Asian Chicken Thighs

• 1 bunch scallions, trimmed and cut into thirds
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger (fresh ginger will over-tenderize meat!)
• 3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 3 tablespoons macadamia nut oil, avocado oil, or fat of choice
• 1 tablespoon coconut aminos
• 1 tablespoon Red Boat fish sauce
• 2 tablespoons honey (or if you’re on the Whole30 or avoiding honey, use ½ small apple, peeled, cored, and diced)
• ½ teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• Freshly ground pepper to taste
• 4 pounds chicken thighs

…rice wine vinegar, macadamia nut oil…

…coconut aminos, fish sauce, …

…honey (or diced apple for you Whole30-ers)…

…sesame oil, salt, and freshly ground pepper.

Blitz until smooth.

Place the chicken in a storage bag or bowl…

…and pour in the marinade.

Toss to coat the chicken thoroughly, and marinate it in the fridge for up to 12 hours.

When you’re ready to cook the chicken, remove the marinated thighs from the fridge and preheat the oven to 400°F (or 375°F on convection roast).

Place a wire rack on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet and arrange the chicken skin-side down on top. Make sure that your thighs don’t have a ton of excess marinade on ‘em. You don’t wan’t soggy chicken, right?

Bake the chicken for 40 minutes…

…flipping the thighs over at the halfway point.

The chicken’s ready when the skin is crisp and browned and the internal temperature reaches 165°F.

Serve immediately. Oh, and make sure you’ve got some wet wipes on hand. You’ll need ’em.

Looking for more recipe ideas? Head on over to my Recipe Index. You’ll also find exclusive recipes on my iPhone and iPad app, and in my cookbooks, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2013) and Ready or Not! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2017)

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Asian Chicken Thighs

Prep 10 mins

Cook 45 mins

Inactive 1 hour

Total 1 hour, 55 mins

Author Michelle Tam

Yield 6 servings

Ingredients

• 1 bunch scallions, trimmed and cut into thirds
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger (fresh ginger will over-tenderize meat!)
• 3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 3 tablespoons macadamia nut oil, avocado oil, or fat of choice
• 1 tablespoon coconut aminos
• 1 tablespoon Red Boat fish sauce
• 2 tablespoons honey (or if you’re on the Whole30 or avoiding honey, use ½ small apple, peeled, cored, and diced)
• ½ teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• Freshly ground pepper to taste
• 4 pounds chicken thighs

Instructions

1. Dump everything except for the chicken into a blender or food processor and blitz until smooth. Then, bake the bird parts for 40 minutes at 400°F. The end!
2. Break out your high speed blender or food processor and toss in the scallions, garlic, ginger, rice wine vinegar, macadamia nut oil, coconut aminos, fish sauce, honey (or diced apple for you Whole30-ers), sesame oil, salt, and freshly ground pepper. Blitz until smooth.
3. Place the chicken in a storage bag or bowl, and pour in the marinade.
4. Toss to coat the chicken thoroughly, and marinate it in the fridge for up to 12 hours.
5. When you’re ready to cook the chicken, remove the marinated thighs from the fridge and preheat the oven to 400°F (or 375°F on convection roast).
6. Place a wire rack on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet and arrange the chicken skin-side down on top. Make sure that your thighs don’t have a ton of excess marinade on ‘em. You don’t wan’t soggy chicken, right?
7. Bake the chicken for 40 minutes, flipping the thighs over at the halfway point.
8. The chicken’s ready when the skin is crisp and browned and the internal temperature reaches 165°F.
9. Serve immediately. 

Notes

Fresh ginger will cause your chicken to get mushy! Use ground ginger instead.

Courses Dinner

Cuisine Chinese