Today my dad’s gonna show us how a master chef turns a simple weeknight dish into a gourmet meal: Pan-Fried Chicken Thighs. It’s literally the best chicken thigh I’ve ever had. So get ready, because this video is packed with simple tips and techniques you can use to level up your cooking right away, starting with how to prep the chicken. When you young people get home from work, you can make this quick and easy recipe for dinner. Now, let's prepare the chicken. You can choose to use skinless, boneless thighs. Today, I have skin-on, bone-in thighs. Pan-fried chicken skin is very aromatic. Skin-on, bone-in thighs are more affordable. Skinless, boneless thighs are more expensive. To elaborate... when you buy bone-in chicken thighs, the price includes the weight of the bones, which you’re probably throwing away. However, it’s still cheaper than buying boneless, skinless chicken thighs, especially after adjusting for the edible percentage. According to the USDA, bone-in chicken thighs have a 70-75% edible yield (factoring in the bones), and boneless, skinless chicken thighs have a 100% edible yield. The Kitchn took this further in a 2017 article, pinning the adjusted prices at $1.90 per pound for bone-in chicken thighs and $2.40 per pound for boneless, skinless chicken thighs. The most economical choice? Whole chicken leg quarters, at $1.36 per pound. Either way, chicken thighs are the perfect introduction to cooking, because they’re so hard to overcook. Today, we’re using skin-on chicken thighs; the skin is richly flavored, and we’ll remove the bone for ease of eating. Because it’s so juicy, it pairs perfectly with plain rice or noodles. If you prefer skinless, boneless or another cut of chicken like breast, drumstick, or quarter, you can follow the recipe as is. Just make sure it reaches the USDA-recommended internal temperature of 165°F. First, we have this bone in here. We want to take it out, so watch this. Watch how I debone it. Find the bone in the middle and cut around it. Cut it out from both sides. Flip it over. We’ll carefully cut around the bone, separating it from the meat on both sides, then cut down the back while trying to keep as much meat as possible. That's how we debone it very simply. Now we have a filet! If you'd like to take the skin off, then peel it off now. If you like the skin, leave it on. Once you've deboned it, this side is thicker. Slice into the thick side and split it up. Then the chicken has an even thickness throughout. Why do you do that? It'll cook evenly. If some parts are thicker than others, the thin areas will cook through faster than the thick parts. Like this. Do you still even out skinless, boneless thighs? Yes. Even if it's skinless, the thickness could be uneven. They wouldn't even it out for you when they remove the skin. There's cartilage here that you can remove, or you can leave it in. You can also trim off excess fat if you want to. I usually trim the fat off. Make it a bit healthier. I do like the fragrant, aromatic skin though. After we debone and trim our chicken thighs, we’ll create the marinade for them. We'll use 1 tbsp of oyster sauce. 1 tbsp of light soy sauce. 1 tbsp of cooking wine. This is Shaoxing rice wine, but you can use any cooking wine. 1 tsp of salt. 1 tsp of sugar. 1/2 tsp of white pepper. 2 tbsp of cornstarch. The chicken will be more tender after marinating. We'll mince some ginger as well and mix it in. We'll use 1/2 oz. We’ll first thinly slice a bit of peeled ginger. The ginger makes the chicken more fragrant and get rid of any gaminess. Then we’ll chop those slices into thin strips. Then we’ll turn the strips 90 degrees to mince. We’ll add the minced ginger into the marinade. Mix it well. We'll use this to marinate the chicken. We’ll mix the marinade until everything is dissolved and the consistency is almost a paste. We have all of these ingredients listed on our blog at madewithlau.com along with step-by-step instructions and video clips to guide you as you make the recipe at home. Today, our side ingredients are very simple. We have a white onion and a red onion. Two types of onions. We’ll use half of a white onion and half of a red onion today to add both flavor and color to the final dish. First, we’ll chop the onions into thin slices. If you don't want to use two types of onions, just use one. We’ll set aside our onion slices and move on to the garlic. Now, we'll use 3 cloves of garlic. First, we’ll smash 3 cloves of garlic so it’s easier to peel. After peeling, we’ll mince. We'll chop it into a fine garlic mince. To level up your confidence in cutting all kinds of ingredients, check out our comprehensive masterclass on knife techniques in the Canto Cooking Club. To get access, check out club.madewithlau.com. After prepping the aromatics, we’ll return to the chicken. Now, I'll take a clean paper towel and pat the chicken dry. Dry meat will absorb the marinade better. Now we’ll use paper towels to dry both sides of the chicken thighs as much as possible before we put them into the marinade. After they’re dry, we’ll put them into the marinade one at a time. This side on the bottom. The meat side absorbs the marinade better. See that? Put it in there. If you marinate it skin-side down, the flavor won't penetrate well. Let the meat side absorb the marinade first. Then, we'll marinade the skin side. Do you do this for skinless meat? Yes, the same way. This side of the filet, even when it's skinless, it's still smoother. You can see that this (meat) side will better absorb the marinade. This smooth side won't absorb as much. Lots of people just mix it all up. This is how I do it. How long do you marinate it? 10 minutes is fine. It's very fast. Now, I'll put some cornstarch on this plate. 3 tbsp of cornstarch. A light coating of cornstarch will create an aromatic, crispy crust. If you have more meat, spread more cornstarch out. Spread it out. Then it'll be easier to coat the chicken. We'll dredge this meat side, which has soaked up lots of the marinade. This coat of cornstarch will lock the marinade in. Lightly dredge, then set it aside. Repeat with the next piece. We’ll lightly coat each chicken thigh with cornstarch, starting with the meat side. Shirley from the Canto Cooking Club asked, "How do you keep the chicken thighs crispy on the outside but still cooked to perfection on the inside?" It can't get crispy without that coat of cornstarch. The layer of cornstarch helps to crisp up the outside. The exterior turns crispy when you pan-fry the cornstarch. It gets fragrant. It also helps cook the interior. Would you have to use more oil? If you want to make things crispy, you should use a bit more oil. Now that we’ve coated both sides of each chicken thigh, we can bring out a flat-bottomed wok or pan to start pan-frying. We're prepared all the ingredients for the chicken thighs. Now we'll start the simple pan-frying. Turn on the heat. First, we’ll heat our pan on high. We don’t advise doing this step with a non-stick pan; instead you can skip to adding the oil, then turning on the heat. How can you tell when the pan is hot enough? You can see it. The pan changes color when it's hot enough. You'll also see the steam coming off of it. "How do you prevent it from sticking to the pan?" The most important thing is to get the pan hot enough, especially if you're using stainless steel, before you add the oil. If you use a non-stick pan, then the chicken won't stick. Why did you choose this frying pan? The width is easier to work with. "What type of pan is best?" A flat-bottom skillet is best for pan-frying. There are pans that have a non-stick coating. Just use whatever you have at home. You don't need to go out and get some special pan. If you had options, which one would be best? I'd use stainless steel. Why's that? I can use the stainless steel pan more aggressively. There's no non-stick coating to scratch. Thumbs up! Yeah! Pound it! Yeah! Pound it. All right, it's hot enough to add the oil now. After 2-3 minutes of heating the pan, we can add oil. 2 tbsp of corn oil. Once the oil goes in, you can see it bubble and ripple. You can see it smoke. Now, we turn the heat down to low. After adding the oil, we’ll turn the heat back to low and add the chicken. Add each piece of chicken thigh. Skin side down. Remember to lower the heat before the chicken goes in. Then it won't stick. We’ll add each chicken thigh to the pan, skin side down. It’s important to let them cook on this side without immediately flipping or moving them too much. So you never cook it on high heat? No, don't use high heat! High heat will burn the exterior before the inside can cook. Nudge them apart. It's not sticking, see? Just nudge them a bit. Why do you have to move them? To help the pieces get the same amount of heat all around the pan. Different parts of the pan may heat up differently. Cath from the Canto Cooking Club asked, "Any tips on pan-frying chicken without having oil splatter all over the stovetop?" Once you coat the chicken in cornstarch, it'll seal in all the moisture and juices. Without any moisture on the surface, there won't be water in contact with oil to cause splatter. Pan-fry this side for 2-3 minutes. Pan-fry the skin side until it's golden brown. See? So now, we'll flip them. We can flip them now. See that? After 2-3 minutes on the skin side, or when it’s golden brown, we can flip the chicken thighs. Nice, isn't it? Now, we'll turn the heat up just a bit. Medium heat now. How do you know if the heat is too high? If the heat is too high, the skin will burn right away instead of turning golden brown. You can only thoroughly pan-fry on lower heat. How long do you pan-fry this side? A little longer on this side. It'll take at least 5-6 minutes. With this side, we’ll let it cook for roughly 5-6 minutes on medium heat, being sure to check the bottom occasionally to make sure it’s not burning or sticking. We’re aiming for that same golden brown color. Then we’ll flip again. This side is fragrant now. Once it's fragrant, flip again to keep crisping the skin. Get the skin even more aromatic. How long? 1-2 minutes. Just a moment to get the skin crispy and fragrant. How come you don't cook the skin side all the way the first time? There's still moisture in there. Let it reabsorb the moisture and then pan-fry again to get it crispy. After 1-2 minutes of cooking with the skin side down, we’ll flip them back over again and add our aromatics. We add the garlic and fry it until it's fragrant. Here in the middle. Add the onions to the middle of the pan. After adding the garlic and onions, we’ll mix them around the pan. Wow, smells great! Now, what's next? We'll give it a splash of cooking wine, then let it cook covered. Now, we’ll add a splash of cooking wine and cover. Here, the cooking wine plays an important role: it binds to alcohol-soluble flavor compounds that would otherwise prefer to stay in the background. When we add it to the marinade, alcohol carries and infuses oil-soluble and water-soluble flavors that don't naturally want to mix. It also helps to counteract possible gaminess in fish and meat. When we add it during the cooking process, the alcohol increases the release of aromatic molecules, enhancing the sensory experience of the dish. We apply both techniques in this recipe for maximum impact. If you omit the cooking wine, the chicken will still taste amazing! You'll miss out on these effects of using alcohol, but you can use water or any kind of broth in the last steaming step to at least get the effects of the steam-cooking. See? It smells incredible now that the cooking wine is in. The aroma is indescribable. What does the wine do? It gets rid of gaminess and adds to the aroma. When the wine goes in and it sizzles, the aroma of the wine and the flavors of the onions and garlic mix and harmonize together. Cover with a lid so the meat can also absorb all the flavor. Then the meat will be delicious! Let it cook covered to ensure the meat is thoroughly cooked. We started at medium heat, but increase it to high after adding the wine. Let the sauce reduce. It's good, let's take the lid off. We’ll uncover the pan after just 30-40 seconds. This way, the onions are cooked well, right? Heat off. "How can you tell if the chicken is cooked without a thermometer or cutting it?" If both sides are golden brown, it should be cooked. It might be undercooked if you don't add wine and cook it covered. It should be cooked well but tender and moist. If you keep pan-frying it too much until it's dry inside, then it'll be overcooked. After you turn the heat off, sprinkle some garlic salt on. Finally, we’ll sprinkle on some garlic salt. "Any advice on reheating?" Air fryer would be best, but don't leave it in there too long. If you cook it for too long, it'll be dry. Steaming would be the worst method, I think. Steaming it would make it soggy. One of this dish’s greatest strengths is how well it reheats! While using an air fryer or toaster oven would be best, if you’re short on time or appliances, you can use the microwave to ding jit the leftovers for lunch the next day and the chicken thighs will stay luscious and tender. With the chicken done, we’ll create a bed of onions on our serving plate then place our chicken thighs in a row on top. We can garnish with some onions and then we’re ready to taste it. It looks amazing and it smells so good! Oh yeah, got the onion! Oh my god, that's so good! All right, friends! Our Pan-fried Chicken Thighs are complete! I hope you all enjoy it! It's very simple. Hong Doy, Mui Mui, time to eat chicken! Cheers! Okay, you want the whole thing? You got it, Mui Mui! Okay, back to Mommy! That's too much! "Tasty! Tasty!" So tasty!
