Crispy Hawaiian Garlic Chicken

Chicken breasts are super popular, but my favorite cut is chicken thighs. They’re so flavorful, tender, and moist and are less expensive than chicken breasts. That’s why I was so excited when I found this recipe for Crispy Hawaiian Garlic Chicken. It uses my favorite cut of chicken, has tons of garlic, and it’s topped with slices of jalapeno pepper for a touch of heat. I can’t say I’ve ever had authentic Hawaiian food, so I’m also excited about that. You can always tempt me with new food!

Crispy Hawaiian Garlic Chicken made with a soy garlic sauce and fried jalapeño rings. This is a spicy version of your favorite island takeout!

Recipe Author: Sabrina Snyder at Dinner then Dessert
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The Ingredients

As usual, rooted through my pantry and refrigerator before heading to the grocery store and found several ingredients. I had flour, ground ginger, sugar, cornstarch, salt, and pepper. I also had tamari (I use it in place of soy sauce) and vegetable oil, but not enough for this recipe.

My shopping trip went smoothly, and I found everything I needed at my usual grocery store. The chicken was the only sort of miss, but I was able to fix it in no time.

This recipe calls for boneless, skinless chicken thighs which are usually easy to find. I grabbed a pack of 4 and didn’t read the label only to discover they were skinless but bone-in. Strange, but removing the bones was easy enough with a sharp boning knife.

Crispy Hawaiian Garlic Chicken Ingredients
Boneless skinless chicken thighs, cornstarch, ground ginger, sugar, jalapeno pepper, garlic, salt, black pepper, soy sauce, vegetable oil, and flour

The Process

Making my Crispy Hawaiian Garlic Chicken went pretty smoothly. I started by adding vegetable oil and a thermometer to a saucepan and heating it on the stove. I use an electric stove and I started on 5 out of 10 and had to move it up to 8.

As I was cooking I noticed the temperature fluctuated. I’m guessing that’s a stove thing and that a deep fryer would not have that problem. I don’t deep fry very often, so it’s not something I have. But everything worked out in the end despite the temperature fluctuation.

I also put on a pot of water for rice at the same time. It’s not listed as an ingredient, but the recipe’s photo shows the chicken served with it. I used jasmine rice, and I’m sure basmati or long-grain white rice would also work.

Prepping the chicken, breading, and jalapeno pepper
Prepping the chicken, breading, and jalapeno pepper

Deboning and chopping the chicken thighs and mixing up the ingredients for the breading was next. I dredged the chicken a few pieces at a time and shook off the excess.

The oil was still heating so I prepped the sauce ingredients and jalapeno pepper while I waited. I managed to get the sauce boiling before the oil had fully heated. Once it boiled, all I had to do was turn off the heat and let it sit on the stove to thicken until I needed it.

Now it was time to fry the chicken. Tip: The recipe doesn’t say how long to fry it, so I waited until it was golden brown—about 5 minutes per batch. I let each batch drain on paper towels and finished up by deep frying the jalapeno slices for 30 seconds.

Fried chicken chunks draining on paper towels
Fried chicken chunks draining on paper towels

Finishing up was just a matter of tossing the chicken in the sauce. I simply added it to the pan I made the sauce in and mixed until the chicken was coated. A shallow but wide pasta bowl was perfect to serve my Crispy Hawaiian Garlic Chicken. It had plenty of room for the chicken and rice.

Timing

This recipe lists 15 minutes to prep, 25 minutes to cook, and 40 minutes total, and I came within 1 minute of that time:

  • 19 minutes to prep:
    • 12 minutes to prep
    • 7 additional minutes waiting for the oil to reach 350℉
  • 20 minutes to cook:
    • 19.5 minutes to fry the chicken
    • 30 seconds to fry the jalapeno slices
  • 39 minutes total

So how was it?

Clear & Accurate Directions
Accurate Time(s)
Appearance
Taste
This Crispy Hawaiian Garlic Chicken was yet another Pinterest success! the crispy pieces of chicken were moist and tender, and the garlic sauce added lots of flavor and umami with a bit of saltiness. And don't forget about the touch of heat from the sliced jalapeno peppers. In other words, this recipe was full of everything I love. Making it went pretty smoothly. The only question that came up was how long to fry the chicken. The recipe does not list a time, but it took about 5 minutes to fry up to a golden brown color. I served this flavorful chicken dish with jasmine rice, and it was a hit. Like a no leftovers because we ate every bite kind of hit. I have a feeling I'll get requests for it in the future.
The Hungry Pinner
The Hungry Pinnerhttps://www.hungrypinner.com
I'm Candice, and I'm The Hungry Pinner. I created this blog to share my love for cooking and my experiences with the MANY recipes I've found on Pinterest over the years. Join me as I blog my way through those recipes to find out if they are worth trying yourself.

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This Crispy Hawaiian Garlic Chicken was yet another Pinterest success! the crispy pieces of chicken were moist and tender, and the garlic sauce added lots of flavor and umami with a bit of saltiness. And don't forget about the touch of heat from the sliced jalapeno peppers. In other words, this recipe was full of everything I love. Making it went pretty smoothly. The only question that came up was how long to fry the chicken. The recipe does not list a time, but it took about 5 minutes to fry up to a golden brown color. I served this flavorful chicken dish with jasmine rice, and it was a hit. Like a no leftovers because we ate every bite kind of hit. I have a feeling I'll get requests for it in the future.Crispy Hawaiian Garlic Chicken