EASY Hoisin Chicken Thighs (25 min)

This easy Hoisin Chicken Thighs recipe is a quick Chinese chicken recipe that is full of flavor but so simple, a beginner cook can make this easy dinner recipe perfectly! No overnight marination required and as good as any Chinese restaurant in America! (It worked perfectly on the first test try, but I experimented with different ingredients to make sure all the bases are covered.) On the dinner table in under 30 minutes.

You will only need a few simple ingredients, such as:

• boneless, skinless chicken thighs: The cooking time will change depending on the size of your chicken thigh fillets: when I tested with larger chicken pieces, the cooking time increased to 20 minutes (but this would make smaller pieces of chicken taste tough so always adjust accordingly)
• fresh ginger: peel and mince 1 inch of ginger (it should give you about 1 Tablespoon of minced ginger but don't get too hung up about the exact quantity- approximately is good enough!)
• fresh garlic: peel and mince 4 cloves, which should give you about 2 Tablespoons of minced garlic. Ginger, garlic, and green onions are part of the "Holy Trinity" of cookign Chinese food so please don't use garlic powder.
• Hoisin sauce: the first time I tested with 10 Tablespoons of Hoisin sauce, which looked and tasted good but felt like overkill. I reduced the Hoisin Sauce to 5 Tablespoons and the sticky chicken thighs were still delicious. This sauce has a sweet but complex flavor and is one of the main ingredients, so don't substitute it! I use the Lee Kum Kee brand as it's readily available at Asian supermarkets. If you have leftover, you can use it in Vietnamese spring roll dipping sauce.
• 1 Tablespoon of light soy sauce
• sugar: Start with ½ Tablespoon of sugar, taste (at the end, after the chicken has cooked!), and add another ½ Tablespoon if you feel it needs it. Both white and brown sugar work. You will need a touch of rice vinegar to balance the flavor if you use more sugar.
• ½ Tablespoon of oyster sauce
• 3 Tablespoons of sambal oelek or Sriracha: I have tested with both chili pastes, and they both work well in this recipe. You'll find them in the Asian Aisle of the supermarket. (To be healthier, use homemade sambal oelek- click through for the recipe. I have not tested the recipe with red pepper flakes) Omit if you can't take any spice at all.
• ½ Tablespoon of sesame oil: if you don't have any, just omit it or use lightly toasted sesame seeds as a topping. (I've tested with and without- the sesame oil makes it more fragrant but isn't a dealbreaker.)
• garnish with coriander or spring onions/ green onions and sliced chilies

Thanks to The Meat Club for sending me the chicken thighs used in this recipe! The chicken is 100% cage-free chicken from Australia, reared with NO growth hormones. (You'll get $15 off your order if you use my code TMC-AFF-GREEDY.)

🔪 Step-by-Step Instructions

Tip #2: Always serve this chicken stir fry recipe with some carbs- a bowl of white rice tastes amazing with the sticky Hoisin sauce!

Tip #3: If you dice the chicken into ½ inch pieces, you can serve them as chicken lettuce wraps. (Increase the Hoisin Sauce to 6-7 Tablespoons and decrease the cooking time accordingly.)

🥗 Suggested Accompanying Chinese Recipes

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