Asian Chicken Thigh Skillet is a delicious, EASY dish to make. Chicken thighs are pan-seared, then covered and cooked in a simple Asian garlic sauce!
If you’re looking for a simple, yet DELICIOUS way to cook chicken thighs, may I suggest this dish? It truly is a simple dish to make, and is packed with flavor!
Skinless chicken thighs (bone-in or no-bone) are pan seared, then are cooked for a short time in a 4-ingredient Asian sauce, along with minced garlic and red pepper flakes. The result is perfectly cooked chicken thighs, covered in an amazing tasting sauce, and then served on a bed of rice!
The Asian Chicken Thigh Skillet only takes about half an hour to make, and requires very few ingredients. **NOTE: The recipe calls for using SIX chicken thighs, but as you will see, I only made four thighs, so my photos will reflect that!
Scroll Down For A Printable Recipe Card At The Bottom Of The Page
Make The Asian Sauce
The first thing you will need to do is make a quick, Asian-inspired sauce. Easy! Simply mix together soy sauce, vinegar, honey and ground ginger in a small bowl. Once fully combined, set the bowl of Asian sauce aside.
Brown The Chicken Thighs
The next step is to brown the chicken thighs! To do this, first heat the oil on medium-high heat in a large skillet. I used a cast iron skillet, but it really doesn’t matter. Once the oil is very hot, but NOT smoking, carefully add the skinless chicken thighs to the hot oil.
Let the chicken cook (without disturbing) for 5 minutes, and then carefully turn each piece to the other side. The chicken thighs should be lightly browned before turning them over. Continue to cook for 5 more minutes on the second side.
Add Seasonings And Sauce To The Asian Chicken Thigh Skillet
At this point, you need to add the minced garlic and red pepper flakes to the skillet, and stir, to combine. Continue to cook for about 2 minutes, stirring often, to keep the garlic from burning.
Pour the Asian sauce you previously set aside into the skillet. Stir well, to combine. Cover the skillet, turn the heat down to medium and let the chicken cook, undisturbed, for 15 minutes.
Time To Finish The Asian Chicken Thigh Skillet!
After the 15 minutes of covered cooking time, carefully remove the cover on the skillet. Let the chicken and sauce cook uncovered for about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. While cooking, spoon the sauce on top of each piece of chicken several times.
The sauce will slightly thicken as it cooks, and the chicken will become beautifully browned, thanks to the flavor-filled sauce. When done, the chicken should have an internal temperature of 165°F, and then it is ready to serve!
Time To Enjoy This Asian Chicken Thigh Skillet!
Once the chicken is cooked through to the proper temperature, and the sauce has slightly thickened, it is time to eat!
We enjoy this chicken best when served on top of some steamed rice! Spoon some of the sauce over each piece of chicken when serving, for an added flavor boost! Can you see all that minced garlic on top of the chicken? That’s some GOOD flavor there, friends!
I really hope you will consider trying this simple recipe for Asian Chicken Thigh Skillet! We truly enjoy this meal, and trust you will, too! Have a wonderful day, and thank you for visiting!
Looking For Other CHICKEN Recipes?
You can find all of my recipes in the Recipe Index, located at the top of the page. I have many chicken recipes, including:
- P.F. Chang’s Ginger Chicken with Broccoli
- Chicken Thigh Osso Bucco
- Crunchy Buttermilk Fried Chicken
- Chicken Piccata
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Original recipe source: unknown (recipe found written on a 3×5 card from many, many years ago)
Asian Chicken Thigh Skillet is a delicious, EASY dish to make. Chicken thighs are pan-seared, then covered and cooked in a simple Asian garlic sauce!
- 6 medium chicken thighs , skin removed
- ¼ cup vinegar
- 3 Tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 Tablespoon honey
- 2 Tablespoons peanut oil (or veg. oil)
- 10 cloves garlic , coarsely chopped
- 1 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
- cooked rice (optional-for serving)
In a small bowl, mix together soy sauce, vinegar, honey and ground ginger. Set aside.
Heat oil on medium-high heat in a large skillet. Once oil is very hot, but NOT smoking, carefully add skinless chicken thighs. Let cook (without disturbing) for 5 minutes, and then carefully turn them to the other side. The chicken thighs should be lightly browned before turning them over. Continue to cook 5 more minutes on second side.
Add minced garlic and red pepper flakes to skillet, and stir, to combine. Cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring often, to keep garlic from burning. Pour reserved sauce into skillet. Stir well, to combine. Cover skillet, turn heat down to medium and let chicken cook, undisturbed, for 15 minutes.
After 15 minutes, carefully remove cover from skillet. Let chicken and sauce cook uncovered for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. While cooking, spoon sauce over top of chicken thighs several times. Sauce will slightly thicken as it cooks, and will become beautifully browned, thanks to the flavor-filled sauce. When done, chicken should have an internal temperature of 165°F, and then it is ready to serve! Serve over steamed rice, spoon some sauce over the top of the chicken, and enjoy!
Here’s one more to pin on your Pinterest boards!
Love the recipe concept. But used a cast iron skillet and followed the recipe exactly, and ended up with badly burned sauce and did not get the desired result, Will try again with more sauce and lower temperatures after browning. And possibly not use cast iron. Love the idea and will try it again with modifications.