Description
Sticky Pantry Chicken Thighs are a quick and flavorful dish featuring boneless, skinless chicken thighs cooked in a deliciously sticky sauce made from ketchup, soy sauce, honey, mustard, and spices. This stovetop recipe caramelizes the chicken perfectly for a sweet and tangy glaze that’s perfect for an easy weeknight dinner.
Ingredients
Scale
Chicken
- 1 tbsp oil (for frying)
- 6 boneless skinless chicken thigh fillets (1.5-2lb / 750g-1kg)
- 1/2 tsp cooking/kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 cup water
Sauce
- 1/3 cup ketchup or tomato sauce (Australian)
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp Dijon or American mustard
- 2 tbsp hot sauce (optional)
- 2 tbsp vinegar (any kind)
- 2 1/2 tbsp honey
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
Instructions
- Make the Sauce: Whisk together ketchup, soy sauce, mustard, hot sauce (if using), vinegar, honey, and crushed garlic in a medium bowl until well combined.
- Season Chicken: Sprinkle each chicken thigh evenly with salt and black pepper to enhance flavor.
- Heat Oil: Warm the oil in a large non-stick pan over medium-high heat until shimmering but not smoking.
- Coat and Cook Chicken: Quickly dip a piece of chicken into the sauce, shaking off excess, then place it in the hot pan. Repeat to fill the pan without overcrowding.
- Sear First Side: Cook the chicken undisturbed for 3 minutes until the surface caramelizes and turns a dark golden color.
- Turn Chicken: Flip the chicken pieces and cook for an additional 2 minutes until the chicken is nearly cooked through.
- Create Sauce Base: Pour the remaining sauce and water into the pan. Bring to a rapid simmer, stirring occasionally and scraping the pan bottom to release browned bits for flavor.
- Thicken Sauce: Simmer for 1 to 2 minutes until the sauce thickens nicely, then remove the pan from heat.
- Coat Chicken: Toss the chicken in the thickened sauce to fully coat each piece.
- Serve: Plate the chicken and generously spoon over the sticky sauce. Serve immediately for best taste.
Notes
- You can substitute brown sugar with honey or maple syrup if preferred.
- Any type of hot sauce can be used; adjust quantity to suit your spice preference.
- This recipe works well with any cut of chicken and can also be adapted for grilling or baking.
- For serving with rice, follow package instructions for water to rice ratio; generally 1 cup rice to 1 1/2 cups water.
- Replace broccolini with other quick-steaming vegetables cut to size to cook in 1-2 minutes if desired.
- Marinating the chicken in the sauce for up to 24 hours is optional but not necessary due to the strong glaze.
- This sauce is great for BBQ grilling as well; omit hot sauce to make it kid-friendly.
- Nutritional values correspond to serving size for 6 people.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 chicken thigh with sauce (approx. 150g)
- Calories: 280
- Sugar: 14g
- Sodium: 680mg
- Fat: 14g
- Saturated Fat: 3.5g
- Unsaturated Fat: 9g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 16g
- Fiber: 0.5g
- Protein: 22g
- Cholesterol: 85mg
