These oven baked Thai chicken drumsticks are marinated in a sauce of blended cilantro, peanut oil, coriander, lime juice, and hoisin sauce.
Thai chicken drumsticks are delicious and moist on the inside and crisp on the outside.
Thai Chicken Drumstick Sauce
Make double of this cilantro based Thai sauce for this chicken drumstick recipe.
Freeze half of the Thai sauce for later in a small ziplock snack bag. Defrost, and add it to raw chicken drumsticks another day. This is a great way to prep for a "no clean up" dinner for another day.
Frozen Thai sauce will keep in the refrigerator for ~ 4 months and can be used over chicken legs, thighs, drumsticks, or breasts.
Baking Thai Chicken Drumsticks In The Oven
Different ovens cook differently and/or are calibrated at different temperatures. Cook this Thai chicken drumstick recipe at 425F for about 35 - 40 minutes.
If the chicken is not browning then turn up the heat or broil (watching carefully) for a couple minutes.
If the chicken skin is too brown, turn off the heat and/or take it out of the oven and see if it's done visually or by making sure the internal temperature of the chicken is 165F.
Variations on Baked Thai Chicken Drumsticks
This Thai sauce tastes great on whole chicken legs or on chicken drumsticks (lower legs), or thighs (upper legs). The cooking time also remains almost the same. Increase the time by 10 minutes for whole chicken legs or meaty thighs.
Don't like cilantro? Use parsley or kale instead. Don't like fish sauce? Are you sure - it's packed with flavor! If you're sure - use soy sauce instead.
Like Thai Chicken spicy? Add more Jalapeno's to the sauce.
Don't have a blender? Use a food processor or mortar and pestle to make the Thai sauce.
Cilantro makes a great garnish and both the leaves and stems are edible, tender and tasty. For the garnish, I pick off the individual leaves from the stem and chop.
For the blender, I just rip off a chunk from the bunch (especially if the stems are tender) and throw it all in (taking out any very large stems if they stand out).
Baked Thai Chicken Drumsticks
EatSimpleFood.com
These oven baked chicken drumsticks are marinated in a Thai based sauce of cilantro, peanut oil, coriander, lime juice, and hoisin sauce. Thai chicken drumsticks are delicious and moist on the inside and crisp on the outside.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes (marinates for 3 hours)
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 6 (2 each)
- Category: Appetizer, Main Dish
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: Thai
- Diet: Comfort Food
Ingredients
- 3 ½ lb bone in, skin on chicken drumsticks (~ 12)
- 2 large garlic cloves, peeled and chunked
- ½ of 1 medium jalapeno, membranes, seeds, & stem removed, chunked
- ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoon cilantro, divided
- 3 tablespoon fish sauce (sub soy sauce if you don't have it)
- 3 tablespoon hoisin sauce (sub 2 tablespoon soy sauce and 1 tablespoon brown sugar if you don't have it)
- 1 ½ tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 3 tablespoon peanut oil
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients, except chicken and 2 tablespoon finely minced cilantro, in a blender or food processor
and pulse until garlic & Jalapeno are blended. I like it pulsed finely more than fully blended like a pesto. - Trim any excess skin / fat off the chicken if needed.
- Arrange chicken in a baking dish and pour the marinade over it. Make sure all the chicken is coated in the marinade. Cover and marinate for at least 3 hours and/or up to 24 hours.
- Preheat oven to 425F.
- Finely mince 2 tablespoon cilantro for garnish.
- Roast uncovered ~ 35-40 minutes or until internal temperature of chicken reaches 165F. Check the chicken periodically. Some ovens run hot and the chicken may burn or the liquid may evaporate and burn. If this is the case: 1) add some water to the bottom of the pan if needed. Other ovens don't run hot enough and you may need to broil (watching carefully!) the last couple minutes to get that brown crispy skin.
- Rest ~ 5-10 minutes before eating - you don't want to burn the roof of your mouth 🙂
- Garnish with minced cilantro. Happy Eating! Beckie
and pulse until garlic & Jalapeno are blended. I like it pulsed finely more than fully blended like a pesto.Notes
- Make double of the sauce for this recipe. Freeze ½ of it for later!
- In a hurry? Just pop the chicken in the oven without marinating it. Still amazing!
- Cilantro makes a great garnish. For the garnish, I pick off the leaves and chop. For the food processor, I just rip off a chunk from the bunch, especially if the stems are tender, and throw it in (taking out any very large stems if they stand out).
- Different ovens cook differently and/or are calibrated at different temperatures unfortunately. Check your chicken at 35 minutes. If it's not browning, turn up the heat or broil (watching carefully for a couple minutes). If it's too brown on the skin, turn off the heat and/or take it out of the oven and see if it's done visually or by making sure the temperature is 165F.
- Don't like cilantro? Use parsley or kale instead. Don't like fish sauce? Are you sure - it's packed with flavor! If you're sure - use soy sauce instead.
- Like it spicy? Add more Jalapeno.
- Don't have a blender? Use a food processor or mortar and pestle.
Things In My Kitchen:
- Food processor - 8 cup food processor for blendin' the sauce.
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What My Man Says...
"When making this recipe recently, I realized I didn't have jalapeno peppers, so I substituted 3 or 4 pepperoncini, and it worked out great."
"Also, prepping the ingredients took me a few minutes longer than what it says in the recipe, but I'm not fast in the kitchen, and I don't like to rush when I'm cooking."
"Overall it was easy and turned out great - I wish I'd followed Beckie's advice and made double the marinade / sauce. Next time!"
You May Also Like
If you like this Thai drumstick recipe, you may also like these flavorful chicken drumstick and thigh recipes.
Serving suggestion
Stick with the Asian theme and serve this baked Thai chicken drumstick recipe with a complementary salad, veggie side, or starch.
Hmm, where's the recipe? "Jump to recipe" button goes nowhere.
Hi Andy! My recipe plug in crashed yesterday but it's back and running. Thank you for being the only person so far to take the time to send me a comment about it. I was sweating all day yesterday. Up and running today. Best, Beckie