It’s a gorgeous spring week in New York City, the windows are wide open, and before I find it impossible to resist the siren call of a full shift to picnic–summer-beach-fresh-everything mode (with some ice cream/pie/cookie breaks, naturally) I wanted to tell you about one last easy weeknight pandemic-era favorite: a soy sauce-basted chicken that my family would be happy if I made once a week forever.
I first made this in the early months, when all the restaurants were closed and we missed takeout*. I’ve made it almost monthly since then because it’s the fastest, easiest non-grilling way for me to turn a package of boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts into a meal that everyone actually finishes. Browning the chicken well gives it a slightly crisp edge, and reducing a mixture of garlic, ginger, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and brown sugar around it while the chicken finishes cooking gives it a lacquered effect.
I turn it into dinner by making plain white or brown rice in the rice cooker**. If we have any broccoli, I’ll steam or roast it. And then I make a quick salad with a thinly sliced or julienned fresh vegetable, whatever we’ve got that’s crunchy, such as cucumbers, carrots, cabbage, asparagus, or in this week’s case, snow peas and sugar snaps. A soak in ice water really perks up snow peas, sugar snaps, and carrots if yours have also gotten neglected in the produce drawer. Toss with thinly-sliced scallion, salt, pepper, white rice vinegar and toasted sesame oil to taste and that’s it, a triumphant weeknight meal that I hope makes it into your rotation too.
*Origin note: Although I started making this in a pandemic pinch with leftover dipping sauce I use for dumplings, this style of chicken is a distant relative to the Cantonese dish called see yao gai or soy sauce chicken. Usually it’s a whole chicken braised in soy sauce with star anise, bay leaves, and Shaoxing rice wine in addition to the ingredients below, then chopped and served with vegetables and rice or noodles. It’s amazing, and a quintessential Chinatown favorite/staple worth seeking out.
** I’ve had this one for eight years and it was worth every penny, and not only because it plays twinkle-twinkle when it starts
Previously
6 months ago: Bialy Babka and Potato and Leek Gratin
1 year ago: Simple, Essential Bolognese
2 years ago: Austrian Torn, Fluffy Pancake
3 years ago: Chilaquiles Brunch Casserole
4 years ago: Rhubarb Upside-Down Spice Cake
5 years ago: Perfect Garlic Bread, Shaved Asparagus Frittata and Palm Springs Date Shake
6 years ago: Potato Scallion and Kale Cakes, Salted Chocolate Chunk Cookies, and Crispy Broccoli with Lemon and Garlic
7 years ago: Blue Sky Bran Muffins and Fresh Spinach Pasta
8 years ago: Spring Vegetable Potstickers and Essential Raised Waffles
9 years ago: Bacon, Egg and Leek Risotto
10 years ago: Sour Cream Cornbread with Aleppo and Ribboned Asparagus Salad with Lemon
11 years ago: Radicchio, Apple, and Pear Salad, New York Cheesecake and Shakshuka
12 years ago: Black Bread and Ranch Rugelach
13 years ago: Chocolate Walnut Cookies + More Flourless Dessert, Almond Cake with Strawberry-Rhubarb Compote
14 years ago: Corniest Corn Muffins and Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
Soy-Glazed Chicken
- Vegetable oil
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs or breast cutlets
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
- 3 tablespoons tamari, or light or low-sodium soy sauce
- 4 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar or 2 tablespoons black vinegar and 2 tablespoons rice (see Note)
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar (I use dark)
- Toasted sesame seeds and/or a thinly-sliced scallion to finish
This looks amazing Deb, it’s all my favourite savoury stuff in one dish. I’ve just bookmarked this, and I’ll let you know how it turns out.
Hope you’re all well?
Jack
This chicken looks delicious. I assume it would ruin the glaze, but do you think there’s any way it could be made without any sugar?
I think it would taste imbalanced. You could use honey or maple, but if the issue is sugar itself, it will probably be too salty.
Without the sugar, it would be much closer to Filipino-style adobo, surely? Which is delicious, but a very different flavor profile.
My family’s adobo recipe includes sugar, but even with that being true, this recipe’s flavor is markedly different from adobo. It’s great, I enjoyed the variation!
Does it reheat well?
I use Sukrin Gold as a replacement for brown sugar in Asian dressings and such all the time and it works beautifully. It is expensive, though.
I’m going to try this looks good 😀
My husband is diabetic so I use Swerve brown sugar substitute when a recipe calls for brown sugar. Works perfectly every time.
Oh goodness, I had not heard of this product. This recipe looks amazing, thank you for the sub, I will give it a try!
Any reason this could not be made with bone in chicken pieces—drumsticks perhaps?
Absolutely, but they might benefit from baking in the oven (maybe 90% of the way) and then maybe finishing in the sauce on the stove.
I made it! So super good! Used legs and removed the skin to try and be healthy. The sauce is so good my s/o didn’t know the skin had been removed! Really loved it and will make again. I saved the leftover sauce in the pan because I could bear to toss it it was so good. Served with brown rice and zucchini.
I made this with drumsticks! They were farm-raised and lean, which meant they roasted a little faster than the Internet led me to believe, but they weren’t dried out. I tossed them in sesame oil and salt and pepper, then roasted at 400 for 30 mins. They were nicely browned because of the pan I used. Then I bubbled them in the sauce for about 10 mins. They ended up temping a little over 165 after the sauce had reduced enough to glaze the chicken pieces, but were close enough.
We ate them with coconut rice (literally rice cooked in coconut milk, one of our faves) and I roasted some broccoli and snap peas in the roasting pan—with the chicken juices and a little more sesame oil—while the chicken was glazing.
Such a winner! I did sub chinese cooking wine for the rice vinegar (it’s what I had!), didn’t measure the sauce ingredients, and probably doubled or tripled the ginger and garlic amounts. I’ll be making it again. :)
This looks wonderful. Can I substitute tofu for chicken? Would any modifications be needed?
I’ve done it with tofu once before! It sucked up the glaze really readily so I recommend thoroughly cooking the tofu before adding it to the glaze and/or doubling the glaze to make sure you get plenty of sauciness which is where this recipe shines 🥰
Great advice Arraine, thank you!
I have to avoid fresh garlic, so I added granulated when I put the sauce liquid into the pan. The dish came out so good. Will definitely be making again!
This is so similar to a dish my mom regularly made when I was growing up. It was out of one of those community cookbooks that churches sometimes put together, and went by the name of Red Chicken. The main differences were that it called for chicken wings/drumettes, and had you thinly slice an entire bunch of green onions, adding the whites to the sauce as it cooked and stirring the greens in towards the end. They would become so soft and silky and the chicken would be sweet and salty and perfect. Gonna make this right away!
This looks appealingly reminiscent of mall food court bourbon chicken – the sweet savory salty stuff of nostalgic dreams – can’t wait to try it. Bet it would be delicious on boneless thighs as well.
Do you have any recommendations for vegetarian substitutes for the chicken? This looks delicious :) Thanks!
I think it would delicious with seitan, or firm tofu, or any combination of veggies.
I just tried it with cubed extra firm tofu. It was very good. I sauteed some thinly sliced onion with it to give it a bit of texture contrast.
Just tried with tofu last night. Marinated the tofu first in the soy sauce/vinegar/ginger/garlic because there’s nothing worse than a piece of tofu that’s bland in the middle. Then pan fried with the sauce. Sooo good.
I cubed a block of firm tofu and baked it in the oven to get it crispy before cooking it in the sauce. Added some leftover broccoli I had in the fridge—worked well and really easy!
If I don’t have fresh ginger, how much dried would I add in its place and when in the recipe would I add it?
Elizabeth, check out this page: https://www.thespruceeats.com/ground-ginger-substitute-1388884
Specifically, it says “Use 1/4 teaspoon of ground ginger for every 1 tablespoon of fresh ginger called for in a recipe.”
Deb, I just discovered chili crisp! I was finally able to go to the Asian market and buy a jar. It’s so good! I’ve been putting it on everything.
It’s kind of chicken adobo! I demand (okay, request) a Filipino dish deep dive!
Suggestions for adjusting cook time for pounded chicken breast cutlets? That’s what I’ve got on hand.
oh yum, I will make this. Meat cooked in soy sauce is just amazing. I was also reminded of chicken adobo!
Soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, black pepper – this is definitely adobo! Apart from the garnish, every other flavor is part of the Filipino flavor profile too and can be added for an acceptable variant of adobo.
This flavor profile is very similar to Japanese teriyaki as well. Growing up my family would often include a sliced onion into the sauce, and the “crunchy salad” is cucumbers only (with the rice wine vinegar, sesame oil and sesame seeds). As you mentioned, it’s a “once a week forever” kind of dish, one that I make sure we have the ingredients to make on hand at all times.
Do you think I could substitute the soy sauce for Amino Acids? My son is soy free.
I find coconut aminos sweeter than soy sauce so I would reduce or eliminate the sugar, tasting the glaze to determine.
I bought the chili crisp! You’ve mentioned it before, it looked intriguing, but I didn’t know what I would use it for. Now I still don’t know, but I am about to find out! Suggestions are welcome!
Use chili crisp for anything! At breakfast, on toast with Greek yogurt and cucumbers. For dessert, on not too sweet ice cream — fresh corn if you can find it. On a spoon. On tofu, with whatever the tofu is going with.
I get mine from a local restaurant that closed for three months over the winter. It was one of the products that they sold to make some money over the winter. When I learned that they would not be selling it again once they reopened, I bought 4 jars and have eaten two. I am going to ask the owner how much I have to pay her for the recipe.
What are the greens soaking in the bowl?
They look like snow peas.
The text says they are snow peas and sugar snap peas.
This is really similar to a dish I make already except that I basically double the ingredient, marinade the chicken for at least 45 mins, and then put the thighs under the broiler for 5-7 minutes per side. Always chicken thighs.
This is a new take and I’ll try it out this coming week!
from the article above the recipe: “A soak in ice water really perks up snow peas, sugar snaps, and carrots if yours have also gotten neglected in the produce drawer.”
A version of this shows up on my dinner calendar every week or two. I usually do chicken, rice, a veg, and some Trader Joe’s dumplings. It’s one of the few meals that satisfies everyone, even if that means my 6-year old making a dinner out of just rice and broccoli.
Hi Deb, I made this for dinner and was amazing! However, I had a problem when I added the soy sauce to the oil. The soy sauce evaporated immediately and the oil spattered everywhere. Is the oil suppossed to be warm at this point? I dont normally cook with soy sauce, it is an ingredient new to my kitchen and when I later checked the ingredient list in the bottle I saw it is mainly water, so I guess that was the issue when it got combined with the warm oil. I was wondering whether I misread the recipe or other soy sauces react differently. As you can see I have a lot to learn soy suacewise. Thanks!
You’re correct—soy sauce is water based and should be used like any other water based sauce! I usually turn my oil down low, add the sauce gently, and turn the heat back up to avoid splatters. Good luck!
Made this twice now, exactly as instructed. It’s so good for how easy it is. I top my bowl with Sriracha along with green onions and sesame seeds. It’s on the “repeat” list for our family!
I know this is old now but I mixed my soy sauce, vinegar, and brown sugar before adding it to the pan. No issues at all – the sauce came together perfectly.
I made this tonight. Amazing. Delicious. Simple. I think I need to double sauce next time…either because A. I had more chicken than recipe called for (probably). Or B. It was so yummy I wanted to drink it!! 😂 Probably A & B.
Same! My husband finished his plate and desired more sauce as well! Another winner from Deb.
I’ve had my cheapo rice cooker for at least 40 years, I use it at least once a week and it still makes perfect rice
Thank you so much for sharing, Deb! It worked like a charm! So good!!!
Came out delicious even when my toddler was hanging on my pants during prep!
I was looking for the perfect chicken recipe to accompany the take-out style sesame noodles for my dad’s birthday dinner yesterday, and couldn’t believe my luck when this recipe popped up. While it is always risky to make something brand new for a dinner party (a dinner party! In 2021!), Deb has never led me astray and this recipe was no different. Used all normal rice wine vinegar, and wish I had made double of everything so we’d have leftovers. Everyone RAVED about the noodles and the chicken. Thank you, Deb!
I just made this and it was delicious! I knew I bought black vinegar at some hazy point in the past for a good reason.
hello, i’m not seeing the note regarding the rice. do i actually sprinkle uncooked rice in? sorry if the note is there and i’m just not seeing it. thanks so much!
I think? She just means she makes rice to go along with it.
The rice note is at the end of the top part of the post, just noting that “I’ve had this one for eight years and it was worth every penny”
I think you mean where she says 4 T unseasoned rice wine vinegar or 2 T black vinegar mixed with 2 T rice…means rice wine vinegar (unseasoned).
This is basically how I make Filipino chicken adobo. Add more garlic and a bit more vinegar, loose the ginger and add a leaf or two of bay leaf. Dump all the ingredients in the pot and proceed until sauce is syrupy and fat has rendered from chicken. A low fire towards the end will prevent the sugar from burning.
Made this tonight w liquid aminos and rice vinegar and will make again. Accidentally left the heat on medium high so less sauce probably but was great.
I also made this with coconut aminos and it was great! Note to self: when making soy glazed chicken, make sure you aren’t out of soy sauce…
This looks very tasty! I bet you could substitute salmon filets or other firm fish filets for the chicken to change it up. Will try very soon.
Yes any fish, but it is especially good with black cod.
I’m thinking about this for a camping meal this weekend. Do you think it would be ok to mix the garlic, ginger, soy, vinegar and sugar in a jar for ease, and pour it into the pan over the chicken all together? Or will it really mess it up not to sauté the garlic and ginger first?? Thanks!
Alexis, you can add it to the chicken like you would a marinade. When you’re ready to cook just dump everything in a pot and cook until the sauce is syrupy. No need to pre-brown the chicken.
We made this tonight. So Quick! So Easy! So Delicious!
Thank You Deb.
My guess would be that you could absolutely mix the marinade ingredients ahead of time and bring it along in a jar. You could saute the garlic and ginger first, too. I suspect the flavor would be different if you skipped that step, but it looks like they would still get cooked somewhat once they’re in the pan with the chicken. This sounds like an ingenious approach!
I love boneless chicken thighs, and this sounds wonderful, but you know how they are packaged so that the thighs are nice little “bundles,” and look like the bone-in shape? I never know if I should “open” them up or leave them as is. What do you do? I have never seen a recipe address that.
personally I find that it depends on how I’m cooking them. If sauteeing on the stovetop I’ll flatten them out so they’ll cook more quickly and evenly. If baking, I’ll leave them bundled so they don’t dry out too much. No idea if this is the “right” way to do it, but it seems to work for me!
I love this question! I open them for even, faster cooking.
Thanks y’all for answering! To open or not has always been a little puzzling to me. Makes sense to open for the stove top for better browning and leaved bundled when baking in the oven! I’m making these tonight. :)
Such a useful question! Thanks for asking!
If I can’t use sesame oil due to an allergy, should
I replace it w veg oil, or just leave it out?
I only use it here for a vegetable slaw, so it won’t affect the chicken. You can use another oil.
Oh der. Read too fast. Thanks for answering, in any event!
Made this two nights ago and it was so good! It was a hit with adults and kids alike. Thanks for such a delish and simple recipe!
I just made this dish tonight using coconut sugar instead of brown sugar and it turned out fantastic! I’m Cantonese and grew up on soy sauce chicken (very nostalgic) and really loved this dish. Thank you so much Deb!
Yum! Made this tonight. It came together quickly and was very tasty! I dressed some cucumbers as recommended for the “crunchy vegetable side” and I could have eaten the entire bowl as the rest cooked. So good! Will definitely be adding this to the rotation.
Really good. Next time will double sauce amount and make more rice. Just delicious. Would make this for company. Thanks, Deb!
Thank you! I made this tonight (using the chicken breast cutlets) and my picky 10 year old loved it! He normally doesn’t want to try anything new but seeing the brown sugar on the counter got him interested!
I made this tonight and will make it again! I didn’t let the oil cool down enough so the garlic/ginger burned a little, lots of oil splatter and a small amount of sauce by the end of it, BUT I will do better next time. Thanks Deb!
Great recipe and super easy! My family loved it and I will definitely make this again, Thank you!!!
My kids love this recipe! It’s so easy and guaranteed that both will eat their dinner without any complaints.
Thank you for the great recipe!
I made this tonight and although it was absolutely delicious it lacked the rich brown color you have pictured. I used an unfiltered rice vinegar as opposed to the black vinegar, would that have made a difference?
Yes, the black vinegar is what gives it the darkest color.
Everyone in my family loved this. It’s so nice to add something new into the weeknight rotation! It also interrupts the narrative that my kids (11 and 9) are picky – any time they try something new and love it, it means that they have a little window of trust open and will try other new things. Highly recommend!
I ended up doing it in my dutch oven- it’s just easier to clean. But I didn’t get it hot enough before putting the chicken in, so they didn’t brown as much as I’d prefer, so will be sure to heat it more next time, or just use the stainless skillet. I used thighs, and it was perfectly tender meat.
Another plus for raising young kids? This is a great dish for practicing cutting your own meat for younger ones, since it is so tender.
I have been making different versions of this for forty years. I made this one and it is the simplest and most reliable. I used two tablespoons low sodium soy sauce with one tablespoon regular Kikkoman ( because we like the flavor) and I know the sauce will otherwise be too salty when it reduces. Thank you.
Made this today for a quick lunch for two. Served with roasted broccoli that I had in the oven while I put this together and udon noodles that I re-warmed in chicken broth.
I added a teaspoon of toasted sesame oil to add a little extra flavour,. Next time, I might try sherry instead.
Tossed the broccoli, the noodles, the chicken and the sauce in the same pan. Easy peasy.
This was amazing!! So good! More Asian inspired recipes please!!
Made this with white wine vinegar, because that’s what we had. Everybody loved it!
This was quite well received by my family, and it is easy and tasty enough to enter the rotation of weekday meals. I found the sauce very delicious, and I used a mixture of breast and thigh meat. I was a little rushed, but next time I’ll pay a little more attention to different cooking times and reduce the sauce on its own. Thanks, Deb!
Just an FYI for anyone who’s using skin-on cuts! I did it with skin-on bone-in thighs, and I guess I probably should have taken some of the fat out of the pan after browning the chicken because the sauce got kind of funky. It separated, so there were bits of reduced sauce amid all the fat. I was able to spoon the saucy bits out of the fat, and everything was delicious!
Delicious and so easy! Doubled the sauce recipe and set half to the side before adding chicken to glaze. Sauteed bok choy, shredded cabbage and snow peas in the pan after removing chicken and used the extra sauce to pour over the veggies and rice. Perfect one-pan meal for a busy night.
I had some leftover sushi rice and was looking for a recipe for lunch. I didn’t have chicken but used dorade fish (I didn’t precook the fish just added it directly after the garlic and ginger cooked for 1 min), I also added pieces of asparagus to cook directly in the sauce with the fish. Very versatile and delicious recipe.
When this showed up last week, I immediately ordered the black vinegar and chili crisps from Amazon. Made the chicken last night and LOVED it! Like another reviewer, my store only had bone in, skin on thighs. I removed the skins, but there was still a bit more fat in the pan and sauce did separate after a while. I will definitely make again, but either with chicken breasts or skinless/boneless thighs as recommended in the recipe. I will also double the sauce. I served with roasted broccoli topped with the chili crisps. Loved that as well.
Deb, I would like you to know I made this with pork chops and they. were. so. fabulous! I doubled the glaze to make sure there was more dripping over my rice.
Deadly.
Thank you so much for the inspiration. Xoxo
Oh my goodness. I made this and WOW! Reminded me of my childhood. What a comforting dish I didn’t realize I needed!!! Thank you so much for this, Deb!
Fantastic! And thank you for introducing me to black vinegar–my new favorite!
P.S. just used black vinegar for half of the vinegar in your hot and sour soup recipe—yum!
We had this last night, and loved it. I doubled the sauce ingredients (using the ginger puree from the refrigerated tube), and after the sauce was thick, added lightly steamed broccoli to the pot, stirring to coat. It will be on our 2 week rotation! THANKS so much!
Looks delicious! So far, prep has been easy-peasy. Can’t wait to try it!
excellent! Made with 4lbs of chicken and tripled the sauce.
Deb always does a great job with flavors. This is a keeper!
I keep coming back to this recipe to read about the snow pea salad. Can we have more ideas for quick, unfussy vegetable sides from you? This is what I need in my weeknight life. xoxo
This was super good and easy, thanks for the awesome recipe :)
Great one! Thanks
do you think this would work with steak? I am having a craving for both flank steak AND this dish.
Absolutely.
I love this idea and use a similar marinade for salmon and chicken…. HOWEVER. That first step of browning the chicken is so messy! The oil spatters everywhere and I get it on my clothes inevitably and the house smells like oil. Maybe I should try baking them until almost done and the throwing them in with the soy mixture to get that great glaze effect…
I made a variant of this inspired by your footnote! I only browned the chicken on one side, then flipped to the raw side for the glazing section. I added about equal parts water to the other liquids, with alittle bit of star anise, fennel, clove, coriander, and bay leaf so that the spices could infuse into the glaze while the water cooked out. I also threw in a splash of Shaoxing wine since it was in my cupboard so why not?
We had it over super simple cabbage and carrot steamed in the microwave and microwave brown rice. Oh and both sesame seeds and green onion on top.
This was incredibly satisfying.
Made it for this evening’s meal. Delicious and soooo easy to pull together. Thanks, Deb!
What do you think of adding some cornstarch to the sauce to make it thicker and more clingy? (FTR, I made this last night and it was great! Just thinking the sauce might be nice if it were thicker.)
I don’t think the sauce needs any starch to thicken. Did you cook it down to reduce it? The water evaporates and the sauce gets nice and sticky from the sugar.
I made this a few nights ago and everyone loved it. I don’t eat chicken so I’m relying on their comments. I was concerned it would be too salty, but everyone said it was well-balanced. I didn’t have fresh garlic, so used granulated in the seasoning stage. Omitted salt and just used fresh black pepper. I didn’t have any rice vinegar so subbed apple-cider / red wine. Thanks for the quick recipe. I doubled the batch and had plenty of leftovers. For those wondering about cornstarch, I added extra vinegar/soy sauce so it was pretty runny initially. After a few minutes, however, the sauce reduced and caramelized nicely. I’m gonna try the technique with a different protein next time!
This tastes exactly like the paper wrapped chicken of my youth, and it makes me extremely happy.
I made this two weeks ago for a busy weeknight dinner and it got rave reviews. I’m vegetarian so I won’t taste test when I cook meat but I was assured that this came out as good as if I did! It will for sure be in our rotation again.
This was super quick and really delicious. We served it with some rice and sautéed broccoli and (as suggested) some chili crisp. Only change we made was to double the sauce to make sure there was sauce/glaze leftover for the rice. You never let us down, Deb!
I just made this for dinner and served it with maruchan ramen noodles and matchstick carrots (classy, right?). My two year old took one bite of the chicken and did a happy little booty dance in her high chair. Tehehe. It was a hit! We’ll definitely be making it again.
Hi, has anyone tried substituting chicken with tofu or chickpeas? Thanks, I just bought the black vinegar and am excited to adapt for vegetarians.
I made this with bone in, skin on chicken thighs and did as another commenter suggested and first baked the thighs for thirty minutes at 400 degrees. I left the fat and juice on the baking pan and then simmered them in the cooked sauce. I had two pounds of chicken and doubled the sauce and thought it was a perfect amount. I only had brown rice vinegar and it seemed to work fine.
Made with the suggested salad of snow peas, carrots, cucumber and radish and sticky rice. It was very good!
These are perfect! I’ve been making a batch and then putting them on an “Asian” chopped salad mix from the grocery store. Perfect weeknight meal!
I doubled the recipe, browned the chicken in batches. Tenderloins because the store didn’t have thighs. My sauce never got very thick, perhaps I was too impatient. But the flavor & simplicity was definitely on point!
Made this tonight, and it was delicious! Quick and flavorful, perfect weeknight dinner. Thank you for sharing!
I used this glaze on fried tofu…10/10 recommend!! Looking forward to actually following this recipe with chicken next!
I made this as a last-minute chicken dish tonight, and I was asked to add it to the rotation. Score! I added some cooked broccoli to the pan after pulling the chicken out so it became covered in the delicious sauce, too. My husband was a bit concerned about the smell when the vinegar hit the hot pan, but he was very enthusiastic about the finished dish.
Dear Deb, thank you! For this recipe (it was great, I made it for dinner last week, it was quick & easy & delicious, and the kids loved it), but also for turning us on to chili crisp! I ordered a jar that arrived about 5 days ago, and my husband and I are obsessed and put it on literally everything. We just re-ordered. Thanks for keeping our dinner rotation interesting. We are grateful!
This chicken is DELCIOUS! And will be added to our weekly rotation.
We served with rice and bok choy!
Does anyone have general ratios to offer for the quick salad/slaw that’s tossed with white rice vinegar and toasted sesame oil? I’m terrible with anything written “to taste.” My cucumber carrot slaw was the only failed part of this recipe. I clearly had the oil/vinegar mix wrong but I’m not sure what needed to be changed.
I would use a proportion of 1T rice vinegar (unseasoned, preferably) to 1t toasted sesame oil plus salt and pepper — you’ll need to really season it to lift these flavors — scaled as needed.
Oh my this was so good! We loved the flavors of ginger and garlic with soy and the touch of sweetness. Lick the pot kind of good. So quick and easy too.
I flash sautéed snow peas from our garden, small carrot sticks and celery in a pan, added a big splash of sesame oil and a pinch of salt to serve with the chicken.
We will be making this again.
Thanks for sharing Deb!
Made this tonight with boneless skinless thighs and served with steamed rice and sauteed zucchini & onions. That sauce was so good – a perfect balance of flavors – I wanted to drink it out of the pan! Definitely will make again and again! Thanks for another great recipe!!
Hi Deb, I have made this 4 or 5 times and my family all love it. I have been using a Le Creuset pan and the clean up is really awful, can I ask what brand of pan you use ? Is it stainless steel ? Thank you !
I use stainless steel, most often. I find that enameled cast iron has a stickier suface, for sure. I like it for some things, but no need for it here.
Is it possible to make this with salmon instead of with chicken?
Hi! This looks awesome. Any idea if it freezes well? TIA!
I’m wondering this too. Could I put the sauce ingredients in with the chicken, freeze everything, then cook in the instant pot, boiling down the sauce? I’m making many freezer dinners to prepare for recovery from surgery.
I too want to know if this freezes well. I am making up a bunch of dinners for my daughter and her family for when she has her next child – due in 7 days!
What am I missing? Is there no PRINT for the recipe? New here and recipes look great, but are we supposed to copy/paste and cleanup every single recipe we want to try?
There is a print icon that leads to a print template at the bottom of each recipe, where it says “DO MORE:” You can also click CTRL or ⌘ + P [on desktop] from any recipe post and it will take you to a streamlined print template.
Other ways to print:
File > Print on a Mac
From the share button (the one that looks like an up-arrow coming out of a box) at the bottom of the Safari browser on an iPhone
I made this with chicken and it’s wonderful. I also switched it up completely in order to do a fridge clean out before traveling and so I made it with tilapia. Instead of doing the initial browning step, I threw the fish in to simmer with the sauce. It was great over some roasted broccoli and rice.
This was SO delicious!!!!!!
I don’t know if this is intentional, but I kinda love how you don’t do the easy/lazy thing (that I’ve seen so so often on other recipe blogs) of calling your dishes something like “Asian Chicken.” I think it’s great how you use the names of the ingredients (soy, hoisin, sesame, miso, etc). It’s more useful/helpful and also less… erasing other cultures / suggesting that the entire continent of Asia uses soy sauce and sesame seeds, y’know? Anyways just wanted to share.
Fun fact: someone tried to give me one of your cookbooks for my birthday but I already owned a copy. Thanks for all that you do!
I keep looking for “Print recipe” button, but don’t see one. Can someone help me out?
You should find a large one at the end of the recipe.
This was very easy and delicious! I didn’t have any rice vinegar but replaced with white wine vinegar. I served it sliced over sushi rice and pickled cucumbers, garnished with sesame seeds, green onions and cilantro. I will definitely make this again!
I’m wondering if I did something wrong. My sauce is not thickening at all. I doubled the recipe so used 4 tbsps of sugar, but I’ve been cooking for well over 5 minutes and it’s not syrupy at all. Tastes great!
I made this last night, subbing tofu for chicken. It was delicious! Thanks for another winner Deb!
Definitely double the sauce. Really good.
This was a huge hit- even my ridiculously picky 10 year old asked for seconds and then more after that! I appreciate recipes like this that really are as quick and easy as they promise. I had some fresh spinach I needed to use up, so just threw it in at the end to quickly wilt it and then served it over some rice.
I finally got around to making this and oh. my. gosh. It tastes like takeout in the best way possible. I love that it cooks in about the same amount of time it takes me to cook a pot of rice. We had it with that and salad with home made bento box carrot dressing, and it was a fantastic dinner on the table in 20 minutes if you make the dressing ahead. I have a huge rotation of recipes but I think this one is going on the short list along with the famous street cart chicken!
So good!!! My husband called it ‘Juicy and interesting’ (in contrast to ‘dry and boring’ which is how he normally describes chicken)… a huge compliment! ;) I used chicken thighs. So quick and easy and delicious.
I never knew what to do with the bok choy we occasionally get in my CSA–until now! Thanks to this super-quick recipe and a thoughtful commenter who suggested stirring some into the sauce, I’ll never wonder what to do with it again. I sautéed the chopped greens after removing the chicken from the pan, then set it aside until the chicken finished cooking in the sauce, and served it all together. Ridiculously tasty and easy enough for a weeknight…a total winner!
Can you substitute balsamic vinegar for the rice/black vinegar?
Different flavor profile but the chicken could still be tasty!
I’ve made this twice, it’s so good, so quick, everyone eats it. What a winner, thanks!
Hi there. Several (3) of us asked the question last year about whether or not you can freeze this after cooking and how to do so. I have not been able to find where the question was answered. Thought I would ask it again. Thanks
You can freeze anything … you can certainly freeze this chicken.
You could also just freeze a piece yourself and let us know how it goes …
This comes together SO quickly, I would recommend mixing up the sauce ingredients and freezing them separately from your raw or browned chicken pieces. Then when you heat them up you can simmer them in the sauce and get that fresh experience.
I found this dish was much better fresh than as refrigerated leftovers, so I imagine freezing would also give less than fantastic results. But I agree it’s such a quick dish, it’s worth simmering up just before serving!
My sauce got burnt and came apart…do you let the pan cool for a while after the first round of cooking the chicken and/or do you cook the sauce and second round of chicken at a lower temp than medium high?
Over a year later and we make this at least every other week. It is just that phenomenal. Sometimes I use a pre-shredded broccoli slaw to make a side salad-ish like you have suggested above, sometimes I made a Chinese smashed cucumber salad, and I always serve it with steamed short-grain rice. I use pre-cut boneless skinless chicken breast tenders to make it super quick and easy since I’m kind of squeamish about raw meat. We even made it with tofu once! (I don’t recommend this without doubling or even tripling the sauce, tofu is thirsty. It still tasted good, but it was not the same experience)
It’s an absolute winner every. single. time.
Looks delicious! Can I make it a couple of hours ahead and reheat it? I’ll make coconut rice to go with it.
This Soy-Glazed Chicken recipe looks absolutely delicious! The combination of soy sauce, honey, and sesame oil sounds perfect. I also appreciate the fact that it is a quick and easy recipe that can be ready in less than 30 minutes. I can’t wait to try it out, and I’m sure my family will love it too. Thanks for sharing. If you’re looking for more delicious and easy-to-follow chicken recipes, check out my blog Tasty Recipes
Made this for the first time a few weeks and it was amazing! So easy, yet the results are so far superior to any other soy sauce based chicken dish – I cut the recipe in half since there’s just two of us, but kept the sauce at full recipe and so glad I did…we couldn’t get enough of that sticky saucy goodness! Soooo good!
Awesome recipe! Definitely adding this to the permanent collection.
Made this with pheasant breast cutlets and the only adjustment I made was for the cooking time as they are so lean. Did not serve with the chili crisp but can see how that would be quite good.
This was easy, came together with things I keep on hand, and was delicious – I cubed some of the meat and served atop a cabbage-based salad.
Is there some reason not to use seasoned rice vinegar? That is what I usually have on hand.
Delicious and easy. At the request of one of my hungry men, next time I will add a little orange juice to the glaze. Served with steamed broccoli and white rice for a perfect quick weeknight dinner.
I made this tonight for dinner… it was really easy and delicious. I made an all vegetable egg roll in a bowl for the side. Will definitely be making this again.
Quite a hit and relatively easy. Great on top of some chili rice noodles.
This was really great! I did have a question though about the transition from browning the chicken to the garlic ginger part. I saw some others had issue here. I just followed the recipe and after removing the browned chicken to a plate, added some oil to the pan and then the garlic and ginger and then the sauces.
The pan was so hot the garlic and ginger browned almost immediately and when I put the sauce mixture in it sizzled in a giant flare up.
Deb are we meant to wait and really cool the pan down in between browning and sauces ? What am I doing wrong ? The end result tasted great but things got a little charred and my kitchen was an oily mess (!). Help :-)
I made this and it was so good! I doubled the sauce and tossed some steamed broccoli in it. Along with rice – a perfect meal.
I made this tonight with chicken for my family & tofu for me. I pan-fried the tofu ahead of time, just like it says to do for the chicken. It’s a keeper, for sure. Everyone loved it, & there were no leftovers! Simple & easy to throw together. I used coconut sugar, since that was all I had on hand, it was perfect.
Holy soy sauce this was so good. Super easy and the flavor was delightful in my mouth. Even my picky kids liked it. Make it with rice because the glaze is everything here. Super yummy- going on a regular rotation for sure.
I make this in my Instapot on high pressure for 20 minutes. One of our favorites
Is there a typo here? The recipe calls for two tablespoons rice? Should it be rice wine vinegar? Also I was unable to find black vinegar or unseasoned rice vinegar (they only had seasoned). Any substitutes? Thx!!
This was amazing and so easy!
This was so good. I barely eat meat and, when I do, not in large portions, but I just kept gobbling this up!
Soy-Glazed Chicken…wow! This will now be a regular on the menu. It was delicious. Everyone loved it, even my finicky grandson.