The best homemade soy sauce chicken recipe! Succulent chicken with a delicious soy sauce gravy.
This post is all about soy sauce chicken recipe. The flavour is AUTHENTIC Cantonese Soy Sauce Chicken.
What is Soy Sauce Chicken?
Also known as “See Yao Gai” is a soy sauce braised chicken. It is a simple dish that can be easily whipped up.
Soy Sauce Chicken is braised in a bath of soy sauce, garlic, cinnamon, and star anise. The aroma of making this Soy Sauce Chicken in the kitchen is mouth watering.
This recipe is not labour intensive and after the first time making it, it gets easier. Why? Because once you establish the gravy where the chicken will be braised in, the soy sauce gravy can be used two more times.
So freeze this gravy, and reuse it again to make more soy sauce chicken in the future!
Everyone knows what soy sauce chicken is
This recipe is very popular in asian food court. There’s at least two stores at the food court who sells soy sauce chicken. It’s a home style comfort food you can get at home and outside.
Honestly, this recipe is one of my favourite to make at home. Reminds me a lot of my childhood, and I think any Cantonese immigrant can agree with this. For us, the aroma is very comforting and delicious.
A good side not: soy sauce chicken is best served with steam white rice. Don't forget to put a few spoons of that gravy on top of your rice!
Why You Will Love Soy Sauce Chicken
- Easy to Make - the recipe is very straight forward! If you have some basic asian spices, you can make this recipe! Doesn't require lots of work and the recipes is very easy.
- Irresistible and delicious taste - Just the pungent smell of soy sauce and star anise can make any mouth water. Even for people who never tasted soy sauce chicken can undeniably say its delicious.
- Versatility - It can be served with white rice and a veggie side. You don't need to stick with rice only with this recipe. You can shred the meat and stir fry it with noodles and you have soy sauce chick stir fry. Another way of eating this is to pack it with some cold salad and put the chicken pieces on top.
Ingredients
Spices
For this soy sauce chicken recipe star anise is a must! Other spices you will also need is cinnamon stick, bay leaf, and ginger.
If you like a stronger ginger flavour and make it more similar like soy ginger sauce chicken, just double the amount of ginger that is called for in this recipe.
Dark Soy Sauce
There's a difference between soy sauce and dark soy sauce. Soy sauce is where the umami flavour comes from. Dark sauce is not so much the flavour but the colour.
Some of my favourite brands for this recipe:
Soy Sauce Chicken Recipe Instant Pot
Can you make soy sauce chicken in an instant pot? Heck yes! My Instant Pot is constantly being used and one of the dishes I keep coming back to it is the soy sauce chicken recipe.
Washing: I must admit this recipe will make your instant pot smell. No problem though. Just give it a good wash by adding vinegar and water to the pot. Pressure cook it for 10 minutes. The smell will vanish with this new trick!
To make the soy sauce chicken in an Instant Pot:
1. Set Instant Pot on 'SAUTE' and add the oil and the spices to the pot. Sauce for 5 minutes.
2. Add the water, 1.5 cups of dark soy sauce, spring onion, sugar, and bring everything to a boil
3. Add the chicken. Press 'Manual' and set to HIGH PRESSURE for 20 minutes.
4. Release valve, and when it is ready, take the lid off. Immediately take the chicken out to cool for 5 minutes. Brush the chicken with Chinese wine and maltose / honey.
Can I use Chicken Wings, Thighs, and Drumsticks for this Recipe?
Yes you absolutely can! For the following below, just cook for 10 minutes in the Instant Pot:
Soy sauce chicken wings, Soy sauce chicken thighs, Soy sauce chicken drumsticks
Soy Sauce Chicken
Ingredients
- 1.4 kg Whole Chicken
- 1 TBSP oil
- 100 g sugar
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1-2 star anise
- 2-3 dried bay leaves
- 5 cloves garlic
- 2 bunches spring onions
- 3-4 slices ginger
- 1.5 cups dark soy sauce
- 1 litre water
- 1 TBSP Chinese rice wine
Marinate for Chicken
- 2 TSP sea salt
- 1 TBSP dark soy sauce
Chicken Glaze
- 2 TBSP maltose / honey
- 1 TBSP hot water
Garnish
- 1 green onion thinly sliced the green parts
Instructions
- In a large stock pot, heat 1 tbsp of oil in medium heat. Fry the garlic, ginger, cinnamon stick, star anise, and bay leaf until aromatic - 3 minutes.
- Immediately add in the water, 1.5 cups of dark soy sauce, spring onion, sugar, and bring everything to a boil.
- When the water is boiling, carefully put the whole chicken in, and give it a couple rotations in the soy sauce water. At least 5-7 rotations. Make sure you're not splashing the water around.
- Carefully place the chicken with breast side down and cover the pot in the lowest fire setting. You do not want the water to be bubbling, but a very gentle simmer. Cook the chicken for 20 minutes, but rotate it every 10 minutes.
- After, turn the heat back high for 10 minutes, and turn off the heat with the lid on. Let the chicken sit in the water for 15 minutes.
- Once done, carefully take the chicken out without breaking the skin. I like to use tongs and chop sticks. Set the chicken on a large plate and let it cool for 5 minutes. Brush the chicken with Chinese wine and maltose / honey.
- Once the chicken is completely cooled, chop it into pieces and garnish with the green parts of green onion. Serve with warm rice and some of the soy sauce gravy and garnish with green onion shavings.