Everything tastes better when it is on a stick… well it does if you are my kids.
Marinated chicken in fried rice tastes disgusting, but if I thread it on a stick and serve it with pita bread, dip and salad it is suddenly the best dinner ever made!
I will never understand how my kid’s brains work, especially when it comes to food, so I am just going with it – what else can you do?
‘Chicken on Sticks’ or marinated chicken kebabs if you want a more refined name for them, are an easy kid-friendly meal that is easy to make ahead and freeze for nights when you need to whip something up really quickly. Now that spring is here and salad is creeping back into our menu we’ll be eating these a lot!
- Chicken thigh fillets 4-6
- ½ cup soy sauce
- garlic
- ½ tsp sweet paprika
- 1 tsp mixed herbs
- bamboo skewers
- If you are not making the recipe to cook straight away you will need to soak the bamboo skewers. If you are making the recipe to freeze you can skip the soaking.
- Cut the chicken fillets into small chunks, trying to keep the pieces roughly the same size so they will cook evenly.
- Thread the chicken onto the skewers, snip off the pointy end of the skewer (you can skip this if not freezing) and put them in a large dish.
- Mix together the soy sauce, garlic (as much or as little as you like), paprika and herbs and pour over the chicken, making sure it is well coated.
- If you are freezing the chicken sticks then carefully pack them into a freezer bag and add any remaining marinade in with them. Double bag them just to be sure the sticks don't poke through and pop them in the freezer.
- If you are cooking them without freezing then allow them to sit in the marinade, in the fridge, for as long as you can.
- To cook, defrost (if needed) and then heat a little olive oil in a pan until hot, added as many chicken sticks as you can fit in a single layer. Cook, turning, till all side are browned then pop them on a tray in a moderate oven for 15 minutes to make sure they are cooked through.
- Serve with flat bread, salad and garlic yoghurt dip.
I try to make up a few meals of these when I do our big monthly shop and put them in the freezer. Then all I have to do is remember to put them in the fridge to defrost in the morning, they have been marinading for ages and are lovely and tender, and it is quick and easy to cook them while I make salad and yoghurt dip.
If I’ve got time I make Naan bread, but they are just as good with shop bought flat bread. Luckily all our kids love salad and love being able to put together their own ‘chicken stick wraps’ with some yummy garlic yoghurt dip.
You can find our recipe for simple yoghurt dip here.
I’m not sure why the sticks make this meal taste better to my kids, but a few minutes spent threading chicken on sticks is worth it for a hassle free meal time!
Sarah says
Thanks for the recipes- definitely going to try this with my little man!
Lucy @ Bake Play Smile says
Yum! These might be kid friendly but they are totally adult friendly too. Ahh it’s so nice having chicken skewers on the BBQ now that the weather is getting better. Thanks for another yummy recipe!
katepickle says
Don’t you love it when you find a meal that everyone enjoys!!!
Susan, Mum to Molly says
Looks great, might give it a go…
Half a what of soy sauce? Tsp?
Ta.
katepickle says
oops sorry 1/2 cup of soy sauce! :)
Teri says
Yum! This has been a favorite in our house both times we’ve made it! The only thing I did differently was to add in about 2tsp of brown sugar into the marinade to really help the chicken get a nice caramelized brown on it. So awesome! :)
I served it with a yogurt dipping sauce made with 1 container of greek yogurt, a tsp of dried dill, a grated clove of garlic, 1/2tsp of salt and a few shakes of pepper, a squeeze of lemon juice & a dash of onion powder. SO good! :)
kathy says
Has anyone tried this on the grill? And the day before?
I’ve got a large group for a graduation party, and wanted to make skewered chicken the day before, put in the fridge then heat in the oven before serving. My concern is drying them out.
any suggestions?
Anna says
Hi, I realize this recipe was posted Sept/2013 so if nobody replies, I understand!
I am curious if I can sub the 1/2 cup soy sauce for coconut aminos (soy free seasoning).
Thanks in advance for all the great recipes!
katepickle says
You can marinate the chicken in whatever you like best! :)
Lisa says
Has anyone grilled them and THEN frozen them? I, too, am trying to cook for a large graduation party and thought we could grill ahead – freeze and them warm in a roaster with more of the original marinade. Any feedback appreciated!
Cindy says
what were the ‘herbs’ used in the original recipe? Thx!
katepickle says
We used chives, rosemary, oregano and sage because that’s what we had on hand, but you could use any herbs that you like.