Air Fryer Soy Sauce Chicken. Juicy flavorful chicken thighs in a savory soy sauce marinade. This easy weeknight meal will become your favorite Chinese take-out that you can make at home. Ready in 30 minutes! Great as a main dish.
I love this air fryer soy sauce chicken recipe! I make it time and time again for my husband and I because it's so delicious, quick and easy. It's a great main course that pairs well with white rice or brown rice with leafy greens, like bok choy, choy sum or gai-lan. The whole family will enjoy this dish and it's a quick one to make for busy weeknights as the ingredients and cooking process are simple and minimal.
Ingredients
Please scroll down to below recipe card for exact measurements.
Note: Most Asian grocers will carry these ingredients. You may find some at your select grocery store or online, like on Amazon.
- Skin-on chicken thighs: or use skin-on boneless chicken thighs if you can find them
Marinade:
- Regular soy sauce
- Dark soy sauce
- Oyster sauce: or replace with vegetarian stir fry sauce
- Honey, brown sugar or white sugar
- Sesame oil
- 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
- 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.
- Optional: Remove the cooked chicken and slice it into pieces. Garnish with sesame seeds and green onions.
Storage & Reheating
This dish will last 4 days stored in an airtight container in the fridge. To reheat, air fry at 350 F for 5 minutes or microwave for 2-3 minutes until hot.
Expert Tips
Pat Chicken Thighs Dry
Use clean paper towels to pat your chicken thighs dry before marinating. This is optional.
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 easy cleanup
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. You can also lightly spray the air fryer basket with oil before adding the chicken in.
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
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.
Can I use other cuts of chicken?
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.
Other Chicken Thigh recipes you may like!
- Mongolian Chicken
- Salt and Pepper Chicken
- Chicken Adobo
- Soy Hoisin Chicken Thighs
- Sweet and Sour Chicken
- Teriyaki Chicken
📖 Recipe
Easy Juicy Air Fryer Soy Sauce Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken thighs with skin on
Marinade:
- 1 tablespoon regular soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon honey (or sub with brown or white sugar)
- ½ tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon shaoxing wine (or sub with Dry Sherry Wine)
- 1 teaspoon ginger grated
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper (or sub with black pepper)
Optional garnish:
- ¼ teaspoon sesame seeds
- 1 tablespoon green onions finely chopped
Instructions
- Debone your chicken thighs by carefully making slits around the bone until it can be removed. Transfer chicken thighs into a large bowl.
- Add Marinade ingredients into the bowl and massage into chicken until well coated. Marinate for at least 15 minutes or overnight for best flavour.
- Spray air fryer basket with neutral oil or cooking spray. Alternative Option: line only the base of the basket with a square piece of parchment paper. Make sure your parchment paper is not touching the hot elements of the air fryer. The latter makes clean up easier.
- Place chicken thighs in the basket in a flat single layer and skin side up. Do not overlap. You may need to air fry in two batches depending on how many thighs you can fit without overlapping.
- Air fry for 9-10 minutes at 375 degrees F or until you reach an internal temperature of 165 F and skin is browned to your liking. No need to flip halfway.
- Optional: Remove the cooked chicken and slice it into pieces. Garnish with sesame seeds and green onions.
Notes
To bake or pan fry without an air fryer:
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 for 5-6 minutes on one side and another 5-6 minutes on the other side until you reach an internal temperature of 165 F.Suggested Equipment & Products
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Garry
This looks amazing and I cant wait to try it.
Thanks Christie x
Yen
Just tried this tonight and it’s perfect and quick! Marinaded for about 30 minutes and it was delicious! Nothing left! Thank you!!
christieathome
Thanks so much for making my recipe, Yen! So glad you liked it 🙂
Tony
My chicken didn't end up with gorgeous dark glaze yours has, although I used brown sugar - cook longer, change to honey, any suggestions. Would love for the resulting dish to look as good as yours.
christieathome
Thanks for sharing! Keep in mind that every air fryer is different in terms of heating so in your case I would suggest air frying for a bit longer until you get that dark colour.
Millia
This was sooooo good and easy to make! Flavourful and glazed perfectly. Thank you!
christieathome
Thank you so much for making my recipe! Happy you enjoyed it!
Alicia
I just made this tonight and it’s so delicious! The flavour was perfect, ill definitely make this again! Thanks for showing me how to debone the thigh, made the prep so much easier!
christieathome
I'm so happy to read this! Glad I could share how to debone the chicken. Thanks so much for making my recipe, Alicia!
Meredith
Can you make this with boneless, skinless chicken thighs?
christieathome
Yes, but I would suggest reducing the air frying time to 6-8 minutes or until an internal temperature of 165 F with a digital thermometer or until juices run clear.