This Chicken on a Stick recipe is a finger licking flavor explosion! It’s the perfect combination of tangy sticky sauce and juicy chicken. The first bite offers a satisfying contrast of textures with the tender chicken with a crispy exterior from grilling and the sticky sauce with the sweet and savory flavors mingling together.
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Why this Sticky Chicken on a Stick Recipe is a Keeper
I love this recipe because it’s so flavorful and perfect for summer! These are great as an appetizer or as a main dish. Wonderful for parties, potlucks and quick weekday dinners.
- 30 Minute Cook: When you’re ready to cook, throw the chicken onto the grill for just a few minutes on each side.
- Easy Ingredients: You’ll need a few easy ingredients to make this chicken marinade recipe.
- Family Friendly: Kids love the cooked chicken on the bamboo skewers; These are sure to be a hit!
- Adaptable: This recipe is super customizable to make it your own.
- Makes Great Leftovers: These tenders on each skewer are still great the next day.
If you’re looking for more grilled chicken recipes, try these Crispy Grilled Chicken Wings, Asian Grilled Chicken and Grilled Balsamic Chicken with Strawberry Salsa
How do I Know When my Chicken is Done?
The best way to tell if your Chinese chicken stick is done is by using a meat thermometer. Insert it in the thickest part of the chicken and it will read 165°F when it’s done.
Ingredient for Chicken Skewers
You will need just a few simple ingredients that might already be around your kitchen.
- Chicken Breasts: Use chicken breast for your chicken on the stick.
- Fresh Ginger: Fresh ginger will give you a more intense flavor but you can also use ginger powder if you’d like to marinade the chicken.
- Sesame Oil: If you can’t have or don’t like sesame oil, you can use vegetable oil in it’s place for this easy chicken recipe.
See the recipe card below for a complete list of the ingredients with measurements.
Variations and Substitutions for the Chicken Skewer Recipe
- Chicken Thighs: Chicken thighs will offer a bit more flavor than breasts in this sticky chicken recipe.
- Veggies: Feel free to add more veggies to this easy chicken skewer marinade.
- Vinegar: Instead of cider vinegar try white vinegar or rice wine vinegar.
Special Equipment Needed for Good Chicken Kabob Marinade
- Skewers: You can use metal skewers or wooden ones when you make this recipe for grilled chicken on a stick.
- Grill: I like to throw my teriyaki chicken appetizer on my grill outside but you can use a stovetop grill or even a campfire! Remember to preheat before cooking.
Pro Tip
Wooden skewers can burn on the grill. To prevent this, soak them in water for at least 30 minutes before threading the chicken.
How to Make Chinese Chicken on a Stick
This recipe comes together in just 4 simple steps. Marinate the chicken for extra tenderness and flavor.
These are the basic steps for making Sticky Chicken on a Stick. Refer to the full, printable recipe card below for detailed instructions.
1. Mix the Marinade Make Sticky Sauce
Heat vegetable oil over medium heat in medium saucepan. Next, add onions and sauté until soft and translucent. Then add garlic and ginger and sauté until fragrant.
Add remaining sauce ingredients and simmer for 10 minutes; Remove from heat and cool sauce completely.
2. Marinate Chicken
Place boneless chicken in a bag and pour half of the sauce over the chicken. Close bag and roll the chicken to make sure the chicken is coated in teriyaki marinade.
Allow the chicken to marinade in the refrigerator for 6 hours to overnight.
3. Prepare Chicken Skewers
Remove skinless chicken breasts from marinade and throw marinade away. Thread chicken onto the skewers.
4. Cook the Chicken
Pre heat your grill to medium-high and spray with cooking spray. Place chicken on grill and cook until well browned on one side. Turn chicken and baste with sauce. Grill for 5 to 7 minutes to cook per side, then turn and baste again.
Continue grilling until well caramelized and the internal temperature reaches 165°F. Remove chicken and serve with reserved sauce.
Flavorful Chicken on a Stick Recipe FAQs
Store leftover tender kabobs in a airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. You can also freeze this chicken recipe for up to 6 months.
If frozen, thaw in the fridge overnight. To reheat, you can either grill, in a pan over medium heat, use the air fryer or oven until it’s the desired temperature.
Since we cut the chicken pieces before cooking, the kabobs should cook evenly on their own. However, make sure you’re rotating them every few minutes to ensure even cooking.
Your chicken could be dry because it got overcooked. Use a meat thermometer to accurately determine how done the chicken is.
Expert Tips for Making This Grill Chicken Skewers Recipe
- Double this Recipe: Increase the ingredients proportionately. You can work in batches to make cooking easier.
- Wrap in Foil: To keep your grill from getting completely sticky. wrap the kabobs in foil
- Bake: You can bake these kabobs in the oven.
- Skewers: It’s important to soak wood skewers in cold water for about a half an hour before using to prevent them burning.
- Make Ahead: The sauce can be completed 1-2 days ahead of time.
- Extra Sauce: Make some extra dipping sauce to dip your chicken tender kabobs in. I like to serve extra sauce on the side.
- Cheese: Try to grate some cheese over the kabobs!
What to Serve with Skewered Chicken
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Sticky Chicken on a Stick
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Ingredients
- 2 pounds Boneless skinless chicken, cut into chunks
- 2 tablespoons Vegetable oil
- ¼ cup Onion, minced
- 8 cloves Garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons Fresh ginger, grated
- ¾ cup Ketchup
- ½ cup Brown sugar
- ½ cup Soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons Apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Sesame oil
- ¼ teaspoon Red pepper flakes
- Bamboo or metal skewers
Instructions
- If using bamboo skewers, soak skewers in water for at least 20 minutes. This will prevent the skewers from burning on the grill.
- Heat vegetable oil in medium saucepan. Add onions and saute until soft and translucent, about 7 minutes.
- Add garlic and ginger and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 10 minutes; Remove from heat and cool sauce completely. (This step can be completed 1-2 days ahead of time.)
- Place chicken in a resealable bag and pour half of the sauce over chicken; reserve remaining sauce for basting.
- Close bag and knead to ensure all chicken is coated in sauce. Refrigerate for 6 hours to overnight.
- Remove chicken from marinade and throw marinade away.
- Thread chicken onto the skewers.
- Spray grill lightly with cooking spray and preheat grill on medium high.
- Place chicken on grill and grill until well browned on one side, about 5 – 7 minutes.
- Turn chicken and baste with sauce.
- Grill another 5 to 7 minutes. Turn and baste again.
- Continue grilling until well caramelized and the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees.
- Remove chicken and serve with reserved sauce.
Christina’s Notes
- Double this Recipe: Increase the ingredients proportionately. You can work in batches to make cooking easier.
- Wrap in Foil: To keep your grill from getting completely sticky. wrap the kabobs in foil
- Bake: You can bake these kabobs in the oven.
- Skewers: It’s important to soak wood skewers in cold water for about a half an hour before using to prevent them burning.
- Make Ahead: The sauce can be completed 1-2 days ahead of time.
- Extra Sauce: Make some extra dipping sauce to dip your chicken tender kabobs in. I like to serve extra sauce on the side.
- Cheese: Try to grate some cheese over the kabobs!
- Scale the recipe: Simply adjust the serving size in the recipe card and the ingredients will update automatically.
- Make your own All Purpose Seasoning: When a recipe calls for All Purpose Seasoning, you can use my homemade All Purpose Seasoning recipe or substitute salt and pepper to taste.
- Meat doneness: I always use a meat thermometer to test for doneness when cooking meat.
- Use unsalted butter: I use unsalted butter so I can control the salt level in the recipe.
- Preheat the oven: Unless otherwise noted, always preheat your oven before baking.
For more helpful information about this recipe, such as variations, substitutions and other pro-tips, check out the blog post.
I absolutely love this recipe. My daughter works for a chicken company and brings me lots of chicken once a month, and so I am always looking for great chicken recipes to try.
I’ve made this recipe several times and it’s part of my regular go-tos.
Made this for dinner tonight. It’s definitely a keeper! Served with a side of veggie kebobs and rice. Delish!
That sounds like a perfect meal to me! Thanks for the side suggestions!
Oh my flipping lord this is so unbelievably tasty! I used chicken thighs and marinated for about 5 hours before grilling. They were so tender and tasty. I served with Asian garlic noodles. I will 100% be making these again!
Good Recipe
Thanks
Made it tonight, cut back on the ketchup and sugar, everyone loved the chicken, it is a keeper!
I want to bake my skewers in the oven.
What temperature and time do you recommend? Should the skewers be covered or uncovered?
Thanks
Yes you can cook this recipe in the oven. If you are using wooden skewers, make sure you soak then first. Then cook at 450 degrees for 10 minutes, then flip the chicken and cook for another 10. Use a meat thermometer and make sure the chicken reaches 165 degrees.
Thanks, this is what i would like to know too. Will try this recipe, thanks again.
5🌟🌟⭐️🌟 ⭐️a
Realized that I did not have soy sauce so I substituted teriyaki sauce and this was tender and delicious. Will definitely make this again and often 😁😁😁😁😁😁😁
Do you use breasts or thighs in this recipe?
You can use either. Use boneless chicken thighs or chicken breast. They are both great.
Thanks a lot for sharing this amazing and super easy to make recipe! Will surely have this again! Highly recommended!
That spicy sauce was amazing. I will be making these chicken skewers again!
A lot of work for bbq sauce.
Hi Thank you for this yummy recipe, I was wondering how long this sauce will keep in the fridge?
In an airtight container it will last about a week. You could freeze it too.
I used this as a stir-fry sauce on chicken and shrimp. It works just as well this way as it did on the skewers.
Would it be good if i added barbecue sauce to it? If so how much barbecue sauce?
I have never made it with barbeque sauce as the ingredients that are being use mimic a barbeque sauce, however, if you would like to try adding some feel free. Maybe replace the 1/2 cup of ketchup to start. Good luck.
One more comment. Try cutting the chicken in thin long strips rather than chunks, then scrunch it as you skewer it — it will hold more sauce, ending up more uniformly caramelized and it will have more crusty surface and less soft white chicken (my kids are not huge fans of the soft inside of the chicken breast). It’s also easier to cook through without burning the outside…
Delicious base for a number of ideas. Can be taken to the spicy realm or the tropical one (sweet and tangy). Made it tonight with chicken and it was delicious. Planning to try it on pork ribs — it should be delicious. I was looking for ideas to make chicken skewers like those found at county fairs (yeah, ours have the Asian twist 🙂 ) since our anual May1st one will not be happening this year for the second year in a row. We do what we have to do…