It might seem like a skill reserved for professional chefs but making perfectly crispy skin chicken is actually easier than you think. The secret? Fry it slow and steady. In this recipe, I show you how to make delicious, succulent crispy skin chicken thighs with honey garlic sauce vegetables. This dish got an ‘Oh yeah!’ from my partner so I’m sure you guys will love it.
To get crispy skin when cooking chicken requires slow pan frying starting with low heat and then gradually increasing it to high. This renders the fat in the skin of the chicken (aka melts it) and allows the meat to cook through properly without burning. Once the skin is golden brown and crispy (which should take around 12-13 minutes), the meaty side only takes another 5-6 minutes. It’s a bit like cooking crispy skin duck breast.
Depending on how many chicken thighs you are frying at the same time, you can choose to cook the veggies and the sauce in the same pan (using the rendered chicken fat instead of adding oil) or you can do it in a second frying pan. Simply pour some of the chicken fat into a new pan and heat it over medium-high heat. My method below describes cooking vegetables and the sauce in the same pan as the chicken.
Serve with cauliflower rice or steamed greens or broccoli.
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Ingredients
- 1 small dollop coconut oil
- 4 chicken thighs with skin on
- 2/3 teaspoon sea salt
- 2/3 teaspoon white pepper
Veggies
- 1 medium brown onion finely diced
- 1/2 long red chilli finely diced
- 1 medium carrot thinly sliced
- 1 stick celery sliced
- 1/2 red pepper sliced
- thumb size piece of ginger finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic finely diced
For the sauce
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 3 tablespoons Tamari
- 1 tablespoon Chinese wine optional
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1/3 cup water
- 1 tablespoon lime or lemon juice
Instructions
- Leave the chicken thighs out of the fridge for at least 10-15 minutes to bring to room temperature. Season with white pepper and sea salt on both sides.
- Place a large frying pan over low heat. Melt a small dollop of coconut oil and add the chicken breasts, skin side down. Cook on low heat for 3 minutes. Then turn the heat up to medium and cook for 4 minutes (still skin side down). Finally turn the heat up to medium-high and cook for a further 6 minutes, until crispy and golden brown.
- Then turn the thighs over and cook for 4-5 minutes on the flesh side.
- While they are cooking, move the chicken thighs to the side of the frying pan to make some space for the vegetables. If the frying pan is not big enough, you can prepare the vegetables and the sauce in a separate pan (just pour in some of the chicken fat from the other pan). Add the onion and chilli and stir through the rendered out chicken fat for a minute.
- Then, add the celery, carrot, red pepper and ginger. Stir and cook for 1 minute. Next, add the garlic, stir through and pour in the sauce ingredients. Stir through and cook for a minute; you can scoop some of it over the chicken now. The sauce should caramelise slightly while over heat.
- Serve with a side of cauliflower rice (or regular rice if you wish).
- Stir through.
Nutrition
More Chicken Recipes You Might Like:
How To Make Three Meals From One Chicken
Roasted Oregano Garlic Chicken
Crispy Shredded Chinese Chicken
Banana Chicken Korma Curry
Portuguese Paleo Chicken Wings
Homemade Japanese Chicken Curry
Yum! These look fantastic! Love crispy chicken thighs!
Wow, this looks absolutely devine Irena! I’m definitely going to have to try this as I come off my more restrictive diet! I will come back and leave a rating when I’ve tried it!
Yum Irena! This looks sensational!