Marinated and Baked Forbidden City Chicken

Marinated and Baked Forbidden City Chicken is a tasty low-carb dinner that’s loaded with amazing Asian flavors!

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This Marinated and Baked Forbidden City Chicken is a recipe I made when I first started blogging, and when I looked at the old version recently I decided it was overdue for new photos. Once I got started, I gave the recipe a little update too, because hey, I hope I’m a better cook now than I was then!

I’m using Monkfruit Sweetener here to keep it low in carbs, but even if you used regular brown sugar I wouldn’t worry much about the amount of sugar that clings to the chicken when it’s marinated like this. Remember, you’re only using the amount of the marinade that clings to the chicken, which isn’t much.

What ingredients do you need for this recipe?

• boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Peanut Oil (affiliate link) (see notes)
• curry powder (affiliate link), I used Penzey’s I used Sweet Curry Powder)
• ground cinnamon (affiliate link)
• ginger puree (sold in small jars, or use fresh grated ginger root)
• garlic puree (sold in small jars, or use finely crushed fresh garlic)
• Golden Monkfruit Sweetener (affiliate link) (see notes)
• soy sauce or Gluten-Free Soy Sauce (affiliate link)
• fresh-squeezed lemon juice, I used my fresh-frozen lemon juice
• canned chicken broth (affiliate link) or chicken stock
• green onions for garnish (optional)

Why is it called Forbidden City Chicken?

I adapted this recipe from one I found online years ago, and I don’t know why it was called Forbidden City Chicken! But I was lucky enough to visit Beijing in 2001 with my brother Rand, and we enjoyed seeing the Forbidden City. 

Want more Keto Recipes for Chicken Breasts?

If you’d like to see more options, check out Keto Chicken Breast Recipes for more tasty dinners with chicken!

How to make Forbidden City Chicken:

(Scroll down for complete recipe with nutritional information.)

1. Heat the oil for about a minute over medium heat, then stir in all the marinade ingredients.
2. Trim chicken and make slits crosswise down each breast if you want, then put chicken in a Ziploc bag and pour in marinade.
3. Let marinate in refrigerator for 3-4 hours, or a bit longer won’t hurt. (These photos show half the amount in the recipe.)
4. When you’re ready to cook the chicken, remove it from the marinade and place in a glass or crockery baking dish with the top side down, brushing each side with marinade.
5. Let chicken come to room temperature while you preheat the oven to 325F/162C.
6. When oven is heated, put chicken in and cook 20 minutes.
7. After 20 minutes, turn chicken and brush both sides again with marinade, then put back in the oven.
8. Cook for 10 minutes more, then brush the top side with the marinade that’s collected (not the leftover marinade) in the pan and cook 5-10 minutes more if needed.
9. Chicken is done when the top is lightly browned and it feels firm (but not hard) to the touch; don’t overcook or it will be dry. Serve hot.

Make it a Low-Carb Meal:

Of course this is delicious with rice, but serve with Easy Cauliflower Rice, Spicy Baked Cabbage, Garlicky Green Beans Stir Fry, or Pan-Fried Broccoli with Pine Nuts and Parmesan for a low-carb meal!

More Asian Chicken Dinners:

Spicy Asian Chicken

Grilled Chicken Kabobs with Asian Marinade

Chicken with Peanut Sauce

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Yield: 4 servings

Marinated and Baked Forbidden City Chicken

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes

Additional Time 4 hours

Total Time 4 hours 55 minutes

Marinated and Baked Forbidden City Chicken is a tasty low-carb dinner with interesting Asian flavors.

Ingredients

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 3 T peanut oil (see notes)
• 1 tsp. Curry powder (I used Sweet Curry Powder)
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp. ginger puree (sold in small jars, or use fresh grated ginger root)
• 1 tsp. garlic puree (sold in small jars, or use finely crushed fresh garlic)
• 3 T  Golden Monkfruit Sweetener (see notes)
• 3 T soy sauce (see notes)
• 1 T fresh-squeezed lemon juice
• 2 T chicken broth
• sliced green onions for garnish (optional)

Instructions

1. Heat oil in small pan for about 1 minute, then turn off heat.
2. Whisk in curry powder, cinnamon, ginger, garlic, and sweetener of your choice.
3. Add soy sauce, lemon juice, and chicken stock.
4. Stir until well combined.
5. Trim all visible fat and and tendons from chicken.
6. Make small crosswise slits about 1/2 inch apart down the length of each chicken breast. (This allows the marinade to penetrate more.)
7. Put chicken in Ziploc bag and pour marinade over.
8. Marinate 3-4 hours in refrigerator.
9. To cook, remove chicken from marinade and place top side down in glass or crockery dish (not metal) that you have sprayed with nonstick spray.
10. Use a pastry brush to brush both sides of chicken with the marinade left in the plastic bag. (Save the rest of the marinade to brush one more time.)
11. Let chicken come to room temperature while you preheat the oven to 325F/162C.
12. When oven is heated, put chicken in and cook 20 minutes.
13. Then remove from oven, turn chicken with top side up and brush with marinade you saved in the plastic bag. (Discard any unused marinade at this point.)
14. Cook 10 minutes more.
15. After 10 minutes, remove chicken again and brush with the marinade that’s collected in the pan and cook 5-10 minutes more, or until chicken is lightly browned and feels firm (but not hard) to the touch.
16. Don’t overcook or chicken will be dry.
17. Serve hot.

Notes

I’d use Lakanto Golden Monkfruit Sweetener (affiliate link) for this recipe, which I think comes the closest to brown sugar of any sweeteners I’ve tried. If you don't have Peanut Oil (affiliate link), use any neutral-flavored oil. I used Penzey's Sweet Curry Powder, but use any curry powder (affiliate link) you like the flavor of. Use Gluten-Free Soy Sauce (affiliate link) for this recipe if needed.

This recipe adapted from a Junior League Cookbook I no longer have.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 304Total Fat: 15gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 102mgSodium: 778mgCarbohydrates: 3gFiber: 1gSugar: 1gProtein: 38g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.

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Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
With an approved sweetener this Marinated and Baked Forbidden City Chicken should be approved for low-carb and low-glycemic diets, including any phase of the original South Beach Diet.

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Chicken Recipes to find more recipes like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

Historical Notes for This Recipe:
This recipe was first posted in 2005! It was last updated in 2022.

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