Garlic and ginger braised chicken recipe on two plates with rice.

Our Garlic Ginger Braised Chicken is one of my favorite, go-to family dinners. I probably make this dish 2 or 3 times a month. It’s so easy to make, packed with delicious sweet and savory soy sauce, ginger and garlic flavors and always a crowd pleaser!

How to Make Garlic and Ginger Braised Chicken

Ingredients

chicken leg quarters – I like using the leg quarters because they stay really nice and juicy in this recipe. I also just almost always prefer dark meat to light meat because they don’t dry out easily in general.
shallots, garlic and ginger – These are the aromatics of the dish and very important! They impart really great flavor into the sauce and chicken. If you don’t have shallots, a little bit of diced onion will work just fine.
chicken stock, soy sauce, and brown sugar – I love the combination of these three ingredients together to make the super simple sauce. The sweet and salty combination is addicting and so easy. I like using stock for the added flavor, but if you don’t have it, you can use water instead.
white pepper – I like adding white pepper to this dish because it adds the most subtle ‘spicy’ flavor to the dish and balances everything out. If you don’t have white pepper, you can leave it out and everything will still be delicious.

Garlic and ginger braised chicken with a piece of it on a fork.

Process

Preheat oven to 350˚F. Generously season chicken quarters on both sides with salt and pepper.
Place a Dutch oven over medium-high heat and add oil. Sear skin side down, for 3 to 4 minutes. Flip and sear for an additional 3 to 4 minutes.

Remove chicken from the pot and set aside. Reduce heat to medium and sauté shallots, garlic and ginger for about 2 minutes.
Add stock and soy sauce to the pot to deglaze and simmer for 2 minutes Stir in sugar and pepper and continue to simmer until sugar dissolves.

Garlic, shallots, and ginger being cooked in a pot.

Garlic and ginger sauce being cooked in a pot for braised chicken.

Add chicken back into the Dutch oven, skin side down.
Cover and place in the oven for about 30 minutes.

Chicken in sauce in a pot to be braised in the oven.

Uncover, flip the chicken legs, and continue to cook in the oven, uncovered, for 15 minutes.

Make Ahead and Reheating Braised Chicken

This dish can be made up to 2 days ahead of time. Although different storage steps should be taken if being made 1 or 2 days ahead of time. We break it down for you below!

If making the dish 1 day ahead of time, cool completely after braising, cover with the lid and place the entire pot into the refrigerator. When ready to reheat, just place the pot over the stove and simmer over medium-low heat until just cooked through.

If making the dish two days ahead of time, cool completely after braising, remove the chicken legs from the braising liquid and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Cover the pot and also store in the refrigerator. When ready to reheat, nestle the chicken legs back into the braising liquid and simmer over medium-low heat until just cooked through.

We do these different storing methods so that the chicken doesn’t get too salty by sitting in the braising liquid for 2 days (1 day is fine).

Common Questions for Braising Chicken

Can I use Chicken breasts instead? While you can use chicken breasts I do not recommend in for this recipe (or most braise recipes). Chicken breasts cook up very quickly so a braise tends to toughen the meat and dry it out quite a bit.
Can I use boneless, skinless chicken thighs? Absolutely! I often use boneless, skinless thighs for this recipe because they cook up faster. Just remember to reduce the cooking time. You can omit the extra 15 minutes of uncovered braising at the end.
Do I have to use stock? I like using stock for the bit of extra flavor it provides, but you can definitely substitute water here for an equally delicious dish!