Introduction

If you’re a garlic lover, this Sticky Garlic Chicken Recipe is one you’ll want to make. Instead of using minced garlic that seasons the dish, this recipe uses whole cloves of garlic that’s the star of the dish. Instead of giving it a normal hard cook, this recipe gently cooks the cloves until they’re soft, buttery, and slightly sweet. When combined with bites of juicy chicken thigh and a delicious soy sauce glaze, it becomes the dinner that will become a weeknight staple.

Why You’ll Love This Sticky Garlic Chicken Recipe

You’ll love this Sticky Garlic Chicken Recipe because it uses garlic as the star of the dish instead as just another seasoning to the dish. While you may be a little adamant on eating whole garlic cloves (I was at first!), you’ll really enjoy them. The reason is because the simmering of the garlic cloves takes that sharp taste of garlic and turns them sweet, creamy, and almost spreadable like a garlic confit. Instead of overpowering the dish, the garlic becomes a rich bite that pairs perfectly with the chicken and sauce. As a result, you have a dish where every bite is rich, delicious, and never gets old!

A spoon lifting glossy, sauce-coated chicken pieces above the bowl of Sticky Garlic Chicken Recipe.

Why The Sauce Is So Important For This Sticky Garlic Chicken Recipe

The sauce is what really makes this Sticky Garlic Chicken Recipe. While you have all the usual ingredients for an Asian stir fry sauce, such as light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and oyster sauce, it’s what happens after adding these ingredients that really matters. When you initially add your ingredients, you may think you added too much liquid, but as the sauce reduces, it will naturally thicken and coat both the chicken and garlic cloves. The name of the game is patience. If you give the sauce enough time, I promise you it’ll be as thick, dark, and glossy as the picture!

Sticky Garlic Chicken Recipe Ingredients

Chicken thighs – The main protein of the dish. They stay juicy while absorbing the sticky sauce.

Whole garlic + water – Simmering the garlic first softens the cloves and turns them into buttery bites that become one of the highlights of the recipe.

Sauce (dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, oyster sauce, brown sugar) – The blend that creates the dish’s signature sweet and salty glaze.

Optional serving (steamed rice) – The perfect accompaniment for soaking up every bit of the flavorful sauce.

How to Make Sticky Garlic Chicken

Add the peeled garlic cloves and water to a pan. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook for about 5 minutes. Remove the lid and continue cooking until the water has completely evaporated. Transfer the softened garlic to a plate.

Whole garlic cloves frying in oil in a pan while starting Sticky Garlic Chicken Recipe.

Heat oil in the same pan and cook the chicken until about 80% cooked through.

Bite-sized raw chicken pieces being added to the pan for Sticky Garlic Chicken Recipe.

Add the dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, oyster sauce, brown sugar, and softened garlic cloves.

Brown sugar and garlic cloves being added to the chicken and sauce in the pan for Sticky Garlic Chicken Recipe.

Continue cooking until the sauce reduces into a glossy glaze that coats the chicken.

Chicken pieces being tossed in a thick, glossy sauce in the pan while making Sticky Garlic Chicken Recipe.

Serve immediately over steamed rice if desired.

Glazed chicken and garlic cloves being spooned over steamed rice for Sticky Garlic Chicken Recipe.

What to Serve with Sticky Garlic Chicken

As previously mentioned, this Sticky Garlic Chicken Recipe is best over steamed white rice because it soaks up all that delicious sauce. If you want to add even more sides to your bowl along with the rice, here are a few of my favorites:

Sautéed greens. This pairs great with just a couple tablespoons of oyster sauce. It’s a traditional side that’s served alongside stir fries.
Pickled vegetables. Pickled cabbage or carrots work best with countering the rich flavors of the recipe.
Cabbage. Some sliced raw cabbage leaves also surprisingly pair well with this dish!

How to Store Sticky Garlic Chicken For Meal Prep

This Sticky Garlic Chicken Recipe can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. If you are serving it with rice, I usually store it separately, whether side by side or in separate containers. This is to prevent the rice from becoming too mushy from being constantly soaked in the sauce. When you reheat it, there are a couple of options.

Reheating in a pan. Yields the most similar texture to a freshly-made version.
Microwaving. Microwave the dish with a splash of water for 2 minutes before mixing and serving.

Sticky Garlic Chicken Substitutions

This Sticky Garlic Chicken Recipe is very flexible, and you can substitute some ingredients depending on what you have available. A few of my favorite substitutions are:

Chicken breast. A leaner protein that still works very well. If you do, marinate the chicken breast strips in 2 tbsp cornstarch, 2 tbsp Shaoxing wine, and a pinch of salt for 15 minutes prior to cooking. This will make the chicken breast super tender!
Fewer garlic cloves. If you want a milder tasting dish, you can reduce the number of garlic cloves without changing the primary flavors.
Hoisin sauce. Can be used instead of oyster sauce, but will be slightly more floral and sweeter.
Chopped vegetables. Feel free to add bell peppers, mushrooms, or onions to this dish to add more texture and vitamins!