images of meters — WOW! This delicious, quick and healthy chicken dish is an impressive weeknight dinner with no stress!

Your new weeknight chicken recipe: Lemon-Ginger Chicken

This quick & easy, versatile chicken recipe will become one of your favorite weeknight meals! The fresh lemon and ginger with the soy sauce and honey give inexpensive bone-in chicken thighs a delicious Asian flare. Chicken drumsticks, boneless chicken thighs, and chicken breast can also be used – as long as they are not skinless. The chicken is cooked in a skillet (frying pan), so there is no need to heat up the kitchen by turning on the oven. Add up to four additional chicken thighs — no additional lemon/ginger stuffing or soy/honey sauce needed.

images of ingredients — Ingredients for sautéing chicken and for serving

Take out the chicken and let it rest on the counter to warm to room temp while prepping the other ingredients. Zest and juice one lemon and slice the other lemon in wedges for serving. Peel and grate the fresh ginger. If desired, slice 1 or 2 green onions for garnish.

Image of prepped ingredients — Use a small spoon to peel fresh ginger and grate with a zester. Zest and juice one lemon, slice the other lemon in wedges for serving. Slice the green onion for garnish

While fresh is always best, bottled lemon juice works just fine. Ground ginger won’t taste the same as fresh but in a pinch, substitute 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger for the fresh.

Bowls with stuffing and sauce — Ginger, zest and salt n one bowl. Lemon juice, honey, soy sauce and water in another bowl.

In a small bowl, combine lemon zest with ginger and salt. In another bowl, combine lemon juice, honey, soy sauce, and 2 tablespoons of water.

Rub the lemon peel mixture under the chicken skin. Season to taste.

Rub lemon peel mixture under the skin of the chicken thighs. Season with salt & pepper to taste. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Place chicken, skin side down, in the hot oil.

Cook 8 minutes or until well-browned; turn chicken and add lemon juice mixture. Reduce heat; cover and cook 14 to 18 minutes longer or until done. Transfer chicken to plates. Skim fat from pan juices. Garnish the chicken by drizzling with the pan juices and top with slices of green onion. Serve with wedges of lemon. A squeeze of the fresh lemon makes the chicken flavors pop! This dish pairs beautifully with white or brown rice and a green salad.

Lemon-Ginger Chicken

Recipe by Jane BruceCourse: Main, DinnerCuisine: Asian InspiredDifficulty: Easy

Servings

2-4

servings

Prep time

minutes

Cooking time

minutes

This quick & easy and versatile chicken recipe will become one of your favorite weeknight meals! The flavors from the fresh lemon and ginger with the soy sauce and honey gives inexpensive bone-in chicken thighs a delicious Asian flare.

Ingredients

2 lemon
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
4 chicken thighs with bone
1 tablespoon canola oil
Optional: Sliced green onion for topping/garnish

Directions

Prep: Set out the chicken to let it come to room temperature while prepping other ingredients. Zest and juice 1 lemon, slice the other lemon in wedges for serving. Grate fresh ginger. If desired, slice a green onion for garnish
In a small bowl combine lemon zest with ginger and salt. In another bowl combine lemon juice, honey, soy sauce, and 2 tablespoons of water.
Rub lemon peel mixture under the skin of the chicken thighs. Season with salt & pepper to taste. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Place chicken, skin side down, in the hot oil. Cook 8 minutes or until well-browned; turn chicken and add lemon juice mixture. Reduce heat; cover and cook 14 to 18 minutes longer or until done and juices are no longer pink (165)
Transfer chicken to plates. Skim fat from pan juices, if desired. Drizzle chicken with some of the pan juices. Top with green onion and serve with lemon wedges.

Notes

Oil: vegetable oil can also be used. Heat oil until it glistens (not smoke)
Chicken: Boneless thighs will work but skinless will not work! Chicken drumsticks, legs, or breasts can also be used. Let the chicken come to room temperature (about 20 minutes on the counter) before cooking
Ginger: Easily peel the ginger with a small spoon. Use a vegetable zester to grate the ginger. Store unused ginger in the freezer to keep it fresh for next time. If needed, substitute ¼ teaspoon ground ginger for fresh ginger
Fresh Lemon: substitute 3 tablespoons bottled lemon juice and 1 teaspoon dried lemon peel. Fresh orange or lime zest can also be substituted for the lemon zest.