This Asian chicken marinade recipe is packed full of mouthwatering flavors like honey, ginger, and Sriracha. It’s the perfect easy dinner and is great on the grill or in a skillet.
Looking for more marinades? Try this yogurt marinated chicken, Greek chicken marinade, Mediterranean chicken marinade, shrimp marinade, or this salmon marinade
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Ingredients + Variations
- Sesame oil
- Soy sauce – for this soy sauce chicken marinade, I always use regular soy sauce. If using low sodium, you may need to adjust the level of salt after cooking.
- Honey – if eating low carb, feel free to substitute this with confectioners erythritol. You can also adjust the sweetness by adding more/less.
- Grated ginger – Pro tip: fresh ginger is great, but I always buy frozen grated ginger from Trader Joe’s.
- Minced garlic
- Sriracha – add more/less depending on how spicy you want this basic Chinese chicken marinade recipe to taste. You can also up the spice level with diced dried chilis or red pepper flakes.
- Rice vinegar
- Chicken breast – You can use chicken breast or thighs — with thighs, your cook time will typically increase.
Tips + Tricks
This Asian chicken marinade is super straightforward. Here are a few tips for the best results:
- The longer you marinate, the more flavor. How long to marinate chicken depends on you — If you’re in a pinch, a minimum of 30 minutes. But ideally, you’d marinate for a few hours, or even overnight.
- Remove excess marinade before grilling to prevent flare-ups and burnt marinade.
- We like to slightly flatten the chicken before marinating, for more marinade flavor in every bite.
- Use a meat thermometer! This is the best way to prevent dry, overcooked chicken. You’ll know it’s done when the internal temperature reaches 165 F.
- Rest your cooked chicken before slicing for 10 minutes. This will keep it nice and juicy.
Can you freeze chicken in marinade?
Yes! Toss your Asian marinade for chicken in a freezer bag, and swirl everything around to coat. Then place it in the freezer. To thaw it, place your chicken in the refrigerator overnight — this will infuse your chicken will all the marinade flavors.
How to Cook it:
Use this Asian chicken marinade for the grill, stovetop, or oven depending on your preference.
- On the grill: Heat grill to medium-high and brush grates with oil. Add chicken and cover the grill with the lid. Cook for 7 minutes. Flip and cook for another 5-7 minutes. You’ll know your chicken is done once it reaches an internal temp of 165 F.
- In the oven: Preheat the oven to 450 F. Place chicken on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake in the oven for 13-15 minutes.
How to Serve it:
Serve this Asian chicken marinade over a bed of rice or cauliflower rice (my fave is this cauliflower fried rice), and with a side of roasted or stir fry veggies, like my pan fried green beans recipe. Don’t forget a garnish of sliced green onions!
Do I need to make a sauce for this chicken?
Nope! The Asian marinade is so flavor packed, we never serve it with sauce.
More Asian Chicken Recipes
Asian Chicken Marinade
Print Recipe Pin RecipeIngredients
- 1 Tablespoon Sesame Oil
- 1/4 Cup Soy Sauce
- 1 Tablespoon Honey or confectioners erythritol (note 1)
- 1 Tablespoon Ginger grated
- 2 cloves Garlic minced
- 1 Teaspoon Sriracha (note 2)
- 1 Tablespoon Rice Vinegar
- 4 Pound Chicken Breast boneless + skinless (note 3)
Instructions
- Add sesame oil (1 tablespoon), soy sauce (1/4 cup), honey or erythritol (1 tablespoon), ginger (1 tablespoon), minced garlic (2), sriracha (1 teaspoon), and rice vinegar (1 tablespoon) to a large resealable bag. Seal the bag, and swirl ingredients around to combine. Add chicken, seal bag, and toss ingredients so the chicken is coated.
- Place in the fridge for 30 minutes - overnight (the longer you marinate, the more flavorful your chicken will be).
- Heat grill/pan to medium-high heat and brush with oil. Add chicken to pan/grill and cover with lid. Cook on this side for 7 minutes. Flip the breasts, then cover and cook on the second side for another 5-7. You'll know the chicken is done once the internal temp has reached 165 F.
- Remove chicken to a plate and loosely tent with foil. Rest chicken for 10 minutes before slicing. Garnish with green onions, and enjoy!
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Lindsey's Tips
- Sweetener: confectioners erythritol is a great low carb/keto sub here!
- Spice: Add more, or skip depending on how much spice you like.
- Chicken: I usually slightly flatten the chicken with the smooth side of a meat mallet before resting it in the marinade to infuse even more flavor.
- For oven baking: Preheat the oven to 450 F. Place chicken on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake in the oven for 13-15 minutes.
- The best way to not overcook your chicken is to use a meat thermometer!
Peg
I’m making your chicken tonight..fingers crossed
Lindsey
Yay! I’m so excited for you. Let me know how it goes, hope you enjoy it Peg! ?
Andrea
Wow so gooood and easy! Thanks for this recipe!
Lindsey
I’m so glad you enjoyed Andrea!?
Kathy
I made your recipe last night for dinner.
It was terrific! I’ll definitely make it again.
I served it with broccoli over rice, yum!
Next time I’ll try it with green beans
Lindsey
YAY! So happy to hear you enjoyed Kathy!!
Clarissia
Can you bake this recipe?
Lindsey Hyland
Hi Clarissia! Yes absolutely! Hope you enjoy!
Katherine
We love the layers of flavor in this easy marinade! So good on salmon, too.
Lindsey
Right, Katherine?! SO glad you all loved it!
Amanda Wren-Grimwood
What a great way to get so much flavour into chicken. We did this on the barbecue and it was delicious.
Lindsey
Yay! I am SO glad to hear that, Amanda!
Casey
I made this marinade with chicken thighs for the grill and it was fantastic! I am going to freeze some chicken in this marinade per your suggestion so it’s always ready to go!
Lindsey
Sounds really good, Casey! SO glad you liked it!
Holley
This marinade is so flavorful and the chicken was juicy and delicious! Great recipe! Thanks for sharing!
Lindsey
You’re welcome, Holley! SO glad to hear that you loved this!
Beth
This marinade is so good! I made this recipe last night, and it was all gone in no time. These flavors would also be great with pork, which is what I’m trying next.
Lindsey
That’s awesome, Beth! SO glad you loved this!
Amanda
I cannot get enough of this marinade. It made the chicken taste amazing!
Lindsey
Yay! SO glad you loved it, Amanda!
Erik
Love how easy this is. Packed with so much flavor!
Lindsey
Right, Erik?! SO glad you loved it!
Sandra
The marinade really gave the chicken an amazing flavor! It was delicious!
Lindsey
Can’t agree with you more, Sandra!
Erin | Dinners, Dishes and Dessert
Looks incredibly delicious! I would love to make this!
Lindsey
Can’t wait to hear what you think, Erin!
Allyson Zea
I loved using this on chicken wings!
Lindsey
Yay! Sounds awesome, Allyson!
Catalina
This marinade is so easy to make and I have all the ingredients to make it tonight!
Lindsey
Yay! Can’t wait to hear what you think, Catalina!
Danielle
Hi! Is it 2 cloves of garlic? Or 2 tbsp? Just want to clarify! Thank you!
Lindsey Hyland
2 cloves, thanks for pointing that out Danielle!