Recipes with boneless chicken thigh

87 recipes. Page 1 of 4

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Ayam Gulai (Spiced Coconut Chicken Curry)

Most of the effort goes into a wet paste of onion, garlic, and ginger, fried slowly until the oil separates from the solids. Rushing it leaves a raw, harsh edge in the sauce. After that, chicken thighs simmer in coconut milk with turmeric, ground coriander, and lemongrass until the sauce turns bright yellow and thick enough to coat the meat. Ayam gulai belongs to the Padang food of West Sumatra's Minangkabau people, whose restaurants lay out many small plates before anyone orders and charge only for the ones you touch.

Prep 20min Cook 40min 4 servings

Rice Medium

Tokushima Sobagome Zosui

From the mountainous Iya area of Tokushima, this zosui uses buckwheat neither as flour nor as noodles but as hulled whole groats, called sobagome. Local tradition ties it to the Heike, who are said to have planted fast-growing buckwheat on land where rice would not grow well. Chicken, chikuwa, konjac and carrot share the broth with the grains.

Prep 480min Cook 35min 4 servings

Stir-fry Easy

Soy-Glazed Chicken Thigh Stir-Fry

Think of it as a close cousin of teriyaki: the same sticky sweet-salty shine, but with garlic and ginger fried in the oil first so their sharpness comes through more directly. Patting the boneless thighs dry matters, since a wet surface colors slowly even over high heat.

🏠 Everyday

Prep 15min Cook 15min 2 servings

Street food Medium

Korean Spicy Chicken Skewers

Part of the gochujang sauce is set aside the moment it is mixed. The rest marinates the chicken thigh, while the reserved portion never touches raw meat and goes on as a final glaze near the end of grilling. Each skewer holds two or three pieces of chicken for every piece of green onion, and they cook until the edges just char.

Prep 20min Cook 15min 4 servings

Grilled Medium

Ayam Bakar (Indonesian Grilled Chicken in Sweet Soy Marinade)

Kecap manis, Indonesia's sweet soy sauce, turns into dark glossy patches and light char once the chicken thighs meet high grill heat. Because the chicken first cooks gently in its marinade, the grill only has to color the surface, and the sugary sauce spends little time over the flame.

Prep 25min Cook 30min 4 servings

Soups Medium

Chanko Nabe (Sumo-Style Hot Pot)

Sumo wrestlers ate this hot pot together in their stables, which explains how much goes into a single pot: chicken thigh, chicken meatballs, napa cabbage, mizuna, shiitake, soft tofu, fried tofu and kuzukiri noodles. The broth is chicken stock with grated garlic and ginger, and people help themselves to whatever is done while the rest keeps simmering.

🏠 Everyday

Prep 25min Cook 30min 4 servings

Steamed Medium

Korean Dak Ganjang Jorim (Soy Braised Chicken)

Chicken thighs go straight into the soy braising liquid without browning, so the seasoning works between the fibers and the meat ends up glossy brown and seasoned through. Big chunks of potato soften at the edges and drink up the sauce, turning fluffy and starchy.

Prep 18min Cook 35min 4 servings

Noodles Medium

Korean Chicken Knife-Cut Noodle Soup

The knife-cut noodles go straight into the chicken stock instead of a separate pot, and the starch they shed turns the broth slightly thick and silky while the noodles soak up the chicken flavor. That single-pot cooking is what separates kalguksu from a plain chicken noodle soup. Right after the noodles drop in, a stir along the bottom frees any that stick; after that, gentle stirring keeps them from breaking. Thigh meat, rather than breast, stays tender even after the shredded chicken returns for a final simmer. Black pepper is the main seasoning accent, sharpening the savory stock in a bowl built for cold days.

Prep 25min Cook 40min 4 servings

Pasta Medium

Dakgalbi Cream Rigatoni (Korean Spicy Chicken Gochujang Cream Pasta)

Chicken thighs marinated in gochujang, chili flakes, and soy sauce are stir-fried with cabbage and onion like dakgalbi, Korea's spicy chicken stir-fry, then simmered in cream into a pink, gently spicy sauce. The cabbage and onion hit the pan before the chicken to draw out their sweetness. Thigh meat is used because it suits the cream sauce. Sauce fills the thick rigatoni tubes and gives each bite both heat and richness. Mozzarella melted in at the end stretches like the cheese on cheese dakgalbi. The final seasoning waits until the sauce is done because gochujang brands differ in saltiness.

Prep 20min Cook 25min 4 servings

Western Medium

Chicken and Waffles

Crisp fried chicken thigh and a warm waffle share the plate, tied together with maple syrup so salty and sweet land in the same bite. Because the waffles are cooked first and held in a low oven, the chicken can go straight from the oil to the table.

Prep 25min Cook 25min 2 servings

Asian Medium

Ayam Lemak Cili Padi (Malay Coconut Chicken with Bird's Eye Chili)

Bird's eye chili, shallot, and fresh turmeric are blended into the paste for this Malay coconut chicken, which comes out hot, pale gold, and brothy rather than thick. It simmers uncovered and gently, and stops well before reducing to a sauce, leaving thin liquid around the thighs. Fresh turmeric gives an earthy, slightly bitter smell as the paste fries, while the lemongrass is only there to perfume the broth and comes out before serving.

Prep 20min Cook 35min 4 servings

Rice Easy

Chao Ga (Vietnamese Chicken Rice Porridge with Ginger)

In Vietnam this is what people eat for breakfast or when they are feeling unwell, much the way Koreans turn to dakjuk. The broth carries a quiet heat from sliced ginger, and the seasoning is fish sauce rather than soy.

Prep 15min Cook 55min 4 servings

Stir-fry Easy

Korean Spicy Chicken Stir-fry

A small amount of curry powder in the gochujang marinade is the Chuncheon touch. No water goes into the pan; the cabbage, torn into large pieces, releases enough to turn the marinade into a sauce. When the chicken is gone, rice is fried in whatever sauce is left.

🏠 Everyday

Prep 20min Cook 20min 2 servings

Street food Medium

Korean Gochujang Honey Dakgangjeong

Under a sticky, shiny gochujang and honey glaze, the potato starch crust on these chicken pieces still crunches. They go into the sauce right before serving.

Prep 20min Cook 20min 4 servings

Grilled Easy

Chicken Gyro

Chicken thigh charred over high heat and cold cucumber yogurt go into a warm pita together. Hot meat against cold sauce in the same bite is the whole point of the wrap, and it is eaten the moment it is rolled. The cucumber gets a light squeeze before it meets the yogurt, which keeps the sauce from turning thin.

Prep 20min Cook 15min 2 servings

Soups Medium

Chicken and Dumplings

In the American South this is everyday home cooking: chicken stew with soft dumplings on top. The batter is spooned onto the broth and puffs up in the steam under the lid, so the dumplings come out light, closer to biscuit than to noodle. The thigh meat is pulled into shreds, so a spoonful gets chicken and dumpling together.

🏠 Everyday

Prep 20min Cook 35min 4 servings

Steamed Easy

Korean Soy Braised Chicken Chunks

There is no chili in this braise, just soy sauce, sugar and garlic, and the juices from the boneless thighs soak into the potato and carrot so nothing else needs seasoning. If the fat feels like too much, trim off some of the chicken skin before cooking.

Prep 15min Cook 30min 4 servings

Noodles Medium

Korean Spicy Chicken Soup Noodles

Dakgaejang swaps the beef in yukgaejang, Korea's fiery shredded-beef soup, for chicken thigh, and this version adds knife-cut noodles to the red, garlicky broth. Fernbrake (gosari) gives a chewy, earthy bite and bean sprouts a crisp one, both soaking up the heat. Because the base is a clean chicken stock, the spice stays sharp without turning muddy. It is a common choice on cold days or the morning after drinking.

Prep 20min Cook 40min 2 servings

Pasta Easy

Mala Chicken Alfredo Fusilli

Mala sauce, the numbing, chili-hot seasoning of Sichuan cooking, gets wrapped in cream, milk and Parmigiano, so the tingle stays but the burn is gentler. Chicken thigh is browned hard before the mala sauce is stirred in, so the meat picks up the spice before the cream does. Mala sauces differ a lot in saltiness from brand to brand, so the recipe starts with 1 tablespoon and leaves final seasoning until the cream is in. Pasta water, added a little at a time, keeps the cream sauce from splitting, and when it is right the sauce no longer pools in the pan but sits in the spirals of the fusilli.

Prep 15min Cook 20min 2 servings

Western Medium

Chicken Chasseur

Golden chicken thighs simmer in a sauce of browned mushrooms, shallots, white wine and tomato in this French hunter-style braise. The skin is left undisturbed until it releases on its own; lifted too early, it tears. When the sauce runs slowly off a spoon, it is done, and mashed potatoes or crusty bread take care of whatever sauce remains.

Prep 20min Cook 40min 4 servings

Asian Medium

Bishu Nabe (Sake-Cooked Meat and Vegetable Hot Pot)

No water or dashi goes into this pot: chicken, gizzards, pork and vegetables cook in sake and whatever moisture the vegetables release. The dish comes from Saijo in Higashihiroshima, Hiroshima Prefecture, where sake brewery workers ate it during breaks in brewing. With so little liquid, each ingredient keeps its own flavor, and diners season their portion with salt and pepper. Cooking it in two rounds, half the ingredients at a time, keeps the napa cabbage and garlic chives from going limp.

Prep 30min Cook 35min 4 servings

Rice Easy

Chicken and Rice Casserole

Rice, sautéed onion and carrot, chicken stock and cream all go into one baking dish, with chicken thighs laid skin side up on top. As they roast, their fat drips down into the rice. The foil has to be crimped tight; if steam escapes, the rice in the center stays hard.

Prep 15min Cook 45min 4 servings

Stir-fry Easy

Gai Pad Med Mamuang (Thai Cashew Chicken)

Gai pad med mamuang is Thai cashew chicken with onion and bell pepper. This version uses oyster sauce, soy sauce, and sugar, with no fish sauce or dried chilies. Cut the chicken thigh into 2-3cm pieces and the vegetables into chunky 3cm pieces before heating the pan. Mix the sauce separately so it can be added quickly after the chicken and vegetables have cooked. Use roasted cashews: this recipe adds them for only the final 30 seconds and does not include a separate roasting step. Lower the heat before adding the sauce, and stop reducing while it still coats the chicken with a glossy glaze. Add the cashews last and serve immediately to keep their crunch.

🏠 Everyday

Prep 15min Cook 12min 2 servings

Street food Medium

Korean Lemon Pepper Dakgangjeong

There is no gochujang in this sauce. Lemon juice, honey, and soy sauce boil until glossy, the twice-fried thigh pieces go in, and the tossing is over within 20 seconds. What stays afterward is the black pepper from the marinade.

Prep 20min Cook 18min 4 servings