Air Fryer Soy Sauce Chicken

Air Fryer Soy Sauce Chicken. Juicy flavorful chicken thighs in a savory soy sauce marinade. Ready in 30 minutes!

These air fryer chicken thighs will make your taste buds sing as they're so good!

Easy Dinner

This easy weeknight meal will become your favorite Chinese take-out that you can make at home! It will be the juiciest chicken ever made in an air fryer!

Quick & Simple

This chicken recipe is so easy to make you'll be laughing! The whole recipe takes 30 minutes. Season the chicken thighs in a simple marinade for 15 minutes (or overnight). Then place them in the air fryer with the chicken skin side up. The cooking time is only 9 minutes in the air fryer. If you already deboned chicken thighs, it will be even easier!

Pairs Well With

This honey soy sauce chicken pairs so well with white rice or brown rice with leafy greens, like bok choy, choy sum or gai-lan. This juicy chicken is a great main course for the whole family!

What you’ll need

This recipe for air fryer soy sauce chicken thighs requires the below ingredients. ***Please scroll down to the below Recipe card for full measurements***

• Boneless chicken thighs, with skin on

Marinade ingredients:

• Regular soy sauce
• Oyster sauce
• Honey, or brown sugar or white sugar
• Sesame oil
• Dark soy sauce
• Shaoxing wine, or sub with Dry Sherry Wine
• Fresh Ginger
• Garlic powder
• White pepper or black pepper

Optional garnish:

• sesame seeds
• green onions

How to make Air Fryer Soy Sauce Chicken

Below are visuals to show you how to make air fryer chicken thighs. ***Please scroll down to the recipe card below to find full instructions and details***

Debone your chicken thighs by carefully making slits around the bone until it can be removed. Transfer chicken thighs into a large bowl.

Add remaining ingredients into the bowl and massage into chicken until coated. Marinate for at least 15 minutes or overnight for best flavour.

Spray basket with cooking spray or a neutral tasting oil to prevent chicken from sticking or line your air fryer basket with parchment paper (optional).

Place chicken thighs in the basket in a flat single layer and skin side up. You may need to do this in two batches depending on the size of your air fryer.

Air fry for 8-9 minutes at 375 degrees F or until you reach an internal temperature of 165 F and skin is browned. No need to flip halfway. *I am using a Phillips air fryer.

Optional: Remove the cooked chicken and slice it into pieces. Garnish with sesame seeds and green onions.

Cooking Tips

Below are tips on making soy sauce marinated chicken in air fryer:

Pat Chicken Thighs Dry

Use clean paper towels to pat your chicken thighs dry before marinating. This is optional.

Debone the chicken thighs but leave the skin on!

This will quicken the air frying time since the bone is gone. You can freeze the bones and keep them for making chicken stock with.

Mix chicken with marinade in a large bowl or resealable plastic bag

Using a large bowl or a Ziploc bag and clean hands to massage the sauce ingredients into the chicken thighs until they're well coated.

Marinate chicken for at least 15 minutes or overnight

For best results, I suggest marinating your chicken for at least 15 minutes or overnight. You can get away with 15 minutes!

Lay Chicken in a Single Layer in Air Fryer Basket

Do not overlap your chicken. Lay it in a single layer and flat with the skin side up. If you have a smaller air fryer, you'll have to air fryer in two batches.

Use parchment paper or aluminum foil for less mess (optional)

Line the base of the air fryer basket with a square of parchment paper or foil. This will prevent the chicken juices from dripping under the basket (and creates a juicier chicken!). Therefore, it'll be a smaller mess for you to clean! This step is optional.

Cook chicken until an internal temperature of 165 F

To consume chicken safely, I highly recommend a cooking thermometer and check if the internal temperature of the chicken is 165 F. Alternatively, cut into the chicken and check if the center meat is white and no longer pink.

If not cooked, place it back in the air fryer to cook longer. The skin should be moist, dark golden brown with some char marks.

I want crispy skin!

Feel free to air fry for 1-4 minutes more until you have crispy chicken skin.

Remaining marinade

If you have extra sauce left, heat it in a small saucepan over medium heat until it bubbles for a couple minutes. This can be a dipping sauce for your chicken!

FAQ

Below are frequently asked questions about these Asian air fryer chicken thighs:

Can I bake or pan fry the chicken thighs?

Yes!

To bake: On a baking tray, oil your tray or line it with parchment paper. Place thighs skin side up. Bake at 425 F for 17-20 minutes until you reach an internal temperature of 165 F or until the skin is dark brown. 

To pan fry: pan fry in a non-stick pan over medium heat with oil. Add thighs skin side down. Fry on one side for 5-6 minutes and another 5-6 minutes on the other side until you reach an internal temperature of 165 F.

How do I debone the chicken thighs?

Lay the chicken thigh skin side down on the cutting board. Spread the thigh open so it's laying completely flat. Using a sharp pointy knife, make slits around the bone. Keep as close to the bone as possible. Eventually the bone will come out.

Can I use other cuts of chicken for this recipe?

Yes! Feel free to use chicken legs, chicken wings or skin on or skinless chicken breasts. You may also use boneless skinless chicken thighs.

However, for each of these cuts, you will have to adjust the cook time accordingly to reach an internal temperature of 165 F. I share further instructions below:

• Boneless skinless chicken thighs: Air Fry at 375 F for 6-8 minutes, no need to flip.
• Chicken legs: Air fry at 400 F for 20 minutes in total, flipping over halfway.
• Chicken wings: Air fry at 400 F for 16 minutes, flipping over halfway.
• Chicken breast: Air fry at 370 F for 10 minutes on one side and another 6-8 minutes on the other side.

Note: Please note that every Air Fryer brand heats differently. These are the cooking times that work for my Phillips Air Fryer.

Where can I buy these sauces?

Regular soy sauce, dark soy sauce, Shaoxing wine and Oyster sauce can all be found at any Asian market or online. You can also find some of these sauces at the Western grocer.

How do I measure the internal temperature of the chicken?

A cooking thermometer is the best way to check the internal temperature of meat. You can find them sold online or at any kitchen store.

If you don’t own a cooking thermometer, cut into the center part of the meat after air frying and the meat should be white and no longer pink to be cooked.

I don't have parchment paper; can I use cooking spray?

Yes! The parchment paper is optional to prevent a sticky mess in the air fryer. You can lay the chicken into the air fryer basket as is, but I would suggest spraying the basket with cooking spray or vegetable oil to prevent the chicken from sticking to it.

Which Air Fryer do you own?

I own the Philips Digital Airfryer with Twin Turbostar Technology, HD9741/96, Black.

Can you put raw chicken in the air fryer?

Yes, the air fryer does a fantastic job at cooking the chicken through with sufficient time and heat.

How long will this last?

This dish will last 4 days stored in an airtight container in the fridge.

Other Chicken Thigh recipes you may like!

Check out my other chicken thigh recipes below:

Mongolian Chicken
Salt and Pepper Chicken
Chicken Adobo
Soy Hoisin Chicken Thighs
Sweet and Sour Chicken
Teriyaki Chicken

Air Fryer Recipes you may enjoy

Air Fryer Korean Chicken
Chicken Katsu (Air Fryer)
Korean Bulgogi Chicken Wings (Air Fryer)

I hope you give my Air Fryer Soy Sauce Chicken a try and enjoy it!

If you enjoyed my recipe, please share it with your family and friends or on social media! Take a picture of your re-creation and make sure to tag me @ChristieAtHome in your feed or stories as I would love to see it!

Christie

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