Soy Sauce Chicken

Juicy chicken thighs simmered in a sweet, savory sauce made of simple and minimal ingredients.  This easy soy sauce chicken is made in one pan in 30 minutes! Great as a main for weeknight dinners for the family or meal prep!

What is Soy Sauce Chicken

Soy Sauce Chicken is a popular Chinese dish made of humble ingredients. The Chinese pronunciation is 'See yao gai'. 'See yao' mean 'soy sauce' and 'gai' means chicken in English translation.

This dish is made of tender chicken thighs cooked in a savory, sweet sauce consisting of soy sauce, honey, garlic, ginger, water, rice vinegar with green onions.

Inside many Chinese restaurants or Chinese BBQ deli's, you will see a whole roast chicken hanging from the window. The butcher will slice it into smaller pieces and they serve the meat with the cooking sauce, jasmine rice and Chinese cabbage.

Ingredients & Substitutions

Please scroll down to below recipe card for exact measurements

• Fresh Skin-on Bone-in Chicken Thighs: or substitute with skinless boneless chicken thighs but reduce the cooking time to 12-13 minutes.
  • Chicken breasts, chicken drumsticks or chicken wings will also work. But cook time may vary as per each cut so start with a total base cooking time of 12 minutes. If needed, add more time until you reach an internal temperature of 165 F with an instant read thermometer or until juices run clear.
• Green onion: garnishing
• Neutral oil:like avocado oil, sunflower oil, grapeseed oil, peanut oil, vegetable oil or canola oil with a high smoke point. Avoid olive oil that has a low smoke point.

Sauce

• Garlic: to add a garlicky flavor to the sauce. 
• Ginger: this helps remove any gamey flavor from the chicken.
• Honey: or brown sugar, cane sugar will work.
• Water: this will help dilute the sauce
• Regular soy sauce: or substitute with low sodium soy sauce or light soy sauce.
• Dark soy sauce: this is thicker than regular soy sauce and helps to add a dark brown color to our honey soy chicken. Or substitute with more regular soy sauce.
• Rice vinegar: or substitute with white vinegar or Shaoxing wine (a Chinese cooking rice wine).

Note: Most Asian grocers will carry these ingredients. You may find some at your select grocery store or online, like on Amazon.   

​Instructions

Below are step-by-step instructions on how to make soy sauce chicken:

Make sauce and sear chicken

In a small bowl, combine sauce ingredients and mix until honey is dissolved. 

In a large pan on medium high heat (level 7 on the dial), add vegetable oil. Once oil is hot, add in chicken thighs skin side down and allow them to sear on each side for 2 minutes. 

Simmer chicken in sauce

Pour in the sauce. It will bubble. Cover and simmer for 7 minutes. Reduce to low-medium heat (level 3 on the dial) or a rolling simmer.

​Flip chicken over. Cover and simmer for another 7 minutes.

Flip chicken over and baste

Flip chicken over so it’s skin side up. Baste the sauce over the chicken skin. Remove off heat. Garnish with green onions and enjoy with extra sauce served on the side. Cooked chicken should reach an internal temperature of 165 F with a meat thermometer. 

Storage

• Leftovers will last up to 4 days stored in an airtight container in the fridge. To reheat, microwave for 2-3 minutes or reheat on the stovetop in a pan on medium heat until hot.
• Freezer friendly? This can be stored in a freezer friendly bag and frozen up to 1-2 months. To reheat, defrost it and reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop in a pan.

Pairing Suggestions

This serves well white rice, brown rice, cauliflower rice, fried rice, chow mein, plain noodles, soup noodles, or cooked veggies like bok choy, gai lan, or garlic green beans.

FAQ

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