Honey Garlic Asian Chicken Kabobs
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This honey garlic marinade is to die for! Marinate overnight and throw on the grill when ready to serve. So easy + fast!
This is one of the best things about summer.
No, wait. The two best things about summer. 1. Super sticky, saucy Asian chicken kabobs. And 2. Ice cold beer.
That’s basically what we’ve been doing in this summer heat, which beats those parka-glove-beanie-Chiberia days by a mile.
No, we don’t miss those days at all.
Instead, I’m on marinade duty all summer – letting the chicken soak up all that saucy goodness – oyster sauce, ketchup, honey, chili garlic sauce, Dijon, garlic and ginger. For added heat, feel free to add additional chili garlic sauce or Sriracha.
Once it’s been swimming in all this glory, Ben fires up the grill to let these get beautifully smoky and charred.
Serve with ice cold beer for a complete meal.
CAN I USE CHICKEN BREASTS?
Yes, chicken breasts can absolutely be used here but chicken thighs have more dark meat and a higher fat content which will yield juicier, more flavorful chicken when thrown on the grill.
WHAT IF I DON’T HAVE A GRILL?
No grill, no problem. A cast iron grill pan or a large cast iron skillet will work beautifully here, especially during those winter month when it’s too cold to grill out!
Honey Garlic Asian Chicken Kabobs
Ingredients
- ¼ cup oyster sauce
- 2 tablespoons ketchup
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons chili garlic sauce
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch chunks
- 1 ½ tablespoons canola oil
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
- ½ teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine oyster sauce, ketchup, honey, chili garlic sauce, Dijon, garlic, ginger and 1 tablespoon water. Reserve 1/3 cup and set aside.
- In a gallon size Ziploc bag or large bowl, combine oyster sauce mixture and chicken; marinate for at least 2 hours to overnight, up to 8 hours, turning the bag occasionally. Drain the chicken from the marinade.
- Thread chicken onto skewers. Brush with canola oil; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Preheat grill to medium heat.
- Add skewers to grill, and cook, turning occasionally, until the chicken is completely cooked through, reaching an internal temperature of 165 degrees F, about 10 minutes. Brush skewers with reserved oyster sauce mixture, cooking for an additional 1-2 minutes.
- Serve immediately, garnished with green onions and sesame seeds, if desired.
Did you make this recipe?
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Can I sub the oyster sauce for something? Deathly allergic.
You can use soy sauce, Worcestershire to sub for oyster sauce.
Best marinade ever! Made chicken street tacos with it. Scrumptious.
*******to die for so damn delicious!!
We are doing a Gilligan’s Island themed fund raiser for 80+ people. Can these be grilled and then kept in a foil pan until serving or will they dry out as they sit out?
Has anyone used this marinade for skirt steak?
Made these the other night with 2 small adjustments. 1) I didn’t feel like cubing and skewering the chicken, so we left the thighs whole and grilled them like that. Worked out perfectly! 2) My boyfriend was leery of the amount of oyster sauce, so we used 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce and 3 tablespoons of hoisin sauce instead of all oyster sauce. The marinade was so delicious! Very flavorful and it charred or caramelized a little on the grill and was a little crispy. So good. I made a cauliflower fried rice to serve these with and we loved it!
Can you leave the chicken marinated for 12-24 hours? I want to marinate it the day before if possible due to my work schedule
I marinated for close to 24 hours and they were fine.
Looks delicious, will have to try this in another way, perhaps in the slow cooker???? Yummy!
What would you do for side dishes? I have this marinating for dinner tomorrow… any help would be appreciated
super easy and so good. will be a keeper.
What chili garlic sauce did you use? I can’t seem to find one at the store.
I believe mine is Thai Kitchen. I know Trader Joe’s makes one. It’s just called sweet chili sauce (in the US) but if you read the ingredients, it has garlic in it. That’s what I use.
About to make this recipe again for another friend get together! These didn’t last long everyone was asking for the recipe. 1000000% a keeper
Seriously one of the best recipes ever. I can’t do ANY heat on my meals, so instead of the chili sauce, I just added a tish more ketchup and garlic. The hubs had 3 kabobs and seriously contemplated a 4th. About 20 minutes after dinner, he sits up and goes “man, that was good chicken”. He repeated that statement about an hour later. Great flavor profile. Easy to make. New favorite.
I made this last night and my picky children actually ate it without complaining and happily said they would eat it again!
I found this recipe a few months ago and it gets requested about once a week now! I usually double the sauce so my kids can pour some on the rice I serve with it. We eat a lot of chicken and this is one of the only recipes that my family doesn’t get sick of.
I haven’t made it on the grill yet but it is super easy on the stove! I’ve made it with both thighs and breasts and honestly love it either way. Thanks for sharing this yummy recipe 🙂
Can I make this on an indoor grill pan
Did you make any modifications for using chicken breast?
This was ok. I followed the recipe exactly except used chicken breasts. I also marinated for 3 hours. For me, I think it might have been too much chili sauce (that style of chili sauce isn’t my favorite). It just felt like it was just missing something…maybe an acid or heat?
For those who can’t have shellfish/seafood there is a vegetarian oyster sauce made with mushrooms. You’d probably have to look in an Asian grocery but it’s surprising good stuff and I hate mushrooms. Or another good substitution is hoisin sauce. It’s slightly sweet where oyster sauce is not so you might have to adjust the honey but it’s easy to find or you can mix in a little soy or Worcestershire sauce into the hoisin to balance the sweetness.
Absolutely delicious, even my picky eater said “I could have eaten all of them” x
Delicious. Great flavor. The whole family loved it. My picky eater said it was the best chicken ever. Definitely going into rotation.
D A N G ! ! ! This recipe was incredible! My picky family completely devoured this. I was a little hesitant at first to make this since I didn’t have oyster sauce or chili garlic sauce on hand. But I’m sure glad I did because it was absolutely worth it. I used chicken breasts instead of thighs since chicken thighs freak me out lol. I served it over basmati with cilantro in it and a little bit of soy sauce. This will definitely be in my regular rotation for meals. Thanks for a fantastic and easy recipe!!
I was wondering if I could substitute breasts.
I made this the other night and my family is asking for it again this week. I made the recipe as directed with whole boneless chicken thighs and extra sauce for brushing. I don’t think you’ve posted a recipe we didn’t like.
Delicious!!!
This is probably one of the most delicious marinades I have every made. Wow. Thought my husband and I would have a ton of leftovers…we had NONE! Already want to make it again!
This was the absolutely best recipe for chicken skewers!!! I unfortunately didn’t have fresh ginger, but a teaspoon of ground ginger worked just fine. Fresh would definitely be better. This was the perfect balance between sweet and heat. We loved it.
This recipe is to die for. Definitely a fam favorite
It was delicious. Even my picky eaters liked it.
Entire family loved it. Definitely a “make again”.
Do you have a nutrition/calorie count for this recipe?
SO SO GOOD! It was devoured by husband and son — left the thighs intact (no kabobs) and left it in the marinade for about 10 hours. Other than adding chili flakes for some extra heat, I followed the recipe as is and it’s perfect. Thank you for another great recipe!
I was slightly worried that the chicken wouldn’t have a lot of flavor because I had only marinated it for about 2.5 hours but it was great! I omitted the chili sauce and my 5 yr old said he was really loving the chicken as he was shoving his face! Served with white rice and broccoli. Easy meal.
I love your recipes, unfortunately this one was just okay. I used breasts that I cut up into medallions and used my indoor electric grill press.
So you didn’t follow the recipe, and then you didn’t like the recipe =P
I have been meaning to write a review for this….I tried this a while back and it is a super easy dinner to make for the family. Instead of oyster sauce, I used soy sauce and it still came out great! thank you for all your amazing recipes
I was wondering what a good substitute would be, thanks for sharing!
This marinade is excellent!! I’ve used it many times and it’s always great! Will it affect the recipe if it marinates for 2 days?
This was really delicious and so simple. I let it marinate for about four hours. I highly recommend this – it’s a perfect summer dish! I paired with a cucumber salad.
Hands down the best marinade recipe I have ever encountered. I was so surprised at how well seasoned the chicken came out and how much marinade they soaked up. I hate the oily feeling in my ziplock bag for other recipes that call for some sort of oil in the marinade. I will be making lots more based on this recipe here on out. Delicious! <3
I am going to make this recipe at our Mother’s Day bbq. I accidentally bought the wrong chili. I didn’t he threw one you mention (chili garlic sauce) but just the regular chili paste. Will it change the taste?
I’m planning to make this and was wondering if I these kabobs can be made with veggies on them as well? I’d just double up on the marinade and let the veggies sit in a separate ziploc bag overnight before adding them to the skewers. Thoughts?
I used chicken breast, but it still came out great. I served it with pancit.
Best sweet spicy/tangy chicken EVER! First time I’ve made it. Served it with a sweet potato but would go great with jasmine rice with extra sauce! Will definitely make this again! I grilled bone in, skin on chicken thighs.
Is there a good alternative to oyster sauce? My boyfriend is allergic to shellfish and I doubt I can use this ingredient – thanks!
I accidentally used soy sauce instead of oyster sauce and it still came out great!
Taste & look delicious.
These were delicious! Crowd pleaser for sure!
I made this recipe and it is an automatic entry to the “definitely make again” category. I subbed sliced chicken breast for thighs and let it marinate overnight. I used my All Clad Copper Core skillet to cook this and it is DELICIOUS. I am not a fan of canola oil and used butter instead. I did not reserve the 1/3 cup for brushing as it was cooked in a pan. The scallions add a perfect touch, do not skip them. I left out sesame seeds as well.
This is truly damn delicious. Thank you!!!
You are so welcome, Liz! I’m so glad you enjoyed this so much! And your modifications sound like they were spot on! 🙂
This had SO MUCH flavor. Delicious 🙂
That’s what we love to hear, Dawn! 🙂
Thanks for all of your wonderful recipes. This is currently our favorite chicken marinade. We’ve made it several times. It’s the perfect blend of sweet and spicy. We usually don’t make the kabobs. We’ve used it with both breasts and thighs and it’s great either way. We like to grill a large pack of chicken and use it for meals for the week. Perfect for salads, wraps, tacos or burrito bowels.
This was very delicious. My husband who is not a big chicken fan raves about it.
That’s a sure win! Thanks for sharing, Evelyn!
This looks absolutely amazing! I don’t have a grill, can this be cooked in the oven? If so, what temperature and time do you recommend? Thank you. 🙂
I just made, and ate, this and it is so good! You have some of my favorite recipes. Thank you!
You are so welcome, JennyF!
This was delicious along with some Asian Coleslaw
That sounds amazing, Robi!
The sauce sounds delicious but I don’t have access to a grill…Can you cook these on the stovetop, and if so, how would you do this? Thanks!
Yes, Miki, you can absolutely cook this on the stovetop using a grill pan. 🙂
This may sound silly but do oyster sauce and fish sauce taste the same? Can you use one or the other? This recipe sounds amazing and I can’t wait to make it!
Not a silly question at all!
They are actually two very different-tasting ingredients so I do not recommend substituting one for the other. Hope that helps, Giselle!
A good easy substitute for oyster sauce if you don’t have it is equal parts soy sauce and hoisin sauce. So for this recipe, you would use 1/8 cup soy and 1/8 cup hoisin sauce. I used this and it tasted great.
As always, your recipe is, indeed, DAMN DELICIOUS. Just made this for dinner tonight. Didn’t make kabobs, just boneless, skinless chicken breasts. So, so, delicious. Thank you!!!! Served with sugar snap peas and grilled corn on the cob.
Great side dishes, Kate!
Will this work with whole thighs instead of skewers?
Absolutely!
Hi
This looks amazing!
Can u plz tell how many chicken breast pieces are there in 2 pounds?
Also can we freeze them ?
Thanks!
Cant wait to try them!
I always am excited when you post new recipes! Everything I’ve made from your site has been amazing! Can’t wait to try this next!
Is the chili garlic sauce the spicy kind by Huy Fong with the rooster? Also can you use breasts instead? These look yummy.
Yes and yes! 🙂
If I am not a big fan of spicy, what can I substitute for the chili garlic sauce…or do I just leave it out?
Hi Kate! You can omit or reduce the amount to suit your tastebuds. 🙂
Could this also be done with chicken breasts? If so, would the cooking time change any? Love both thighs and breasts, just wanna have options. Sounds wonderful regardless.
Absolutely! Cooking time should stay relatively the same but as always, please use your best judgment when making substitutions and modifications. Thanks, Janet!
I LOVEEE honey garlic chicken!! This recipe looks amazing!