This is one of those quick-prep recipes you toss into the oven, and then don’t have to worry about for a while. Bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs are very forgiving, and if they cook for 10 or 15 minutes longer than directed, it’s really not a big deal. Also, Asian Chicken Thighs are so good! Everybody I give this recipe to puts them into their regular rotation.
Asian Chicken Thighs are 100% family friendly and they make excellent leftovers. I’ve made them with leg quarters or even just drumsticks, and they’re all good. (Drumsticks in particular are super portable and make dandy additions to a lunchbox or picnic cooler.)
The recipe calls for staples I have in my pantry, and if you like Asian-American food, you need them in your pantry, too. In my grocery store, rice wine vinegar is with the salad vinegars. It comes in both seasoned and unseasoned versions and I always buy seasoned. Soy sauce is on the international aisle of course, but let’s talk for a second about toasted sesame oil.
Toasted sesame oil is a seasoning oil, not a frying oil. It’s often the very thing that makes a dish taste like Chinese takeout. It’s a golden brown color and has a toasty nutty flavor. It comes in a small bottle and is near the soy sauce, oyster sauce, and such, and it’s fairly inexpensive. You use it by the teaspoon or so; a little goes a long way. Don’t confuse toasted sesame oil with sesame oil.
Sesame oil, on the other hand, is on the aisle with the cooking oils. It may come in a smaller bottle than vegetable oil, and it’s relatively expensive. (Those sesame seeds are tiny!) Sesame oil is pale yellow, and looks like most vegetable or seed oils one. Sesame oil is primarily used for medium-heat sautéeing and in vinaigrettes. It’s considered a neutral-tasting oil. For this recipe, you want the toasted one.
Okay, that’s enough education for today. Your homework is to make Asian Chicken Thighs and report back. We like these best with steamed rice (extra points if you have jasmine rice) and Cucumber and Carrot Salad.
How do you accessorize your Asian Chicken Thighs?
Asian Chicken Thighs
Ingredients
- 6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, or 3 leg quarters
- ⅓ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup rice wine vinegar
- 3 T. brown sugar
- 1 T. toasted sesame oil
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
- 1 heaping t. fresh grated ginger, or 1/2 t. powdered
Instructions
- Place chicken in bowl or zipper bag. Mix together the remaining ingredients, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Pour over the chicken and marinate at least 2 hours up to overnight, turning a time or two.
- Preheat oven to 400°. Place the chicken skin side down in a casserole dish large enough to hold them in a single layer. Bake for 30 minutes then turn the chicken skin side up. Continue cooking for 20 minutes or until the chicken is very tender and skin is browning.
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