Hawaiian Shoyu Chicken
This shoyu chicken recipe delivers the fall-apart tender dark thigh meat the Hawaiian chicken dish is known for and crispy skin that caps each piece. The thickened shoyu braising liquid becomes a delicious glaze-like sauce to coat the meat with a glossy medley of salty, sweet and umami flavors.
Print
Pin
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.
Notes
* The chicken skin will initially stick to the bottom of the pan and as the fat renders will gradually release from it on its own. Leave the chicken alone until this happens, no need to poke it around and try to peel it off the pan. Work in batches of 4 chicken thighs for best results.
Chicken is cooked when the internal temperature reaches 165 F. In this case the temperature will exceed this level because the goal is to allow the chicken to simmer in the shoyu sauce until the collagen liquifies and the meat is fall-off-the-bone tender. No need to check the temperature, rely on your perception of how tender the meat has become to determine doneness.
