Air Fryer Chicken Char Siu

Name: Chicken Char Siu
Cook time: 16 min
Total time: 16 min
Yield: 3 servings
Cuisine: East Asian
Ingredients: 500 g boneless chicken thighs, cut into thick strips; 2 tbsp honey; 2 tbsp soy sauce; 1 tbsp hoisin sauce; ½ tsp five-spice powder; 2 garlic cloves, minced; A few drops red food colouring (optional, for the classic look)

Recipe by Sahil · Reviewed and updated September 2026

Air fry chicken char siu at 200°C (392°F) for 16 minutes.

Char siu's sticky, caramelised glaze normally needs a slow oven roast to avoid burning the sugar, but the air fryer's fast convective heat caramelises it in a fraction of the time - provided you baste often enough to stop the sugar catching.

TEMP200°C / 392°FTIME16 MINSERVES3

Ingredients

500 g boneless chicken thighs, cut into thick strips
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp hoisin sauce
½ tsp five-spice powder (optional)
2 garlic cloves, minced (optional)
A few drops red food colouring (optional, for the classic look) (optional)

Steps

Mix the honey, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, five-spice and garlic into a marinade and coat the chicken strips thoroughly.
Marinate for at least 2 hours, ideally overnight in the fridge, turning once or twice.
Preheat the air fryer to 200°C.
Lift the chicken from the marinade (reserve the leftover marinade) and arrange the strips in a single layer, without touching.
Air fry for 5 minutes.
Open the basket, brush the chicken generously with the reserved marinade, and flip.
Air fry a further 5 minutes, then baste and flip again.
Continue for a final 5-6 minutes (15-16 minutes total), basting every 5 minutes, until the glaze is sticky and caramelised and the chicken is cooked through.

Tip: Baste and flip every 5 minutes rather than leaving it untouched - the honey in the marinade burns fast that close to the heating element if you don't keep moving and re-coating it.