This post may contain affiliate links which help support Girls Can Grill.

hand dunking Asian sticky chicken drumstick into a bowl of sauce

Save this BBQ Tip

Enter your email, and I’ll send this link directly to your inbox. Plus, you’ll get new BBQ recipes and tips weekly.

Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.

I love barbecue chicken that leaves me licking my fingers. The barbecue sauce in these Asian sticky chicken legs has the perfect balance of heat, sweet and umami. 

Lollipop Legs

Whenever I cook drumsticks, I like to go the extra mile and lollipop the legs. It makes for a fun presentation and gets rid of the tendon that can be a little tough. 

chicken drumsticks on a cutting board, most with lower portion trimmed off

To butcher the lollipops, lay the drumstick on its side. Using a sharp chef’s knife or butcher knife slice off each end of the bone. For the thick end, this will create a flat surface, so the drumstick can stand up. For the thin end, this will help with the next step. 

Place the knife about halfway down the drumstick and slice down to the bone, rotating the leg as you slice. Push the meat, skin and tendon toward the thin end of the bone, removing as much as you can. 

Stand the leg straight up, and push down the remaining meat with your fingers. There you go.

Marinate the Chicken Overnight

This recipe uses an easy overnight marinade of water, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, honey and olive oil. 

Combine the marinade ingredients with the chicken in a zip-top bag, remove the air from the bag and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight.

Grilling the Chicken

Anytime you make barbecue chicken, you want to sauce it at the very end. Barbecue sauce has a lot of sugar. If you add it too soon, it will burn before the chicken has a chance to cook all the way through. 

Set your grill up with a direct and indirect heat zone. I like using the KUDU Grill for barbecue chicken, because you can both raise and lower the grate and move it from side to side over direct and indirect heat. 

grate of chicken legs cooking above bed of coals on KUDU grill

It will take about 25-30 minutes for the chicken to cook to an internal temperature of 165F degrees. If the outside starts to char too quickly, move the pieces to a cooler part of the grill. 

grate of chicken legs and skillet of bok choy searing above bed of coals on KUDU grill

While the chicken is grilling, you can start preparing the side dish. Charred bok choy is a great side to accompany Asian sticky chicken. Bok choy is a hardy Chinese cabbage with a very mild flavor. 

It only needs a touch of olive oil, salt and pepper, and a splash of rice wine vinegar. 

skillet of bok choy searing above bed of coals on KUDU grill

Once the legs are cooked through, it’s time to give them a bath in a sweet, spicy, sticky Asian barbecue sauce. 

The spice in the sauce comes from sambal oelek, which is an Asian chili garlic sauce. You should be able to find it in the Asian aisle of your grocery store. If not, you can pick it up online. 

The recipe calls for 1/3 cup, which gives a nice little fire in your mouth. If you don’t care for heat, leave it out, or use a little less.

grate of chicken legs cooking above bed of coals on KUDU grill

Dunk the legs in the BBQ sauce, and place them on the grill. The sauce will start to get tacky. After a couple minutes, dunk them again, and repeat. For extra stickiness, dunk one last time, and grill for another couple minutes. 

Asian Sticky Chicken cooking on grill grate

Garnish with sesame seeds and green onions, and serve them up with the charred bok choy and red peppers. 

wooden platter with Asian Sticky Chicken and bok choy

Save this BBQ Tip

Enter your email, and I’ll send this link directly to your inbox. Plus, you’ll get new BBQ recipes and tips weekly.

Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.
5 from 4 votes

Asian Sticky Chicken

If you want chicken that is truly finger-licking good, grill up some Asian sticky chicken legs dunked in sweet and spicy barbecue sauce.
Prep Time: 8 hours
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Servings: 6

Ingredients 

  • 12 chicken legs

Chicken Marinade

  • 1 cup water
  • 3/4 cup soy sauce
  • 3/4 cup rice wine vinegar
  • 1/3 cup honey
  • 1/4 cup olive oil

Asian Sticky Barbecue Sauce

  • 3/4 cup ketchup
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup sambal oelek
  • 3 tbsp honey
  • 3 tbsp water
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce

Garnish

  • 2 tsp sesame seeds
  • 1 green onion, sliced

Instructions 

  • Combine the marinade ingredients in a large bowl. Place the
    chicken legs in a zip-top bag. Pour in the marinade. Remove the air, and seal the bag. Refrigerate for a few hours or overnight.
  • Setup your grill, so you have a direct and indirect heat zone.
  • Place the chicken on the grill over medium heat. Cook for about 20 minutes, turning occasionally. If the chicken begins to char, move it to the indirect heat zone, as needed. 
  • If preparing the boky choy, start cooking it at this point.
  • Combine the sauce ingredients in a pot and heat.
  • After the chicken has reached an internal temperature of 165F degrees, dunk each leg in the sauce. Return to the grill for 2-3 minutes.
  • Dunk again, and cook a few more minutes. Then, dunk one more time, and cook for 2-3 more minutes.
  • Sprinkle with sesame seeds and green onions.

Notes

To adjust the spice level, increase or decrease the amount os sambal oelek you use. 
You can use any cut of chicken with this recipe. For cool presentation, I went with lollipop chicken legs. Read the post above to learn how to do this technique.
All of this was cooked on the KUDU Grill. It gives you great versatility for direct and indirect cooking, because you can move the whole grate at once, instead of each piece of chicken one at a time. The KUDU also allows you to cook the charred bok choy at the same time.

Nutrition

Calories: 905kcalCarbohydrates: 66gProtein: 47gFat: 51gSaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 240mgSodium: 2459mgPotassium: 794mgFiber: 1gSugar: 59gVitamin A: 441IUVitamin C: 5mgCalcium: 68mgIron: 3mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Korean
Did you try this recipe?Be sure to rate it, leave a comment and save it so you can make it again. Show off your awesome results on social by tagging @girlscangrill

Save this BBQ Tip

Enter your email, and I’ll send this link directly to your inbox. Plus, you’ll get new BBQ recipes and tips weekly.

Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.
5 from 2 votes

Skillet Charred Bok Choy with Red Peppers

This quick and easy side dish of skillet charred bok choy is a great accompaniment to Asian barbecue.
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Servings: 3

Ingredients 

  • 4 bok choy
  • 1/2 red bell pepper
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar

Instructions 

  • Slice the bok choy in half vertically. Cut the red pepper into
    strips.
  • Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper.
  • Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the bok choy cut side down along with the pepper strips.
  • Cook for 10 minutes, until charred.
  • Flip the bok choy. Add the vinegar and continue cooking for about 5 minutes.

Nutrition

Calories: 237kcalCarbohydrates: 26gProtein: 17gFat: 12gSaturated Fat: 2gSodium: 1117mgPotassium: 2864mgFiber: 12gSugar: 14gVitamin A: 50665IUVitamin C: 529.3mgCalcium: 1176mgIron: 9.1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: Korean
Did you try this recipe?Be sure to rate it, leave a comment and save it so you can make it again. Show off your awesome results on social by tagging @girlscangrill

To learn more about the KUDU Grill, read my full review

christie vanover standing against wood wall.

Hey BBQ Family

I’m Christie, the head cook and award-winning competitive pitmaster for Team Girls Can Grill. I have won multiple grand championships and top 10 category finishes. I’m an expert grill reviewer for BBQ Guys, and I have appeared on the Food Network and Ninja Woodfire Grill infomercials. I established this website in 2015 to share my BBQ tips and recipes.

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




4 Comments

  1. Do you have any good seafood recipes for when I take my KUDU to the beach. My family and Her parents and Brother in Law all compete with meals the entire week.

  2. This looks so good and would love to try it this weekend for a party. I don’t have a grill so could I try to cook this in oven or on oven and how would I do that…thanks!!

    1. Thanks. You could try to bake the chicken legs in a 425F-degree oven on a sheet pan. Then, cook the veggies in a skillet on the stove. Good luck.