We’re pretty sure that this Easy Asian Dry Rub Chicken will become your go-to recipe for busy weekdays. It’s perfect prepared ahead of time, but it’s also comes together really quickly in real-time. Ha! To borrow a phrase from Jamie Oliver, it’s dead easy to prepare and make!
Mix the dry rub, rub it on the chicken, let it marinate overnight, take it out of the fridge, put it into the oven and you’ll be eating in 30 minutes. You may even wonder if someone slipped some MSG into the bowl when you weren’t looking! It’s that tasty. A secret of this oven baked dry rub chicken recipe is the use of ginger powder and galangal powder (or “sand ginger” powder) in the dry rub, so before you ask, don’t think about leaving these two ingredients out!
The flavor of this recipe reminds me of Chinese Salt-baked Chicken, and anyone who has had salt-baked chicken knows it’s really really really good. I promise that your family and friends will ask you to make this Asian Dry Rub Chicken again and again. In fact, when you take the leftovers to lunch, your co-workers may ask you for the recipe–if they ever get over their lunchtime food envy.
If you’re missing ginger powder or galangal powder, you can also try our Five Spice Baked Chicken, another crazy easy baked chicken recipe you can try when your standard herb seasoning starts to feel stale. The two dishes have different flavors, but both are extremely simple and equally delicious.
Add either garlicky broccoli, stir fried bok choy, or garlicky baby bok choy for a vegetable side to accompany your chicken, get that rice cooker working, and you’ve got dinner taken care of! Brownie points if you season your chicken thighs now–you’ll be glad you did when you get home hungry from work tomorrow!
Recipe Instructions
Combine all the spices to make the dry rub (salt, sugar, white pepper, ground Sichuan peppercorns, garlic powder, onion powder, five spice powder, galangal powder or sand ginger powder, and ground ginger powder).
There is enough dry rub to make 12 chicken thighs, so you can either save half of the dry rub for another time, or double the amount of chicken used.
Rinse the chicken and pat dry with a paper towel. Use half of the dry rub for 6 chicken thighs, ensuring you get an even coating of spices all over the chicken. Cover with plastic wrap and marinate in the refrigerator overnight (or at least 6 hours).
After the chicken is done marinating, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Transfer the chicken to a cast iron skillet or baking dish and roast for 15 minutes.
Use a spoon or brush to baste the chicken with any drippings at the bottom of the skillet/baking dish.
Feel free to remove the chicken from the oven to baste. When you’re done, return the chicken to the oven for another 10 to 15 minutes.
After 10-15 minutes, use a meat thermometer to check that the internal temperature near the bone is 165 degrees Fahrenheit. When the chicken is done, baste it one more time with the drippings, and garnish with scallions.
Serve your oven baked dry rub chicken with rice and your choice of vegetable to complete the meal!
If you prefer using boneless chicken thighs, see our post on How to debone skin-on chicken thighs and adjust/reduce cooking times accordingly.
