Char Siu Siew Chicken - Easy Dinner

Recipe: Char Siu Chicken Recipe »

Make this easy Char Siu Chicken with juicy skinless chicken thighs and a simple homemade marinade. Cook it in the oven or air fryer for a quick, flavour packed weeknight dinner that tastes just like your favourite char siu pork. Great for meal planning too!

About This Char Siu Chicken

This char siu chicken is a delicious and simple alternative to pork char siu but made with chicken thighs. It can be cooked in the air fryer or the oven and I promise that this will be one of the easiest and tastiest Chinese recipes you will EVER make!

Char siu or char siew is a Cantonese roasted pork that is so delicious and made with a spiced, sweet and salty sauce. You can buy bottled char siu sauce but did you know that you probably have most of the ingredients to make your own char siu sauce at home?

Usually char siu is made with pork but I know a lot of y'all love chicken, especially skinless chicken thighs. When Mr NQN tried this, he absolutely smashed two whole chicken thighs and could have eaten more! I saw this recipe on baby sumo on Instagram and had to try it and it tasted even better than I could have imagined.

Video How To Make Char Siew Chicken

Video: Char Siu Siew Chicken recipe

Ingredients For Char Siu Chicken

Chicken thigh fillets - I love me some chicken skin and bone-in chicken but this is really so much better with skinless chicken thigh fillets! The reason is that the chicken tenderises better in the marinade if there's no skin and bone to get through and the flavour really permeates right into the chicken meat. Trust me, we tried both and the skinless fillets were hands down a winner.

Honey - Use regular runny honey. Nothing fancy needed. YOu can also sub with maple syrup, agave, rice bran syrup or golden syrup.

Brown sugar - Light or dark brown sugar works here - dark has a more molassesy flavour if that's your thing.

Soy sauce - Light soy sauce. You can also use tamari to make this dish gluten free. Store in the fridge.

Shaoxing wine - This is a Chinese cooking wine available at Asian grocery stores and supermarkets. It is used a lot in Chinese cooking. Store with oils and vinegars or in the fridge after opening if you prefer.

Dark soy sauce - I use a little dark soy sauce to add colour. Use this if you aren't using red food colouring to make the chicken look nice and browned. Store in the fridge.

Five spice powder - A warm blend of spices including cinnamon, clove, star anise, fennel seed and pepper. This can be found in the herbs and spices aisle of the supermarket.

Garlic powder - Fine garlic powder. I like using this to ensure even dispersement of garlic flavour. You can also use 2 very finely chopped or crushed garlic cloves. Tip: store it in the freezer to prevent it clumping.

Tips For Making Char Siew Chicken

1 - Marinating is key in this recipe. I know overnight marinating can be a pain especially if you want to eat it that day but I would say marinate the chicken for at least 6 hours ie if you start marinating this in the morning and then cook it for dinner.

2 - Adding red food colouring is optional and gives it that real bright red char siu look like you get at Chinese restaurants (in which case omit the dark soy sauce). But it isn't necessary. I used a little in my chicken but not a lot and I also used the dark soy sauce.

3 - I love to marinate food in a ziplock bag but there's enough marinating sauce for you to marinate it in a container and cover the thighs. Make sure that the chicken is always submerged in the marinade (use a smaller container).

4 - I love this char siu chicken cooked in the air fryer but my air fryer doesn't have a large capacity so that's why I also tried it in the oven. Both work well. 

5 - Don't add too much marinade to the baking tray as it can burn and char. Just a little on the top is fine.

6 - I save the marinade and reduce it in a saucepan to cook off the raw chicken. Then brush the sauce over the chicken once cooked to give it a nice glaze. Do not reuse the marinade or eat it without cooking it for food safety reasons.

7 - Resting the chicken allows for easier cutting. The chicken can fall apart if you slice the fillets while hot.

Serve this with steamed rice and broccoli, Chinese broccoli or Chinese vegetables for a really easy, tasty dinner.

Other easy Chinese dinner recipes to try next are: beef & black bean sauce, Soya Sauce Chicken Swiss Wings Recipe, 5 Minute Enoki Omelette or Chinese Roast Chicken

Char Siu Chicken Recipe

An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott, adapted from Baby Sumo

Recipe Overview

Preparation time: 5 minutes plus 6 hours to overnight marinating time

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Makes: 6 chicken thighs (1.5 thighs per person)

Ingredients Needed

• 1kg/2.2lbs chicken thigh fillets, skinless (around 6)
• 2 tablespoons/40g/1.4ozs honey
• 2 tablespoons/30ml/2flozs brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons/30ml/2flozs soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons/30ml/2flozs Shaoxing wine
• 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce (optional see note above)
• 3/4 teaspoon five spice powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• Red food colouring (optional see note above)
• Oil for drizzling

Step-By-Step Instructions

Step 1 MIX - Mix the honey, brown sugar, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, dark soy sauce, five spice powder and garlic powder in a small bowl stirring until honey is dispersed.

Step 2 MARINATE - Place chicken thighs in a ziplock bag and pour marinade over the chicken. Massage so that the marinade gets in all of the crevices of chicken. Refrigerate overnight. Turn over halfway if you remember. Remove chicken from fridge 30 minutes before you want to start cooking.

Step 3A OVEN - Preheat oven to 180C/350F fan forced or 200C/400F conventional and place chicken fillets smooth side up on a parchment lined tray. Drizzle with a little oil. Roast for 15 minutes then turn over and roast smooth side down for 10 minutes. Then turn right way up, add a tablespoon more marinade per fillet and roast for 5 minutes. 

Step 3B AIRFRYER - If using airfryer, cook in air fryer for 20 minutes (after 5 minutes preheating). Turn over halfway.

Step 5 GLAZE - While the chicken is cooking, pour marinade in a small saucepan and simmer for 3-5 minutes on medium heat until slightly thickened and the consistency of maple syrup.

Step 6 SLICE - Rest chicken for 10 minutes and then slice up. Serve with steamed white rice and greens.

Personal Note

Something very cute happened to Mr NQN recently. Around Christmas time I told him that I wanted to get a walking pad because the weather was too unpredictable to go walking (I'm obsessed with my steps). Mr NQN suggested that we get one from facebook marketplace as I think he was afraid I'd use it half a dozen times and then forget about it. He also wanted to use one so Mr NQN went and found one and went to pick it up.

He ended up buying it from a friendly Chinese guy who lived nearby. It was a hot day when he went to pick it up. As he was walking to the door Mr NQN saw the mum looking out the front curtain. Then moments later the guy came out with a can of cold ginger beer for him - he was very young and very shy but he got the feeling that his mum told him that he had to offer their visitor a cold drink as it was such a hot day. It reminded me of my family who always greeted visitors with a cold or hot drink. It was also like when he went kayaking in Vietnam along the Mekong River and the guys in a house boat invited him for a beer!

So tell me Dear Reader, have you ever tried making char siu at home? And do you use an air fryer?