• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Heather Likes Food logo

  • Recipe Index
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Recipe Index
  • About
  • Contact
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
  • ×

    Home / Recipes / Chicken

    Hawaiian Shoyu Chicken

    By Heather · Published: Nov 15, 2017 · Updated: Mar 21, 2022 · This post may contain affiliate links · See the privacy policy linked in my footer.

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    Hawaiian Shoyu Chicken-- so flavorful you'll forget how easy it is to make! Filled with flavors of ginger, garlic, and just a touch of red pepper, it's a meal you'll want over and over again!

    Hawaiian shoyu chicken over white rice

    There is a little hole-in-the-wall cafe where we used to live in Corvallis, Oregon that serves the best Hawaiian Shoyu Chicken you can get short of flying to Hawaii. The ribs are probably their claim to fame, but I'm a sucker for their shoyu chicken and macaroni salad. It's been a while in the making, but I think the recipe I've come up with makes for a pretty stinkin' good substitute when I have a hankering for a big plate of sweet meat, rice, and mac-- which happens at least twice a week.

    shoyu chicken on white rice and pineapple

    Pin This Recipe To Your Chicken Board

    Hawaiian Shoyu chicken is one of the simplest things to make. Seriously. Yet somehow the few, simple ingredients turn into deep flavors, tender meat and an all-around unforgettable meal. Shoyu is just another name for soy sauce, so as you might guess, we're using a lot of soy sauce here. Other ingredients include Worcestershire sauce, ginger, garlic, sugar, water, and a little red pepper.

    What kind of chicken should I use for Hawaiian Shoyu Chicken?

    You'll need about 3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs. I know I'll have someone ask if they can use breasts, and the answer it yes, yes you CAN. But try it once with chicken thighs just for me, please? The thighs have so much flavor and really make this shoyu chicken what it's supposed to be.

    Tips for Making Hawaiian Shoyu Chicken:

    • This recipe can be made on the stove-top or in a slow cooker. Directions for both will be in the recipe below.
    • My favorite way of eating it is with lots of steamed rice, macaroni salad, fresh-cut pineapple, and a little concoction our local cafe serves with all of its meats called "Da Sauce". It's basically more soy sauce and sugar and the recipe is included in the recipe card below.

    Pin This Recipe To Your Chicken Board

    Hawaiian Shoyu Chicken on a blue plate with rice

    Want More Easy Chicken Recipes?

    • Garlic Ranch Chicken Marinade
    • Bacon Wrapped Pesto Chicken
    • Sheet Pan Pesto Chicken and Veggies
    • Sticky Sweet Chili Chicken
    • One Pan Smothered Chicken Skillet

    Tools used for Making Hawaiian Shoyu Chicken:

    • Instant Pot : I use my Instant Pot as my slow cooker these days. This is the model that I have and LOVE. It’s been with me for over a year and I’ve definitely put it through the ringer, but still works like new! It’s changed the dinnertime routine at our house and helps me make meals in under an hour that used to take HOURS!
    • Ninja 3-in-One Cooking System: When my Instant Pot is already in use (It makes the BEST rice) I still use my favorite slow-cooker. I've owned this slow cooker for about 6 years (when they were first introduced) and I still love it. The stovetop feature allows me to sear and cook meats before allowing them to slow cook (less dishes) and there's a bake feature as well.

    Pin This Recipe To Your Chicken Board

    Hawaiian Shoyu Chicken-- so flavorful you'll forget how easy it is to make! Filled with flavors of ginger, garlic and just a touch of red pepper.

    Hawaiian Shoyu Chicken

    Hawaiian Shoyu Chicken-- so flavorful you'll forget how easy it is to make! Filled with flavors of ginger, garlic and just a touch of red pepper.
    By Heather Cheney
    Print Pin Rate
    Prep Time: 10 minutes
    Cook Time: 1 hour
    Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
    Servings: 6 Servings

    Ingredients

    • 3 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
    • 1 ½ cups soy sauce
    • 1 ½ cups water
    • 1 ½ cups white sugar
    • 1 ½ tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
    • ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
    • 2 inch piece fresh ginger chopped
    • 2 cloves garlic minced

    For Da Sauce

    • ¼ cup soy sauce
    • ¼ cup water
    • ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons sugar

    Instructions

    • Place chicken in a large pot on the stove top.
    • Combine remaining ingredients and stir until sugar is dissolved. Pour over chicken and stir until all chicken is immersed in sauce.
    • Bring to a low boil, cover and reduce heat to a simmer. Let cook for about 1 hour at a low simmer until the chicken is tender.

    To Make in a Slow Cooker:

    • Cook on LOW for up to 8 hours or HIGH for 4.
    • Remove chicken from cooking liquid, shred and return to pan to soak up some more flavor. Serve over steamed rice with the sauce below.
    • To make "Da Sauce": Combine and stir all ingredients until the sugar is dissolved and serve with the chicken and rice.

    To Make in an Instant Pot

    • Combine the soy sauce, water, sugar, Worcestershire sauce, red pepper flakes, ginger and garlic in the Instant Pot. Place the chicken in the sauce and spoon some sauce over the top of the chicken.
    • Lock Instant Pot lid in place, making sure the venting valve is sealed.
    • Cook on high pressure for 15 minutes.
    • While chicken is cooking, combine the ingredients for the sauce and set aside. 
    • When the cooking time is up, allow the pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes, then do a quick pressure release and when the pin drops remove the lid.
    • Serve the chicken and sauce over the top of steamed white rice alongside some macaroni salad.

    Nutrition Facts

    Serving: 1 serving | Calories: 510 kcal | Carbohydrates: 55 g | Protein: 50 g | Fat: 9 g | Saturated Fat: 2 g | Cholesterol: 215 mg | Sodium: 4029 mg | Potassium: 742 mg | Sugar: 51 g | Vitamin A: 80 IU | Vitamin C: 0.8 mg | Calcium: 42 mg | Iron: 3.7 mg

    Nutrition and Food Safety Disclosure

    ARE WE FRIENDS ON INSTAGRAM?Tag me @heatherlikesfood and use #heatherlikesfood so I can see what you're making and enjoying!
    Save This Recipe for Later!
    « Coffee Cake in a Cup
    One Pan Garlic Herb Chicken Thighs »

    Most Recent Recipes

    Sloppy Joe on a white plate with pickle and potato chips

    Instant Pot Sloppy Joes

    3 crunchy ground beef tacos

    Mexican Style Ground Beef Taco Meat

    Glass bowl of guacamole with chip inside

    The Actual Chipotle Guacamole Recipe

    Close up of biscuit with a pat of butter on it

    The Easiest Homemade Drop Biscuits

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Fusion 360 discount code says

      May 24, 2022 at 12:48 am

      I have been reading your blogs for a long time because I used the Autodesk Fusion 360 to store my files, photos, videos, songs, and videos online, you can get Fusion 360 discount code, if you want to use this software, you can visit site,The range of frequencies that are used for transmitting a signal without being substantially attenuated is called the bandwidth. It is calculated as the difference between the highest and the lowest frequencies. It is expressed in Hertz (Hz).For example, if the minimum frequency is 100 Hz and the maximum frequency is 1000 Hz, the bandwidth will be 900 Hz.The bandwidth of a transmission medium is the frequency width of the medium and is dependent upon its physical characteristics like thickness, material, length etc. For example, the bandwidth of a coaxial cable is 750 MHz ( MegaHertz).

      Reply
    2. Kristen says

      May 09, 2022 at 3:22 pm

      I live in Hawaii and my family loves Shoyu chicken. I had never made it myself. This recipe is spot on!! My grandson ate 5 pieces in one sitting and now it is a weekly meal recipe for me. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe with the world!!

      Reply
    3. TODD l BRAGET says

      February 05, 2022 at 6:47 am

      very best

      Reply
    4. CB says

      January 03, 2022 at 9:06 pm

      Hold-up… this is so unreal. I currently live in Portland but went to school in Corvallis, so naturally I dream of Local Boyz shoyu chicken daily. Today I decided I was going to look up a recipe for shoyu chicken and I stumbled onto your recipe/site (not at all thinking someone would make a local boyz copy cat!). With Corvallis being such a small town I was SHOCKED to find this! What a fun treat.

      Now most importantly… I just made this recipe and OMG it reminds me of local boyz sooo much. It is perfect. THANK YOU!

      Reply
    5. Kevin McKee says

      October 25, 2021 at 4:48 pm

      I was an Air Force Dependent and we were stationed in Hawaii at Hickman AFB, 1971-1975. School cafeteria lunches were different here and while pizza day was popular Shoyu Chicken day was a much bigger deal. Redford HS Cafeteria cooks had a lock on Shoyu Chic. A more complex version could be had at local restaurants like Zippy’s Plate Lunch. I always had 1 scoop mac salad two sccop rice. This recipe is lore like the Zippys i remember anyway. Memory lane is open for lunch! Ono!

      Reply
      • David A Szafranski says

        April 11, 2022 at 2:45 pm

        I grew up on Hickam AFB during the mid 1960s. I remember the smell of shoyu chicken roasting in the oven. Then eating with steamed rice and mac salad...all soon good. Still make it today.

        Reply
    6. BrotherBax says

      October 12, 2021 at 9:50 pm

      5 stars
      As another Local Boyz fan (who here in Corvallis isn’t?), this recipe is amazingly spot on! We have the ingredients on the recurring grocery list now. And it is very easy to make GF with gluten free soy sauce and Worcestershire!

      Thank you, Heather!

      Reply
    7. Alex says

      August 08, 2021 at 8:56 pm

      5 stars
      I’m a huge local boyz fan and this was spot on! I’ll definitely be making this again.

      Reply
    « Older Comments

    Did you make this recipe? Drop me a comment and let me know how it turned out! Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    Headshot of Heather in an apron

    Hi, I'm Heather! Want to become a rockstar cook? I’m a former chef, caterer, and culinary arts school graduate that just wants to help you make some killer food! I truly believe that with a little know-how anyone can totally rock their kitchen. Stick around for ultimate recipes of your favorite foods, cooking tips, guides, and more!

    More about me →

    Popular Recipes

    • The Best Super Moist Oven Baked BBQ Chicken
    • One Pan Sour Cream Chicken Enchilada Skillet
    • Hawaiian Shoyu Chicken
    • The Best Sloppy Joe Sauce
    • Coffee Cake in a Cup
    • Baked Ricotta Chicken
    • Mom's Classic Meatloaf Recipe
    • Beef Teriyaki Stir Fry
    Email opt in image
    • Dinner Recipes
    • Breads
    • Side Dishes
    • Breakfast Recipes
    • Appetizer Recipes

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • Privacy Policy
    • Disclaimer

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates

    Contact

    • About
    • Email
    • Work With Me

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This site uses cookies and generates income via ads.

    Copyright © 2022 Heather Likes Food, LLC