Juicy chicken thighs seasoned in a sweet and savory sauce with Chinese five spice and roasted in the oven. This easy Chinese five spice chicken is made with simple ingredients. A great main dish with big flavors!
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Chinese Five Spice Chicken features tender chicken thighs seasoned with Chinese five spice, soy sauce, honey, rice vinegar, mustard, and other seasonings. Then roasted in the oven until golden brown!
This easy chicken recipe is so simple to make at home with minimal Asian pantry ingredients and there's no marinating time! But if you want to marinate it for extra-flavor, feel free to marinate for a few hours or overnight.
It's a great weeknight meal for families or when the cold weather hits, since you can prepare the chicken in advance and pop it into the oven to bake.
This Asian chicken is best served with steamed white rice, or brown rice with vegetables. Unfortunately, you won't find this dish at Chinese restaurants as it's a recipe I developed years ago and re-published it.
Chinese Five Spice is made of ground cloves, star anise, cinnamon, Szechuan peppercorns and fennel seeds and used often in Chinese cuisine. It has a warm licorice flavor with a numbing taste and it taste so good on chicken!
Ingredients & Substitutes
Please scroll down to the below recipe card for exact measurements.
- Bone-in Skin-on Chicken Thighs: or substitute with boneless chicken thighs with skin on but reduce the cooking time to 20-25 minutes until you reach an internal temperature of 165 F or until juices run clear. Avoid using chicken breast for this recipe.
- Green Onions: for garnishing
Seasoning
- Honey: in liquid form. Or substitute with maple syrup or dark or light brown sugar.
- Regular Soy Sauce: or substitute with low sodium soy sauce or light soy sauce. If you’re gluten-free, substitute with tamari sauce, coconut aminos or a gluten-free soy sauce of your choice. Avoid using fish sauce as a substitute.
- Neutral oil: like avocado oil, sunflower oil, grapeseed oil, peanut oil, vegetable oil or canola oil with a high smoke point. Avoid olive oil that has a low smoke point.
- Chinese Five Spice Powder: made of ground cloves, star anise, cinnamon, Szechuan peppercorns and fennel seeds. You can easily find this at most grocery stores or on Amazon.
- Rice vinegar (aka rice wine vinegar): or substitute with apple cider vinegar or white vinegar.
- Sesame Seeds: or substitute with sesame oil. If you're allergic to sesame, omit this ingredient.
- Yellow Mustard: to give the chicken a sharper flavor. You can use honey mustard but the chicken will taste sweeter. Avoid using spicy, dijon or whole grain mustard.
- Garlic Powder: or as a last resort, substitute with minced garlic.
- Salt
- Black Pepper: or substitute with white pepper.
Note: Most Asian grocery stores will carry most of the Asian specific ingredients or check online stores, like Amazon.
Expert Tips
- Use fresh chicken thighs by performing a smell test at the grocery store. If you smell any heavy gamey odors, get a fresher pack.
- Use a fork to poke as many holes into the chicken thighs so the seasoning can further penetrate the thighs for extra flavor.
- For best taste, marinate chicken for at least 15 minutes or longer if you have time.
Instructions
Below are step-by-step instructions on how to make Chinese Five Spice chicken:
- Preheat the oven to 355 degrees F.
- In a small bowl, combine seasoning ingredients as listed above and set aside.
- Pat dry chicken thighs with clean paper towel. Transfer chicken thighs into a large bowl. Poke as many holes into the thighs with a fork.
- Then pour the seasoning over chicken thighs and mix until chicken is coated. If you have extra time, you can marinate this for 15 minutes or longer in the fridge or skip the marinating altogether.
- Fill a deep 9 x 13-inch baking pan with just enough water to cover the base of the pan. Place a wire rack into pan and make sure the top of the wire rack is not touching the water so it doesn't touch the chicken.
- Place chicken thighs onto the wire rack, skin side up. Make sure the water isn't touching thighs. Brush some of the sauce onto the chicken skin. Reserve the remaining sauce as a basting sauce.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes, basting every 10 minutes, until chicken is cooked through or internal temperature of 165 F with a digital instant read thermometer inserted at the thickest part or juices run clear.
- Remove from the oven. Garnish with green onions and enjoy!
To Air Fry
- Preheat the air fryer to 380 F for 5 minutes. Lightly spray the air fryer basket with vegetable oil or cooking spray or line only the base of the air fryer basket with parchment paper.
- Place the seasoned chicken thighs skin side down in a single layer without overlap (you may need to air fry in small batches depending on the size of your air fryer). Then brush the the meaty side with some seasoning. Air fry for 12 minutes.
- Then flip the chicken over, baste the skin side with seasoning. Air fry for another 10-15 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. Cooked chicken has an internal temperature of 165 F with a digital instant read thermometer inserted at the thickest part or until juices run clear.
- Garnish with green onions.
To Pan Fry
- Heat 1 tablespoon or 15 ml vegetable oil in a large pan on medium-high heat. Place the seasoned chicken thighs only into the pan skin side down and sear on each side for 2 minutes.
- Then add the seasoning from the bowl with ¼ cup or 60 ml of water into the pan.
- Cover and simmer for 7 minutes. Reduce to low-medium heat (level 3 on the dial) or a rolling simmer. Flip chicken over. Cover and simmer for another 7 minutes.
- Flip chicken over so it’s skin side up. Remove off heat. Note: Cooked chicken should have clear juices or should reach an internal temperature of 165 F inserted at the thickest part of the chicken with an instant-read thermometer.
- Garnish cooked chicken with green onions.
Storage
- Leftovers will last up to 4 days stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. To reheat: microwave for 2-3 minutes or reheat in the oven or air fryer at 350 F for 5-10 minutes or longer until hot.
- Freezer friendly? Cooked Chinese five spice chicken can be frozen for up to 3 months. To freeze, let the cooked chicken cool down and store into a freezer-safe bag. To enjoy, thaw it overnight in the fridge and reheat in the microwave or in the air oven or air fryer at 350 F for 5-10 minutes or longer until hot.
Pairing Suggestions
Chinese five spice chicken serves well with:
- starters like egg rolls, crab rangoons, egg drop soup, hot and sour soup
- white or brown rice, cauliflower rice, or fried rice
- chow mein, lo mein, plain noodles, soup noodles
- cooked vegetables like bok choy, spicy garlic bok choy, choy sum, gai lan, garlic green beans or stir fried snow pea leaves.
- protein dishes like Soy Sauce Chicken, Oven-Roasted Char Siu or Air Fryer Char Siu, or Chinese Roasted Pork Belly.
FAQ
Can I make this in advance?
Chinese five spice chicken can be made up to 4 days in advance and stored in an airtight container in the fridge. To reheat, microwave for 2-3 minutes or reheat in the oven or air fryer at 350 F for 5-10 minutes or longer until hot.
What else can I use Chinese 5 spice for?
Chinese five spice can be used to season meat like chicken, pork or beef and vegan plant-based protein sources like tofu. It also can be used to season broths, stir-fries, noodles, vegetables and more!
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📖 Recipe
Easy & Simple Chinese Five Spice Honey Chicken
Juicy chicken thighs seasoned in a sweet and savory sauce with Chinese five spice and roasted in the oven. This easy Chinese five spice chicken is made with simple ingredients. A great main dish with big flavors! I also share instructions on how to air fry or pan fry the chicken in the notes section below.
Ingredients
- 1 lb skin-on bone-in chicken thighs approx 4 thighs
- 1 green onion finely chopped for garnishing
Seasoning
- 3 tablespoon honey or maple syrup/brown sugar
- 2 tablespoon regular soy sauce
- 2 tablespoon vegetable oil or any neutral oil
- 1 tablespoon Chinese five spice
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar or apple cider/white vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds or sesame oil
- 2 teaspoon yellow mustard not dijon or whole grain mustard!
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder or finely minced garlic
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper or white pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 355 degrees F.
- In a small bowl, combine seasoning ingredients as listed above and set aside.
- Pat dry chicken thighs with clean paper towel. Transfer chicken thighs into a large bowl. Poke as many holes into the thighs with a fork.
- Then pour the seasoning over chicken thighs and mix until chicken is coated. If you have extra time, you can marinate this for 15 minutes or longer in the fridge or skip the marinating altogether.
- Fill a deep 9 x 13-inch baking pan with just enough water to cover the base of the pan. Place a wire rack into pan and make sure the top of the wire rack is not touching the water so it doesn't touch the chicken.
- Place chicken thighs onto the wire rack, skin side up. Make sure the water isn't touching thighs. Brush some of the sauce onto the chicken skin. Reserve the remaining sauce as a basting sauce.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes, basting every 10 minutes, until chicken is cooked through or internal temperature of 165 F with a digital instant read thermometer inserted at the thickest part or juices run clear.
- Remove from the oven. Garnish with green onions and enjoy!
Notes
To Air Fry
- Preheat the air fryer to 380 F for 5 minutes. Lightly spray the air fryer basket with vegetable oil or cooking spray or line only the base of the air fryer basket with parchment paper.
- Place the seasoned chicken thighs skin side down in a single layer without overlap (you may need to air fry in small batches depending on the size of your air fryer). Then brush the the meaty side with some seasoning. Air fry for 12 minutes.
- Then flip the chicken over, baste the skin side with seasoning. Air fry for another 10-15 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. Cooked chicken has an internal temperature of 165 F with a digital instant read thermometer inserted at the thickest part or until juices run clear.
- Garnish with green onions.
To Pan Fry
- Heat 1 tablespoon or 15 ml vegetable oil in a large pan on medium-high heat. Place the seasoned chicken thighs only into the pan skin side down and sear on each side for 2 minutes.
- Then add the seasoning from the bowl with ¼ cup or 60 ml of water into the pan.
- Cover and simmer for 7 minutes. Reduce to low-medium heat (level 3 on the dial) or a rolling simmer. Flip chicken over. Cover and simmer for another 7 minutes.
- Flip chicken over so it’s skin side up. Remove off heat. Note: Cooked chicken should have clear juices or should reach an internal temperature of 165 F inserted at the thickest part of the chicken with an instant-read thermometer.
- Garnish cooked chicken with green onions.
Enjoyed my recipe?Please leave a 5 star review (be kind)! Tag me on social media @christieathome as I'd love to see your creations!
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Nutrition
Calories: 288kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 94mg | Sodium: 897mg | Potassium: 282mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 113IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 47mg | Iron: 2mg
Baker Tara
What does “mustard” mean? Dry or yellow?
christieathome
Yellow mustard in the bottle form
kait
Tastes great on the grill!
christieathome
So glad you enjoyed it and I appreciate the kind review, Kait! Thanks for making my recipe! The grill must add some great flavor 🙂
Heidi | The Frugal Girls
The Chinese five spice and honey created such a luscious glaze on the your chicken... so irresistible!