Soy-Ginger Chicken Thighs from The Instant Kitchen Meal Prep Cookbook

I love a pared down, simple recipe that’s still full of flavor. These chicken thighs are a fast weeknight take on Huli-Huli chicken – they cook in the air fryer instead of on the grill, and using boneless skinless chicken means they’ll be done in 15 minutes flat.

If you’ve never had this type of marinade before, you’re in for a treat! The combination of pineapple juice, soy sauce, and ketchup is sweetened with brown sugar and spiced with ground ginger and garlic powder. Easy, simple, and balanced. If you like teriyaki, you’ll like this salty, sweet, and tangy combo too. 

In The Instant Kitchen Meal Prep Cookbook, Soy-Ginger Chicken Thighs are served with steamed green beans and jasmine rice. Everything’s included in the weekly shopping list, and as part of your weekend meal prep tasks, you’ll trim the green beans, steam the rice, and marinate the chicken thighs. Then on a weeknight, all that’s left to do is steam the green beans in your pressure cooker, reheat the rice in the microwave, and air fry the chicken thighs. Including preheating your air fryer, everything takes about 20 minutes to put together. That’s my kind of weeknight meal! 

 

Soy-Ginger Chicken Thighs

Prep time: 10 minutes (plus time to marinate)

Cook time: 15 minutes

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs

½ cup pineapple juice

¼ cup soy sauce

¼ cup ketchup

¼ cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon garlic powder

Prep Instructions: 

Add the chicken thighs to a lidded container or zip-­ top bag.

In a bowl, stir together the pineapple juice, soy sauce, ketchup, brown sugar, ginger, and garlic powder. Pour the mixture over the chicken, then use tongs to toss the chicken in the marinade until all of the thighs are coated. Label “Soy-­ Ginger Chicken Thighs,” and store in the fridge.

Cooking Instructions: 

Preheat the air fryer to 400ºF. Add the chicken thighs in a single layer directly in the air fryer basket or on the baking sheet of an air fryer oven, lined with parchment paper or aluminum foil, and air fry for 15 minutes, until they are cooked through and browned.