This chicken is loaded with a fantastic duo of sweet and salty flavors and is one of the most unique yet amazing recipes out there. The best thing is you don’t have to go to Hawaiian restaurants to taste it rather you can make it easily at home anytime you want.

This fantastic recipe is so simple yet so delicious. With just a few simple ingredients, this recipe gives you another dimension of taste and flavor. In Japan, the word Shoyu is used for the Japanese soy sauce. As it’s clear from its name, this recipe uses a lot of soya sauce. Other ingredients include Brown Sugar, Worcestershire Sauce, Water, Garlic, Ginger, and Red Pepper Flakes.

Ingredients

For the Chicken:

• 3 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 10–12 pieces)

• 1 ½ cups water (355 ml)

• 1 ½ cups soy sauce (355 ml)

• 1 ½ cups brown sugar (300 g)

• 1 ½ tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

• ¼ teaspoon red chili flakes

• 2 garlic cloves, crushed

• 2-inch piece fresh ginger, crushed

For “Da Sauce”:

• ¼ cup water (60 ml)

• ¼ cup soy sauce (60 ml)

• 6 tablespoons brown sugar (75 g)

Instructions

1. Prepare the Sauce Base

In a bowl, stir together the water, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, ginger, garlic, brown sugar, and chili flakes until the sugar dissolves.

2. Cook the Chicken

Place the chicken thighs in a large pot or Dutch oven. Pour the sauce mixture over the top. Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat to low. Cover and let simmer for about 1 hour, until the chicken is tender and cooked through.

3. Choose Your Style

• Shredded (classic): Remove the chicken while there’s still some liquid left in the pot. Shred the meat with two forks, then return it to the pot to soak up all that flavorful sauce.

• Whole pieces (optional): Skip shredding and simply serve the chicken thighs as they are, spooning the cooking liquid over the top.

4. Make “Da Sauce”

In a small bowl, whisk together water, soy sauce, and brown sugar until smooth. This extra sauce is perfect for drizzling over rice and chicken.

5. Serve

Scoop hot rice into bowls, top with the chicken (shredded or whole), and drizzle generously with “Da Sauce.”

Slow Cooker Instructions

1. Mix water, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, ginger, garlic, brown sugar, and chili flakes.

2. Add chicken to slow cooker and pour sauce mixture over it.

3. Cook on Low for 8 hours or High for 4 hours.

4. Shred chicken in the pot, mix well, and serve with “Da Sauce.”

Instant Pot Instructions

1. In the Instant Pot, mix water, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, ginger, garlic, brown sugar, and chili flakes.

2. Add chicken thighs and spoon some sauce over the top.

3. Lock the lid and seal the vent. Cook on High Pressure for 15 minutes.

4. Allow a 10-minute natural release, then quick release the remaining pressure.

5. Shred chicken, toss in the cooking juices, and serve with “Da Sauce.”

Tips for Best Flavor:

• For richer flavor, marinate the chicken in the sauce mixture for 2–4 hours before cooking.

• This dish tastes even better the next day — the sauce thickens and the flavors deepen.

• You can swap chicken thighs for drumsticks or bone-in thighs, but increase cooking time slightly.

Pin the image below if you like this Hawaiian Shoyu Chicken Recipe

Best Chicken Cut for Hawaiian Shoyu Chicken

The best chicken cut is skinless and boneless chicken thighs. I would recommend using boneless thighs as these are soft, tender, and juicy and will be the best choice for this recipe. You can also use boneless chicken breast, but I highly recommend using chicken thighs.

Some useful Tips:

• You can make this recipe in a slow cooker on the stove. You’ll find detailed directions in the recipe section.
• You can serve this chicken best with white rice, fresh pineapple, salad, and one of the best sauces, “Da Sauce.” The recipe for this flavorful Da Sauce is also given below.

Best cooking utensils for this recipe:

1- Instant Pot:

You can use an instant for slow cooking. It gives you the best results. It helps cook food easily and the chicken and other food items usually take hours to cook.

2- Ninja 3-in-1 Cooking System:

Another best choice for slow cooking is a Ninja 3-in-1 cooker. It’s an amazing cooking system and is best to slow cook and bake meat all in a single cooker. You can cook and bake all on just the stovetop.