlier and let it simmer uncovered for the last few minutes to reduce faster.
- For a lower-sodium version, use reduced-sodium soy sauce and taste before adjusting the salt, since the honey and vinegar provide plenty of flavor on their own.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 30-32 minutes
- Category: Sautéed Chicken
- Method: Sautéing
- Cuisine: Asian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 6
- Calories: 350 kcal
- Sugar: 10 g
- Sodium: 700 mg
- Fat: 20 g
- Saturated Fat: 5 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 13 g
- Trans Fat: 0.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 12 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 30 g
- Cholesterol: 110 mg