Soy Maple Glazed Chicken. A delicious, tender, juicy chicken packed sweet and savory flavors with Chinese five spice flavors! An easy and simple chicken recipe with Asian flavors!
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What is Soy Maple Glazed Chicken?
Soy maple glazed chicken is made of tender bone-in chicken thighs marinated and glazed with sweet and savory flavors. Furthermore, the marinade is made of hoisin, garlic, maple syrup, oyster sauce (or substitute with vegetarian stir fry sauce), Chinese five spice and dark soy sauce. Together these flavors will give the chicken those wonderful Asian flavors and a deep umami flavor! Unfortunately this isn't a dish you'll find at Chinese restaurants or for Chinese takeout but it can easily be made at home!
This easy chicken recipe serves well as a main dish with white rice or brown rice and vegetables like Asian greens (bok choy, yu choy or gai lan). A fantastic dish to make for dinner for the whole family to enjoy because it's made with simple ingredients with minimal steps!
Ingredients
You will need the following ingredients for my soy maple chicken thighs:
- Skin-on bone-in chicken thighs: unfortunately chicken breast or boneless skinless chicken thighs won't work as well. We need the skin on the chicken to keep the chicken thighs from drying out
Chicken marinade
- Hoisin sauce: This adds a caramelized sweetness to our sauce. It's often used in Chinese cooking, think of it like a Chinese BBQ sauce. Do not confuse this sauce with Oyster sauce despite the similar texture and color. Oyster sauce is saltier and not sweet.
- Fresh garlic
- Maple syrup: or substitute with honey
- Oyster sauce: this gives it that umami flavor. If you don't like oyster, substitute with vegetarian stir fry sauce. This is not to be confused with Hoisin sauce, which looks similar.Â
- Chinese Five Spice
- Dark soy sauce: different than regular soy sauce as it's thicker and darker.
Basting glaze
- Maple syrup
- Dark soy sauce
How to make Soy Maple Glazed Chicken
- First transfer your chicken thighs into a large bowl. Pat them dry with a clean paper towel. Optional: poke holes into the chicken thighs. This allows the marinade to seep into the meat more effectively.
- Then in a small bowl, combine chicken marinade ingredients as listed. Pour marinade over chicken thighs and marinate overnight or at least 3-4 hours.
- Next, preheat oven to 355 degrees F.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (this makes clean up easier). Place a wire rack on top.
- Then place your chicken thighs bone side down, skin side up on top of the wire rack. Bake for 10 minutes.
- Next brush basting glaze on top of the skin. Bake for another 10 minutes.
- Finally baste again with glaze and bake for another 15 minutes until cooked through or until juices run clear and meat is no longer red around the bone. Chicken is safe to consume at an internal temperature of 165 degrees F by checking with a digital instant read thermometer. Enjoy!
Storage & Reheating
Leftover soy maple glazed chicken will last up to 4 days stored in an airtight container in the fridge. To reheat, microwave for 2-3 minutes or air fry or re-bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 5-10 minutes until hot.
Expert Tips
- Source fresh chicken thighs without any gamey odors that you can smell through the packaging. This is such an important tip since the chicken is the star ingredient of the dish. You'll be surprised at how many grocery stores sell chicken thighs that are close to expiry!
- Poke holes into the chicken thighs with a fork so the marinade can seep into the chicken meat better. This is optional.
Other chicken recipes you may like!
- Soy Sauce Chicken
- Soy Hoisin Chicken Thighs
- Air Fryer Soy Sauce Chicken
- Chicken Adobo
- Sweet Soy Sauce Chicken
📖 Recipe
Easy & Simple Soy Maple Glazed Chicken
Ingredients
- 4 skin-on bone in chicken thighs
Marinade
- 3 tbsp hoisin sauce
- 2 tablespoon maple syrup or honey
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce or vegetarian stir fry sauce
- 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 2 tsp Chinese Five Spice
- 1 teaspoon garlic minced
Basting Sauce
- 2 tablespoon maple syrup or honey
- 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
Instructions
- First transfer your chicken thighs into a large bowl. Pat them dry with a clean paper towel. Optional: poke holes into the chicken thighs. This allows the marinade to seep into the meat more effectively.
- Then in a small bowl, combine chicken marinade ingredients as listed. Pour marinade over chicken thighs and marinate overnight or at least 3-4 hours.
- Next, preheat oven to 355 degrees F.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (this makes clean up easier). Place a wire rack on top.
- Then place your chicken thighs bone side down, skin side up on top of the wire rack. Bake for 10 minutes.
- Next brush basting glaze on top of the skin. Bake for another 10 minutes.
- Finally baste again with glaze and bake for another 15 minutes until cooked through or until juices run clear and meat is no longer red around the bone. Chicken is safe to consume at an internal temperature of 165 degrees F by checking with a digital instant read thermometer. Enjoy!
Rebecca Dillon
Oh wow! This looks SO good! Can't wait to try out this recipe. 😋
Tasia ~ two sugar bugs
This glaze is just gorgeous Christie!! We love meals like this! Pinned!
Katerina
This chicken looks divine and sounds so flavourful! I am thinking this sauce would probably go well with tofu and other protein as well. And I must say, I was a little like you, Christie, I didn't properly start cooking until I got married but I have been loving it since (hard to believe that was nearly twenty years ago now)!
Katherine | Love In My Oven
Anything sweet and sticky like this is always a hit with my family. I know we'd all love this one!! Pinning to try during a weeknight dinner soon!
Josiah - DIY Thrill
This chicken looks so delicious!