Frozen Chicken Recipes

There are many reasons to choose frozen over fresh chicken, such as saving on the cost, mimimizing grocery trips, and reducing waste from expired food. And unlike processed food with preservatives, the nutritional value of frozen chicken remains roughly the same — meaning you’ll get the same protein and vitamin content as with fresh chicken. 

Needless to say, the first step of preparing frozen chicken is to defrost it, either by thawing it in the fridge or submerging the chicken in an airtight bag under cold water. After which, the sky’s the limit in terms of what you can do with the poultry. Here are 7 recipes that may give you some inspiration: 

1. Char Siew Chicken

At first glance, you won’t believe that there’s no pork, no oven or special sauces in this Char Siew chicken recipe. Mimicking the fatty pork shoulder, we use skin-on defrosted chicken thighs soaked in a tasty homemade Char Siew sauce. In just one pan, the chicken is first sauteed for the slight charr and then left to braise for a few minutes. Lastly, a generous coat of honey is applied to achieve the distinct and delicious shiny glaze. 

Ps, for our Muslim friends, feel free to skip the rice and cooking wines.


Try Char Siew Pork in an air fryer here.

Recipe: https://themeatmen.org/chicken-char-siew/ 

Preparation Time: 1 hour. Serves 2-3. 

2. Orange Chicken

This take on the sweet and sour chicken recipe combines crispy deep-fried chicken chunks with a sweet and sticky orange sauce. The crisp is maximised by adding cornstarch into the flour batter, before frying in batches till golden brown. After adding the sauce, the dish is garnished with orange skin slices and white sesame seeds for its refreshing fragrance with every bite.  

Recipe: https://themeatmen.org/orange-chicken 

Preparation Time: 15 minutes. Serves 3-4

3. Air-Fryer Grilled Chicken 

This 10-minute recipe goes super well with rice or salad for a filling lunch or dinner. We even have three options — Thai-style, 5 Spice Roast chicken or Mala Roast chicken — for you to try with just an air-fryer. By using frozen chicken, you can actually marinade the chicken days in advance of your meal and save even more time on your busy WFH days. 

Recipe: https://themeatmen.org/air-fryer-chicken-thighs-marinated-3-ways/ 

Preparation Time: 10 minutes. Serves 1-3

4. Marmite Chicken

Whether you’re a Marmite-lover or -hater, this recipe is worth giving a go. The double fry method makes the chicken doubly crispy, which pairs perfectly with the combination of marmite, oyster sauce, cooking wine, sugar and rice syrup. The result? An absolutely delicious fried chicken dish with sweet Asian flavours and a delightful crunch.

Recipe: https://themeatmen.org/marmite-chicken/ 

Preparation Time: 1 hour. Serves 4

5. Taiwanese Three-Cup Chicken

The signature braised meat of this dish is replicated perfectly both with fresh and frozen chicken, boiled with a rich chicken broth you can easily make within 30 minutes. The thick sauce made with cooking wine, basil, garlic and ginger pairs nicely with both the star poultry and a bowl of fluffy steamed rice. 

Recipe: https://themeatmen.org/three-cup-chicken-with-essence-of-chicken/ 

Preparation Time: 30 minutes. Serves 3-4.

6. Air-Fryer BBQ Chicken Wings

Another air-fryer recipe for maximum kitchen efficiency, whip up these chicken wings within 30 minutes – as long as you defrost the frozen chicken wings in advance. Who knew you could get the same addictive crispiness and charred flavour with an air-fryer? Of course, no BBQ Chicken Wings are complete without the special chili sauce, which is included in this recipe as well.  

Recipe: https://themeatmen.org/air-fryer-series-bbq-chicken-wings/ 

Preparation Time: 30 mins. Serves 4. 

7. Homemade Har Cheong Gai

What makes a good Har Cheong Gai? Juicy on the inside, crispy on the outside, a strong prawn paste flavour — all of which you can get with this recipe. We use a potato starch batter for the crispy exterior, but you can also use a combination of rice flour and plain flour for a similar result. Remember to heat the oil all the way to the smoking point before putting your refrigerated-thawed chicken in, so that the temperature of the oil will remain hot for frying. 

Recipe: https://themeatmen.org/har-cheong-gai/ 

Preparation Time: 20 minutes. Serves 4. 

Recipes with frozen chicken 

Cooking with frozen poultry is super easy and can bring out amazing flavours that are as good as fresh chicken. As long as you store and defrost frozen chicken properly, the long shelf life of up to months can make it an incredibly attractive option. 

Try one of these new recipes, or share your own tips for cooking with frozen foods in our Meatmen FB Cooking Community.

More of what you might like:

• Healthy Homecook recipes
• Basic cooking skills 
• Easy prawn dishes

P.S. We’ve got recipes for all your Singaporean and Asian favourites on our Youtube channel. Subscribe and share with your friends!

P.P.S. Can’t find a recipe you like? Drop us a comment or ping us on our socials. 

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