It’s simple to prepare but very tasty to eat this char siu chicken meal! You should plan ahead to prepare this because it needs time to marinate, but the wait is worthwhile. There are seldom any leftovers when I serve this with a slaw that takes inspiration from Hawaii. This dish is always successful, whether I roast it or grill it.
| Prep Time: | 15 mins |
| Cook Time: | 1 hr |
| Additional Time: | 1 day |
| Total Time: | 1 day 1 hr 15 mins |
| Servings: | 12 |
Ingredients
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon sriracha sauce
- 1 tablespoon sherry
- 1 tablespoon red food coloring (Optional)
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- ½ teaspoon five-spice powder
- ⅛ teaspoon liquid smoke flavoring (Optional)
- 12 skinless, boneless chicken thighs
Instructions
- Whisk together brown sugar, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, honey, Sriracha sauce, sherry, food coloring, garlic, sesame oil, five-spice powder, and liquid smoke in a bowl; pour into a resealable plastic bag. Add chicken thighs, squeeze out excess air from the bag, and seal. Toss the bag gently to coat chicken with marinade. Chill in the refrigerator to marinate for 24 to 48 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a roasting pan with aluminum foil and place a roasting rack in the bottom of the pan.
- Remove chicken from marinade and place on the rack in the prepared roasting pan.
- Pour marinade into a saucepan; bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Bake chicken in the preheated oven, turning once and basting occasionally with marinade, until the juices run clear, about 1 hour. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of thighs should read at least 165 degrees F (74 degrees C).
- This is also excellent on the grill.
- You can substitute Madeira or Marsala wine for the sherry.
- I have substituted cut-up chicken breast, but I find the thighs are much more flavorful and juicy.
- If you notice the chicken isn’t darkening enough to add a little char to the edges, you can set it under the broiler during the last 5 minutes of cooking.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 286 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 23 g |
| Cholesterol | 72 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 0 g |
| Protein | 20 g |
| Saturated Fat | 3 g |
| Sodium | 474 mg |
| Sugars | 22 g |
| Fat | 13 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
I made this and had to substitute a few things, but basically it was delicious! I checked out at about 45″, and it was done. An hour would have been way too long. I boiled the drained marinade for about 10″ and created a lovely, thickened basting sauce and topped the finished thighs with it as well.
Nice innovative recipe though. Keep up the creativity!
It was delicious!! Definitely will make again.
Turned out extremely well even despite not having every single ingredient. I didn’t have liquid smoke or the Chinese 5 spice powder, so I just put paprika in place of the liquid smoke, and did the best I could about the spices. I did some fennel, cinnamon and just regular black peppercorn. Even without having the exact ingredients the other flavors really carried through with the 24 hour marinade. Will make again, next time with the spices and liquid smoke and I’m sure it’ll turn out even better since it’ll have a bit more heat. I also didn’t bake them, I threw them on my charcoal grill and got a nice char on them making them extra tasty.
I made this for a pork loin marinade and it’s excellent. I left out the optional liquid smoke and think that was a good plan. I also shorted the optional food colouring, but still got a nice red hue to the meat. When I try again I’ll go for the full 48 hours of marinating, as I think more is better in this case. I think this would be good for any kind of poultry or pork.
12 11 17 … http://allrecipes.com/recipe/237161/char-siu-chicken/ … S liked; others said nothing. I didn’t have Chinese Five Spice so subbed with 1/4t cinnamon, pinch cloves & 1/16t each: anise extract, ground fennel seeds, black pepper. I did add the sherry & liquid smoke, but not the food coloring. The marinade smells more anisey/fennely than it tastes. Without fennel seeds, anise extract is a good sub. I think a pineapple slice on top while baking would be good & somewhat help keep it from drying out . This, surprisingly, isn’t all that sweet; mild. A little heat in the marinade would improve. Sesame oil is a good friend to me, too. 🙂 … Three days later, three pieces in the refrig still. 🙁
Wow. Perfect as is for a traditional char siu, amazing flavours. I adapted it a little to our tastes but nothing drastic; Didn’t use liquid smoke. Used thighs & drumsticks. Added 1t of cayenne, 1T of white sugar & a bit of cornflour to the sauce before basting & it was wonderful. My partner & his friend were raving about it, said it’s the best Chinese chicken they’ve ever had 🙂 I dipped my fries in the leftover sauce at the end too, yummy. Thank you for a perfect recipe – will be making this again & again 🙂
Yum!! Will add a bit more sriracha next time – we like a bit more kick.
This sis a definite crowd pleaser. I have also used this to make manapua and it is great!
Delicious! I have made this with chicken thighs, chicken breast and even with pork loin and it has been successful each time! This is great as a dinner, or cut into chunks and put on skewers for a party food. It can be made as sweet and spicy as you are in teh mood for by adjusting the seasonings and spices to your preference. I will be making this again for sure, my friends just love it adn so do I.