Chicken Skewers Recipe with Hoisin Glaze

Kick up your summer grilling with this irresistible chicken skewers recipe glazed with sweet-tart Hoisin sauce. Perfect for a quick and delicious dinner, these skewers feature marinated chunks of chicken infused with an Asian-inspired marinade. Simply marinate the chicken overnight, thread onto bamboo sticks, and grill to perfection. Glaze with either homemade or store-bought Hoisin sauce for fantastic flavor. Everyone loves food on a stick!

Hoisin is sometimes called Chinese barbecue Sauce. It has a sweet-tart flavor that makes it delicious for marinating, basting, or glazing meats, seafood and vegetables. Here, I use it for grilled chicken skewers or chicken kabobs with delicious results.

Jump to:

• Why You'll Like This Recipe
• Recipe Ingredients
• Substitutions and Variations
• Recipe Instructions
• Grilling Sticks, Food Safety and Faster Cleanup
• Grilling Tips
• Grill Timing
• More Grilling Recipes
• ⭐️Did you Make This Recipe?
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

Why You'll Like This Recipe

• Grilling is easy and welcome in summer.
• Marinate the chicken ahead of time, 1 hour or overnight.
• Use either bottled hoisin sauce or make homemade hoisin sauce (gluten-free).

Recipe Ingredients

Chicken Skewers and Glaze

• Chicken: Boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Buy by the weight, not by the pieces.
• Hoisin sauce: Bottled or try my homemade hoisin sauce recipe.
• Cilantro: Optional for garnish and it adds nice flavor (unless you hate cilantro!).
• Skewers: Use either bamboo soaked in water ahead of time or metal.

For the recipe and more about homemade Hoisin, see this post. 

Chef's tip: Sometimes getting skewered chicken off the stick is not easy. What I do is spray the skewer with non-stick and it helps the meat slide off much easier. My preference is the avocado spray as it handles high heat well.

Chicken Marinade

• Soy sauce: Be sure sure to buy low sodium as regular soy sauce is crazy high in sodium. For gluten-free buy tamari, which is no-wheat, gluten-free soy sauce.
• Oil: Use melted coconut oil, MCT oil, avocado oil, or a healthy neutral oil (not vegetable oil, toss that).
• Vinegar: Unseasoned rice vinegar is neutrally flavored and has no added sugar.
• Sesame oil: Either toasted or regular, both work. Toasted has more flavor.
• Fish sauce: Look for Red Boat brand, it's high quality fish sauce. If you've never used fish sauce it is very fishy when you smell it but it does not taste fishy in recipes. Most American palates are not used to it. It adds depth of flavor. Optional.
• Ginger: Use either fresh ginger or the ginger puree in a tube is fine.
• Garlic: Fresh garlic cloves are best but the puree in a tube also works.
• Lime: Fresh lime juice for bright acidity and flavor.

Please see the recipe card for measurements.

Substitutions and Variations

• Fish sauce too scary? It adds depth of flavor, but you can use worcestershire or just skip it.
• Out of skewers? If you have a grill basket you can make it work. Just don't skewer the pieces.

Chef's note: Not sure what else to do with Hoisin sauce? I've slathered it on chicken, baby back ribs, burgers, shrimp and seared scallops. Make it thick or thin it with a little water for a glaze. It might just become a new favorite.

Recipe Instructions

Step 1: Add the marinade ingredients to a jar and shake well or puree in the blender.

Step 2: When grilling chicken on a skewers, cut the pieces into larger chunks, about 1 ½" across. Small pieces cook too fast resulting in dry chicken. Do the best you can as you'll make it work when you skewer them.

Add the pieces to a zip top bag and pour marinade over the top. Marinate 1 hour on the kitchen counter (yes this is food safe) or overnight in the refrigerator.

Step 3: Drain the marinade and skewer the chicken pieces evenly. Place on a baking tray line with plastic and take the kabobs to the grill.

Step 4: Heat up the grill, scrub the grates clean with a grill brush. Oil the grill. Brush the kabobs with a little hoisin sauce. Grill until golden and done, firm to the touch but not rock hard. Pull a piece off one end and slice it open. It should be barley pink.

You can brush the kabobs with more sauce as you turn the kabobs (with a clean pastry brush, not the one that touched raw chicken). Brush them again at the end, and serve more hoisin sauce on the side.

Grilling Sticks, Food Safety and Faster Cleanup

For sticks, use bamboo. Go for the thicker bamboo sticks, not the skinny ones. Soak them in water for 20-30 minutes before using. I also spray mine with non-stick before skewering the chicken. Alternatively use metal skewers but they make cook a little faster due to the heat conductivity.

For food safety and faster cleanup, cover a rimmed baking sheet with plastic wrap or foil. Place the raw kabobs on the lined sheet to transport to the grill. When the chicken is on the grill, remove the plastic, toss, and you have a clean tray to transport finished chicken back to the kitchen. No grill? Use a well seasoned cast iron grill pan pre-heated to hot.

Grilling Tips

When the grill is hot and the grates are brushed clean, oil the grates. Use tongs and a wad of paper towels dipped in oil. To further prevent the chicken from sticking, spray the meat lightly with non-stick spray oil (like avocado oil) right before you place the kabobs on the grill. You'll have no problem turning those kabobs or leaving half of the meat stuck to the grill. 

Place the chicken kabobs on the grill and turn the heat down to medium. When you get good grill marks on one side, turn the kabobs and brush with the Hoisin sauce. Cook kabobs on the other side for another 1-2 minutes, turn and brush with sauce again.

Grill Timing

Timing will depend on how hot your grill is. Overall grilling time was 7-8 minutes for my kabobs. The chicken is done when the meat is firm to the touch but still gives a little. Don't over cook them for tender, moist kabobs.

When you take the kabobs off the grill and place them on the clean baking sheet, brush them again with the sauce. That way you will get a good layer of flavor and beautiful color.

More Grilling Recipes

And for a grilled veggie recipe, try this simple grilled zucchini. It's terrific in summer when zucchini is plentiful. And if your grill has a rotisserie attachment, here is how to rotisserie a whole chicken step by step. I do one every week!

⭐️Did you Make This Recipe?

If you make this recipe, please add your comment. I appreciate your feedback and enjoy hearing from you. If you loved it, please give it a 5-star rating! They really help other readers.

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