Jump to:
About Our Shoyu Chicken Recipe
When people think of Hawaiian chicken, they usually conjure up chicken breast pieces cooked with pineapple and teriyaki sauce or a whole spit-roasted huli huli chicken. Yet most locals will tell you that shoyu chicken is the chicken dish that means home and that they would bring to a pot luck.
Shoyu is the Japanese word for soy. Shoyu chicken is an easy Hawaiian chicken comfort food dish, a local favorite, where chicken, usually bone-in, skin-on thighs, is simmered in a rich tasting combination of soy sauce, ginger, garlic, and brown sugar. It is popular all over the islands and in its essence it is a fusion dish. Shoyu chicken brings together Japanese flavors with elements of Chinese cooking techniques and Hawaii island ingredients.
Most shoyu chicken recipes instruct that you braise the chicken without first rendering the fat from the skin and making it crispy, even to place it directly in a slow cooker. Some recipes offer the option of broiling it after it has simmered to tenderness.
Our recipe instructs you to prepare shoyu chicken that is not only fall-apart tender, but also has crispy skin. We find the result to be most pleasing and trust that you will too, given that most people would much rather enjoy crispy versus soft and rubbery chicken skin.
Key Advantages of This Hawaiian Chicken Recipe
- as the chicken skin renders its fat it releases delicious flavors into the pan which become the base for the shoyu braising liquid to build upon
- the initial crispening of the chicken skin through pan searing and the secondary broiler crispening ensure that even after simmering the skin is at its most appetizing
- the thickened braising liquid acts as a glaze and offers intense flavors to coat the crispy skin and infuse the tender chicken meat
Ingredients
There are many, many versions of shoyu chicken, but the simple ingredients that are essential are explained below. Sometimes sesame seeds are added, yet always the soy sauce is the central flavor along with a brown sugar sweetener and often honey.
Chicken. Use bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (or substitute with drumsticks) which are the traditional cut used in Hawaii to make shoyu chicken. During braising the collagen around the bone melts and as it becomes gelatin it infuses the sauce with flavor.
Salt & Pepper. To lightly season the chicken thighs before initial searing. The seasonings flavor the rendered fat and this is passed on to the braising liquid.
Oil. Just enough neutral oil like vegetable or sunflower to get the chicken skin going in the pan. You may not need it at all if using an exceptionally well made non-stick pan or an enamelled braiser/Dutch oven.
Garlic & ginger root. The two key aromatics for shoyu chicken carry on the legacy Japanese flavors. Both should be fresh, peeled and thinly sliced.
Green onion. The white parts serve as an additional aromatic along with the garlic and ginger and the thinly sliced green parts become the garnish.
Water. To deglaze the pan drippings and to provide liquidity (literally) to the braising liquid, without altering the ongoing flavor base.
Shoyu (Soy) sauce. The traditional Hawaiian brand, Aloha, is easy to find in all continental states and is milder and sweeter than regular soy sauce. If you do not have it, use an alternative brand. Aloha soy sauce is also what is used to make ahi tuna poke.
Brown sugar and honey. The counter balance of the umami saltiness of soy sauce. If you do not have honey, do not worry about it, but adding it does contribute to the viscosity of the sauce.
Rice vinegar. This is completely optional. We like to add rice vinegar because its mild acidity balances the rest of the ingredients, especially the sweet ones.
Equipment
Shoyu chicken can be made in variety of cooking vessels - from a classic braiser as we use in this post or a large Dutch oven to a deep, large skillet with a lid or a slow cooker. It is truly a flexible and unpretencious, homey dish.
For best results, we recommend something large enough and sufficiently heavy bottomed (for the searing part) with a well fitting lid (for the simmering/braising part).
Substituting with Boneless Chicken Thighs
If you feel adverse to bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs and the process of crispening the skin, you can always use boneless skinless chicken thighs. This surely goes against Hawaiian chicken gold standards but works effectively.
The loss of flavor will not be noticeable under the strong soy sauce influence and all you have to do is shorten the browning step (you still want to sear the boneless thighs to acquire flavor through the Maillard reaction) and skip the final broiling step.
Sounds much easier...because it is. You are also likely to cook the boneless thighs for less time because they will become tender faster.
Step-by-Step How to Make Shoyu Chicken
The Recipe Card below includes pictures of all the key steps to create this dish as well as the precise quantities of ingredients and relevant temperatures.
The overview of the key steps is as follows:
- brown the chicken thighs first to render the fat and develop flavor
- make the shoyu sauce by sauteing the aromatics, deglazing with water and adding the soy sauce, brown sugar, honey and rice vinegar (optional)
- add the chicken back in and simmer to tender perfection, covered
- finish the dish by broiling the chicken thighs to crisp up the skin after the braising and by thickening the shoyu sauce
- bring back the chicke to the sauce, spoon sauce over it and garnish with the thinly sliced green onion
Thickening the Shoyu Sauce
You can simply simmer the braising liquid to reduce the sauce to your desired consistency. First, remove the chicken from the pan, and then bring to simmer. You can also scoop out the ginger and garlic solids if they bother you.
If you feel like you have too much sauce and want to thicken it faster, mix a slurry of 1 tablespoon of corn starch and 1 tablespoon of cold water and stir this into the simmering sauce, it will thicken almost instantenously and become glaze like.
Serving Ideas
If you were to order a plate lunch of shoyu chicken at a local Hawai'i spot it would most certainly be offered with two scoops of white rice and one of mac salad. Or something along these lines.
We like to pair ours with steamed white rice (the traditional Hawaii variety is Calrose rice) and a cucumber salad seasoned with sesame oil, rice vinegar and furikake.
Storage and Reheating
Leftovers should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. To reheat, place the chicken thighs in a hot oven for a couple of minutes until warmed through. Heat sauce separately in the microwave and add it to the chicken as you serve.
You Might Enjoy
Hawaiian Ahi Tuna Poke | Bourbon Glaze for Chicken | Pan Sauce Chicken Thighs | Roasted Chicken Quarters | Grilled Chicken Drumsticks
Recipe
Hawaiian Shoyu Chicken
Ingredients
- 4 lbs bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, about 8 pieces
- kosher salt and black pepper, to taste
- ½ tablespoon neutral cooking oil (vegetable, olive, sunflower)
- 4-5 whole green onion, white parts chopped separately, green parts thinly sliced separately
- 2 inch piece of raw ginger root, thinly sliced
- 3-4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced or minced
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup Hawaii style soy sauce (Aloha shoyu) or regular soy sauce
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoon honey
Instructions
- Pat dry the chicken thighs and season lightly with salt and pepper.
- Heat a braiser or a heavy bottomed frying pan over medium-high stove and place the chicken thighs skin side down. Allow them to brown and for the skin to naturally release from the bottom of the pan ( do not try to move around the chicken thighs, see note below*). Once the skin releases flip the thighs and sear the bottoms for about a minute.
- After all the chicken thighs are seared, move them to a plate and lower the heat to medium. Add the chopped white parts of the green onions, the ginger and the garlic and saute until just fragrant. Deglaze with the water and scrape all brown bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Add the shoyu (soy sauce), honey, and brown sugar and stir. Bring to simmer.
- Return the chicken thighs to the pan along with any liquid they released. Lower the heat to medium-low to maintain a simmer.
- Cover and simmer (braise) over medium-low heat until the chicken is very tender. Anywhere from 30 minutes to 45 minutes.
- When the chicken is tender, remove the pieces onto a baking sheet.
- Place the chicken thighs under the broiler on high for the skin to crisp up after braising. Watch them carefully so that they do not burn.
- Simmer the shoyu braising liquid until it reduces. You can stir in a slurry of 1 tablespoon corn starch mixed with 1 tablespoon of cold water into the simmering liquid. This will thicken it almost instantly and it will become glaze-like.
- Serve the crisp chicken thighs onto a platter and drizzle with shoyu sauce. Alternatively, return the chicken thighs into the braising dish/pan with the sauce, drizzle some of it over the meat and serve. Garnish with the thinly cut green parts of the green onion.
Brad
Very easy to follow the recipe and the crispy skin was worth the extra broiling step.
Luz
My family loved the shoyu chicken I made with this recipe! When we order it in Hawaii we usually remove the skin (texture problem) but the double crisping here produced very crispy skin to which the sauce stuck!