Sweet and Sticky Chicken Thighs
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Incredibly tasty, this sweet-spicy Asian-style sticky chicken thighs recipe features grilled and glazed chicken with a gingery sauce and chopped peanuts. Serve with seasoned cucumbers, rice and a squeeze of lime for a quick dinner.
This is one of my go-to grilling recipes. It makes delicious sticky chicken that turns out tender and juicy with so muc flavor.
Are you a big fan of grilled sweet and savory chicken yakitori or teriyaki chicken? If so, you’re going to l-o-v-e this easy version, which is made with tasty chicken thighs.
I was inspired by traditional Chinese and Japanese chicken dishes that are so good on a grill.
While it’s not what you’d call authentic, my recipe is still really delicious and it uses ingredients you probably already have in your pantry.
This dish is similar to my sweet and spicy recipe for gochujang chicken, and it’s ready to eat in less than 30 minutes.
Recipe ingredients
- Chili garlic sauce: Not too hot, this fermented chili condiment amps up flavor in the best way. This is my favorite chili garlic sauce brand.
- Ginger: Fresh grated ginger adds a layer of zest and heat.
- Hoisin sauce: A thick, highly seasoned soybean paste from southern China. It’s so good with poultry!
- Brown sugar: Just a touch of sweetness balances out the bold spicy flavors in the sticky sauce..
- Tamari (or soy sauce): Tamari is a gluten-free version of soy sauce. Either one adds s a deep, complex flavor to the chicken.
- Unsalted roasted peanuts: For crunch and flavor. Substitute with cashews if you have allergy concerns.
- Toasted sesame or roasted peanut oil: A little goes a long way — these oils have rich, toasty flavor and aroma that brings everything together.
Tips and variations
Chicken thighs are my top choice to cook for the best flavor and maximum juiciness. They’re so tasty PLUS they cook in about 10 minutes on a medium-hot barbecue grill.
Because they have a higher fat content than chicken breasts, it’s easier to barbecue boneless chicken thighs without drying out the meat.
To get them ready to cook, marinate the chicken thighs in a lightly spiced hoisin sauce mixture for about 15 minutes (or up to one day ahead, refrigerated).
Overview of cooking steps
Blend the sauce in a bowl. 
Pour over the chicken thighs. Marinate at room temperature 15 minutes, or cover and refrigerate up to 24 hours in advance.
- Brush the chicken with the sweet sauce at the very end of cooking to avoid burning on the hot grill.
- A squeeze of fresh lime when you’re ready to serve adds the final touch, and a pleasant spark of acidity.
- Drumsticks or wings will work in this recipe too. Let them marinate shortly before cooking or up to a day in advance of cooking.
- Grill as you usually would, them brush with the glaze during the last 5-10 minutes for perfect caramelization.
What to serve with sticky chicken
- Make sure to serve the extra glaze as a dipping sauce on the side for each person to season to taste.
- I love to pair cucumbers with spicy food — try them as is in the recipe or make this Spicy Coconut Cucumber Salad to elevate the dish even more!
- Serve the chicken with hot white or brown rice, or cook my Perfect Coconut Rice for a well-rounded meal.
Sweet and Sticky Chicken Thighs
Ingredients
Glaze
- ¼ cup (60 ml) tamari or soy sauce
- ¼ cup (113 g) peanut butter, or tahini paste
- 3 tablespoons (45 g) light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons (30 g) chili garlic sauce
- 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
Chicken
- 6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) toasted sesame oil or roasted peanut oil
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) hoisin sauce, or gochujang
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼-½ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper, to taste
- 1 lime, sliced into wedges
- ¼ cup chopped unsalted peanuts
Serving ideas
- 4 Persian or baby cucumbers, diced
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) sesame oil or roasted peanut oil
- 3 green onions (white and green parts), sliced
- 1 teaspoon Korean chili pepper (gochugaru) or crushed red chili
- 4 cups (744 g) cooked rice (optional)
Equipment
Instructions
Make the glaze
- Combine all ingredients for the glaze. Measure out ¼ cup into another small bowl. The glaze can be made ahead and refrigerated up to 3 days.
Prepare the chicken
- Put the chicken in a shallow dish. Whisk together the oil, hoisin, salt and cayenne until smooth. Pour over the chicken and toss to coat evenly. Marinate at room temperature 15 minutes, or cover and refrigerate up to 24 hours in advance.
- Preheat a grill for medium-high direct grilling.
- When the grill is hot, cook the chicken 5 minutes per side, or until cooked through. Brush both sides of the chicken with the ¼ cup glaze, cooking about 30 seconds on each side.
- Arrange the chicken on a platter with the lime wedges and sprinkle with the peanuts.
Serving suggestion:
- Toss the cucumbers with the sesame oil, green onions and chili pepper in a bowl. Squeeze the lime wedges over the chicken and serve over rice with the cucumbers and remaining glaze on the side.
Notes
- *Note: If you’re sensitive to peanuts, use crushed cashews instead or omit the nuts.
- Make sure to serve the extra glaze as a dipping sauce on the side for each person to season to taste.
Nutrition per serving
Nutrition facts are calculated by third-party software. If you have specific dietary needs, please refer to your favorite calculator.
Woweeee!! Absolutely delicious! My only issue is I could not find anywhere in the recipe how to use the peanuts? As a garnish maybe?
Hi Jen – Yes, the peanuts are sprinkled over as a garnish. Thanks for catching that!! Glad you enjoyed 😍
Can this recipe be used for make-ahead (grilled evening before, oven warmed and sauced morning-of) an event? I love the flavour profile, but need to be able to prep as much as possible ahead, and pull it together quickly (and simply) before transport. Please advise! Thanks!
Hi there – Yes, you can prep ahead for sure! I suggest grilling the day before (Step 3) but don’t brush them with the glaze at that point. You can also undercook them slightly. Remove the chicken from the grill and transfer to a baking dish or roasting pan you’ll use for storage and transport. When you’re ready to heat and serve, brush the thighs with the glaze as in Step 4. Put the baking dish in a 350F (175C) oven for about 15 minutes, until the chicken is completely warm.
My son’s FAVORITE recipie!!
Making this for dinner tonight and accidentally used nine in skin on thighs. It’s marinating now. Hope it will turn out ok. I suspect I will need to increase cooking time by a lot. What do you think?
Hi Tonya – Do you mean you have nine thighs? If so, the cooking time should be about the same 🙂
Just made this for dinner tonight. We all loved it! I didn’t have any hoisin so I used oyster sauce and added some sweet chili sauce. It had just the right amount of spice. Really appreciate the cucumber salad too.
Oyster sauce sounds perfect. So happy you enjoyed!
cant wait to try this!