Recipe Background
These Mongolian Chicken Thighs combine savory and sweet with slow-cooked perfection.
When I got that job offer from my dream company, it immediately brought to mind my love for celebration dinners with family. To commemorate, I decided to cook Mongolian Chicken Thighs, a dish I once tasted at a quaint family-run restaurant the night of my college graduation. I remember being struck by their perfect blend of savory and sweet, thanks to low-sodium soy sauce and dark brown sugar, a combo that was new to me back then. That night, I took mental notes as the chef explained their long, slow cooking method. Now, each time I stir the ingredients for the sauce in the slow cooker, I’m reminded of those encouraging words from family and professors, egging me on to chase my dreams.
As I laid the bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs into the mixture, I thought about the journey since that evening. A key secret I picked up is to make sure the skin is side up in the cooker. This way, it soaks up that ginger and garlic infusion perfectly, reminding me of the care with which life’s best flavors—success and celebration—come together. Sprinkling sesame seeds and slicing a few green onions to top off the dish always brings back that ceremonial feel, while serving it alongside warm rice rounds off the memory of a shared meal, much like those comforting evenings spent with loved ones.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger or 2 teaspoons fresh ginger minced
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder or 2 tablespoons fresh garlic minced
- 5 chicken thighs bone-in and skin-on
- sesame seeds to taste, for garnish
- green onions to taste, sliced, for garnish
- rice optional, to taste, cooked and warm, for serving
Directions
- Add the soy sauce, the brown sugar, the ginger, and the garlic powder to the bowl of a slow cooker and stir to combine.
- Add the chicken thighs, skin-side up, to the soy sauce mixture.
- Cook the chicken thighs on low-heat for 8 hours or on high-heat for 4 hours.
- Garnish the chicken thighs with the sesame seeds and the green onions.
- Serve the chicken thighs with the warm rice.
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