Fall-Apart Tender Shoyu Chicken (Hawaiian Family Recipe)
Hawaiian Shoyu Chicken is pure local-style comfort food! Chicken thighs slowly simmer in a garlicky, gingery shoyu sauce until fall-apart tender. Savory-sweet goodness, best served with a scoop of rice & mac salad. Baked, slow cooker & Instant Pot instructions provided in the Recipe Notes.
for serving, as desired: rice, Hawaiian mac salad, sautéed cabbage or bok choy, etc.
Categories
Main Dish
Cuisine
Hawaiian
Steps
Mix the shoyu braising liquid: Add the water, shoyu, brown sugar, green onions, garlic, and ginger to a bowl. Whisk to combine. Set aside or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Braise the shoyu chicken: Pour the braising liquid into a heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven with a lid. Nestle the chicken thighs in the pot, submerging them in the shoyu braising liquid as much as possible. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to low. Cover and simmer for 30-35 minutes, until the chicken is fall-apart tender and cooked through.
Preheat your oven’s broiler to its highest setting, ensuring an oven rack is positioned about 6 inches below the broiler. Transfer the chicken thighs to a small baking sheet. Place under the broiler for 4-5 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through, until the chicken skin is crispy and caramelized. As the chicken broils, you can also thicken the braising liquid. Increase the heat under the pot to high. Boil 5-10 minutes, until reduced as desired.
Serve the shoyu chicken immediately alongside rice and mac salad. Spoon the thickened shoyu sauce over the chicken and garnish with thinly sliced green onion as desired. Enjoy!
Nutitrion
Calories: 375 calories
Carbohydrates: 24.5 g
Protein: 53.8 g
Fat: 6.1 g
Saturated Fat: 1.3 g
Trans Fat: 0 g
Cholesterol: 165.5 mg
Sodium: 1125.4 mg
Sugar: 21.8 g
Reviews
Meg on 2021-11-08 (5 stars): I love shoyu chicken!!
And I love aloha shoyu! It's the best!
I've tried many recipes and I've done some of my own too but I really want to try your recipe tonight so I'm following yours truly this time 😊
Well except the chicken is a bone in skin on drumstick.. but other than that I'm following yours. I'm marinating it in cold water in a Ziploc now because the chicken wasn't thawed.. I'm excited to try the broil after its braised! My son usually doesn't like the skin floppy because it's so gooey he says but he likes the crispy chicken skin when I fry them on the pan, so I'm hoping he'll like the broiled one 💖
Do you have the Mac salad recipe also?
And I don't have boc Choi but I have cabbage, what's your recommend cabbage recipe?
So excited for dinner tonight!!
It's going to be like a time back home 😍
Can't wait!!
Stacey on 2021-04-23 (5 stars): I loved this chicken! I mixed the marinade in the morning in a large glass bowl, added the chicken and cooked it following the stovetop directions for dinner. I served it with brown rice, hawaiian mac salad and your slaw! It's delicious! I will make this again.
Kristina on 2021-05-04 (5 stars): Another amazing yet easy dish for the perfect weeknight dinner. Marinating the chicken for two days was a must for me! The chicken was flavorful down to the bone. Impressive! I can’t wait to add this to my regular meals.
A Gibson on 2021-08-11 (5 stars): This was DELICIOUS! The thighs really were falling of the bone. I did the stovetop preparation, but look forward to trying the other methods.
deanna on 2022-04-11 (5 stars): I made this tonight and it was DELICIOUS!! Thank you!
Barbara on 2022-08-31 (5 stars): I made this and it came out perfect!! Thank you
Trudie Small on 2023-07-09 (5 stars): I made this to go for a dinner for about 10 people. Two of the people that I had made it for one was located in Japan for a while and the other was Hawaiian. Not only was it the best show you chicken they had ever had but the mac salad was divine. I have made this several times and I enjoy it each and every time my son also served in Korea and made this for the first time for me and it just melted in my mouth I have made this for several occasions and I truly enjoy it thank you so much for the recipe.
Sandy Foley on 2024-01-06 (5 stars): Shoyu chicken --- Very comforting and ono grinds
Amber on 2024-01-25 (5 stars): So easy and so tasty! I used boneless skinless chicken thighs and it turned out great - I just took 5 min off the cooking time. I also saved and froze the braising liquid from the first time I made these and used it again for a second batch, just added fresh ginger and green onion.
Liz on 2024-01-25 (5 stars): Loved it! What do you do with the leftover sauce?
Vanessa on 2024-02-26 (5 stars): Would this work with regular kikkoman soy sauce?
Maria Kunihiro on 2024-12-11 (2 stars): I made the recipe as direcect I found if chicken was marinated would have given the chicken for of the teriyaki flavor. I don't think the broil did not add that much more flavor.
Saprasheenu on 2025-01-09 (5 stars): "This shoyu chicken recipe looks absolutely mouthwatering—can’t wait to try it out!"
Rebecca on 2025-05-27 (5 stars): Delicious! I made this in the crockpot then broiled it to crisp up a bit. I only had boneless, skinless thighs. It still came out amazing. Made with rice and mac salad. I miss Hawaii a bit more now.
Eddie Luke on 2025-06-08 (5 stars): Being born in Hawaii and moving away when I was six…. This is a taste of home for me. Recently started making this and this has quickly become one of my wife’s favorite dishes. I do find it easier to do with boneless skinless chicken thighs and I usually add a breast or two as well. Comes out perfect every time thank you.
Baron Yamamoto on 2025-09-02 (5 stars): Winner Winner Chicken dinner! ANOTHER Broke Da Mout recipe 🤙🤙🤙by Jess! I let it sit for a day in the fridge after cooking in the slow cooker. Chicken was really tender and soaked up the sauce!
