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Chicken breasts gently poached in the aromatic mixture of soy sauce, ginger, garlic, mirin and brown sugar. No marinating necessary for this shoyu chicken recipe without compromising on flavour!
If you like this recipe, try Teriyaki Salmon Donburi Bowl as well!
The recipe for chicken shoyu might not be on everyone’s radar and it’s a real shame because knowing how to quickly whip it up on a busy midweek night is a game changer!
With tender chicken pieces simmered in a stunning marinate until the flavours have melded together, it’s a memorable dish that the whole family can get behind!
What is shoyu chicken?
A culinary staple in Hawaii, the origins of this chicken recipe can be traced to Japanese immigrants who arrived in the early 20th century. With them came their culinary techniques and ingredients, including soy sauce.
In fact, shoyu means soy sauce in Japanese, which says a lot about what this dish is all about. It’s possible that it is an evolution of teriyaki chicken, which also uses soy sauce as a main ingredient.
Japanese ingredients were combined with local flavours, creating this fabulous chicken dish with a fusion of Japanese and Hawaiian tastes. Shoyu chicken has become a much-loved comfort food in Hawaii and can be found at all sorts of lunch spots and gatherings of all types.
What does it taste like?
Shoyu chicken is all about the balance of salty and sweet. The first comment I got from my teenager after tasting this dish was, “Mmm, I like salty foods!”
But to say “salty” is the main descriptor of this chicken recipe would be a huge understatement!
As with all Japanese dishes, the taste is multifaceted. Sweet, salty, spicy and tangy, similar to what you can find in other regional dishes like my spicy peanut butter chicken.
All of the above notes come from the mixture of soy sauce, mirin, garlic, ginger and brown sugar with just a hint of chilli flakes.
Recipe Tips and Notes
- The method for this recipe is simpler than most. It only requires us to mix the This is an affiliate link.soy sauce, This is an affiliate link.mirin, garlic, fresh grated ginger, chillies and brown sugar in a pot, then poach chicken breasts in it until done. What poaching does is nothing short of a miracle. The flavours penetrate the chicken breasts and flavour them better than an overnight marinade would!
- The shoyu sauce can be made before you plan to use it and kept in the fridge to make meal prep even easier.
- The final step is boiling the poaching liquid with a bit more brown sugar to create a sticky glaze that we coat the chicken with. What we end up with is delicious shoyu sauce. Poaching uses low temperature and plenty of liquid to cook the chicken gently, making it moist and tender. It’s also leaner because there is no need to introduce fat such as oil to the cooking process.
- It’s recommended to marinade chicken for a minimum of 30 minutes and a maximum of 3 hours. Beyond this, there is no real benefit.
- There are different types of soy sauce, like regular, dark, or low sodium. Dark soy sauce can make this sauce too salty, so best to use This is an affiliate link.regular soy sauce.
- The entire recipe takes only 40 minutes including prep, which is quite minimal.
Serving suggestions
The obvious choice is steamed Japanese rice, which is what I cooked with a side of broccoli. That being said, any type of vegetables will do. My preference is for tasty green vegetables like green beans, bok choy, and asparagus, or a veg side dish that matches the flavours here, like Miso Roasted Carrots.
Or serve with with a noodle side dish like Miso Noodles with Tenderstem Broccoli. It’s a great match of flavours and combine for a complete meal.
Storage and leftovers
This is an incredibly forgiving recipe. It reheats beautifully. You can double this recipe and freeze the leftovers for another day when you don’t feel like cooking.
To reheat, add a splash a water to loosen the sauce and warm in a pan over medium heat until the chicken is hot all the way through.
All you’d have to do is to cook a pot of rice and steam some vegetables. So much better and healthier than ordering an Asian takeout!
You can also mix up the poaching liquid a day ahead and keep it in the fridge until needed to save time on a busy midweek night.
More homemade Asian recipes
Shoyu Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp grated fresh ginger
- 1/4 tsp chilli flakes
- 4 cloves garlic, crushed
- 75ml / 1/4 cup This is an affiliate link.soy sauce, I used Kikkoman or Tamari for gluten free version
- 50g / 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1 tbsp This is an affiliate link.mirin
- 700g / 1½ lbs skinless, boneless chicken breasts , cut into large strips
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 green onions
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds
Instructions
- Combine the ginger, chilli flakes, garlic, soy sauce, mirin and brown sugar in a medium pot, then add chicken breasts cut into large strips. The liquid should partially cover the chicken, cover with a lid and poach the chicken over medium heat for 15-20 minutes, depending on the size of chicken pieces.(If you don't have enough of the poaching liquid, add a little of water. See photos for reference.) Turn the chicken strips over half way through the cooking.
- Remove the chicken from the pot to a separate bowl and keep warm until needed. Add 2 tbsp of brown sugar to the poaching liquid and bring to a boil, continue simmering until you have a sticky glaze. Take it off the heat. Return the chicken back to the pot and coat it with the glaze. Serve over steamed white rice sprinkled with sliced green onions and sesame seeds.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Definitely looking forward to trying this. But not sure about the amount of brow sugar. Ingredients says 2T, but instructions say to add brown sugar in step 1 and 2T of it in step 2. Is it a total of 4T? I’d hate to ruin it with too much sugar.
Hi Merrill, the brown sugar is listed twice in the ingredient list, so yes you do add it twice. I don’t like very sweet things but the glaze tasted well balanced to me.
I was looking for something on Google similar to yakitori that doesn’t require sake or skewers so I didn’t have to leave the house. This ended up being far better than I expected. Your instructions were clear and your brief history was interesting. I used chicken thigh instead (deboned and removed the skin) since it’s what I had and it still turned out very well
I am so pleased to hear it!!
I have this on the stove right now and I’m just praying it turns out well- I never have any luck with Asian style sauces! They’re my kryptonite! However, it smells amazing. Have you ever tried this with pineapple? Even if you haven’t, do you think cooking the pineapple should go in the sauce from the beginning or just towards the end after thickening just to warm it through? I may experiment without input because I happen to have freshly cut pineapple in the fridge right now. I absolutely adore your blog, haven’t made a bad meal yet from your recipes, even when I have to substitute something (which is rare because you use very accessible ingredients).
I’ve never added pineapple to this sauce but if I did, I would add it in step 2. Good luck, Sara!
Made this dinner today.. delicious sweet and spicy .. definitely going in my recipe folder
So happy to hear that Amber!! I love this recipe so much for how easy it is!
This chicken was the boom every one should try it now.
I am so glad you loved it! 🙂
Looks and sounds so amazing. I can not wait to try this chicken.
I loved it! Such an easy recipe for weeknights!
The simplicity of this recipe is one of my favourite parts as well! Thanks, Toni!
This chicken looks out of this world!
I love the hawaiian flavors of this dish! We just got back from vacation there a few weeks ago and this was the perfect way to feel like we’re still there. Loved it!
Thanks so much, Jen!!
My mouth is watering just looking at this pics! This is going on our meal plan next week!