Honey Soy Baked Chicken Drumsticks
Chicken drumsticks baked in an Asian inspired honey soy sauce marinade until the chicken is moist, juicy, and soaks up all the flavor. The sauce turns out sweet, salty and sticky, just perfect to spoon over some rice. I have also added some red pepper and green onion to make it more wholesome and flavorful.
These baked chicken drumsticks have a wonderful, sweet, sour glaze on the outside. The outside is a dark brown and slightly crisp. The meat is cooked well and thoroughly, so each bite has a caramelized ,baked crisp with juicy meat inside.
Soy sauce gives a lot to meat. Being an acidic liquid, it helps tenderize chicken drumsticks and adds flavor. As this is used with honey to coat the chicken drumsticks, it helps give a glaze to the outside while not letting you forget the taste of the meat inside.
Honey, being thick, acts as a wonderful coat for the drumsticks. It imparts sweetness and, added with some brown sugar, balances the sourness of the soy sauce.
I have used sambal oelek to give a little heat to counter the sour and sweet flavor and balance the taste. Sambal is a simple Indonesian chili paste made of four ingredients: chili peppers, water, vinegar, and salt. It is slightly different from sriracha sauce as it has no sugar. You can use any other chili paste instead.
Ingredients
- Chicken drumsticks – Recommend using skinless drumsticks. Since this recipe uses a wet sauce like a marinade, the sauce will make the skin soggy, and you will not get the desired slightly crisp exterior of the drumstick.
- Soy sauce – Use a good quality soy sauce. Soy sauce is easily available in most nearby stores in the Asian section.
- Ginger and Garlic – I have used minced ginger and garlic for flavor
- Oil – Have used regular cooking oil
- Sambal Oelek – Gives baked drumsticks an Asian-inspired taste and flavor. Added a little to provide some heat. You may substitute it with sriracha.
Make baked drumsticks
Baking chicken drumsticks is very easy. This recipe does not call for long marination. Chicken drumsticks remain moist after baking and also soak up all the flavors.
The ingredients needed to coat and mix with the chicken drumsticks – Soy sauce, honey, garlic, ginger, chili sauce, and oil, need to be mixed in a small bowl.
Apply the wet sauce all around the drumsticks using a brush.
Preheat the oven to 200 °C or 400 °F. Put the pan containing the drumsticks and bake at 200 °C or 400 °F for 40 minutes. At around 25 minutes, take the pan out and flip the drumsticks to get even cooking on all sides.
Garnish with mustard and minced green onions.
This recipe does not need salt because soy sauce and sambal are salty enough.
Other baked chicken recipes
- Baked Chicken Legs And Vegetables – Chicken legs and vegetables tossed in a ranch marinade and cooked until tender and juicy.
- Baked BBQ Chicken – Bone-in chicken with skin baked with a flavorful spice rub and BBQ sauce, giving summer grilling vibes.
- Baked Honey Garlic Chicken Wings – wings tossed in a sweet and savory sauce and baked until crispy.
- Oven Baked Creamy Chicken Thighs – baked chicken thighs slathered with creamy parmesan sauce.
- Baked Garlic Parmesan Chicken & Potatoes – classic chicken and potato combination in a butter garlic herb sauce.
- Crispy Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken Wings – crispy wings baked with a glossy sweet and sour sauce. A party hit!
Baked honey soy chicken drumstick
Ingredients
- 2 pounds Chicken drumstick
- ¼ cup Low sodium soy sauce
- â…“ cup Honey
- 2 tablespoon Sambal oelek or any other chili paste/hot sauce.
- 2 teaspoon Rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon Ginger minced
- 2 tablespoon Cornstrach
- 2 tablespoon Chicken Stock
- 2 teaspoon Oil
- 2-3 stalks Green onion (green and white part separated)
- 1 red bell pepper
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 200 C /400 F.
- To an oven-proof dish, add soy sauce, honey, sambal, rice vinegar, ginger, and garlic. Toss in chicken drumsticks to coat with the sauce. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the oven. Stir in the cornflour slurry, add sliced pepper and white part of the green onions. Bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes more for the sauce to thicken and the chicken legs to cook through. (After 10 minutes of baking, baste chicken legs with the pan sauce once)
- Garnish it with green onions and toasted sesame.
Video
Notes
- You can use any other hot sauce instead of sambal. Adjust the amount of hot sauce as per your taste.Â
- I prefer using skinless drumsticks for this recipe. Chicken drumsticks with skin, when baked in a sauce, the skin gets soggy because of the moisture.Â
- For a thicker sauce, increase the cornstarch amount to 3 tablespoons mixed with 3 tablespoons of chicken stock.Â
- If you prefer your veggies crunchy, then add bell pepper and green onion towards the last 10 minutes.Â
