Glazed with a delicious soy-butter sauce, this Butter Shoyu Chicken will win your family‘s heart! It is a simple recipe that produces a luxurious result. The chicken is exceptionally moist and tender and so flavorful. It‘s ready in just 25 minutes.
Looking to dial things up for your regular chicken recipes? This Butter Shoyu Chicken (バター醤油チキン) is going to be a win. It’s the tastiest, most foolproof chicken dinner I know, and my children can attest to that.
It will remind you of Teriyaki Sauce, but with the addition of butter, the sauce is creamier with a tinge of sweetness and depth of flavor.
What is Butter Shoyu Chicken
Shoyu (醤油) is soy sauce in Japanese, so butter shoyu means butter-flavored soy sauce. If you have never combined these two ingredients together, you will be pleasantly surprised by how delicious the duo brings to a dish.
In Japan, you will see many dishes flavored with this combination and we call it ‘butter shoyu aji‘ (醤油バター味). Whether it’s for a sauteed dish, grilled corn, or wafu pasta (Japanese-styled pasta), butter adds a rich creaminess and sweetness to the salty, savory soy sauce. It makes the most sumptuous sauce when glaze over meats, vegetables, or even noodle dishes. Not to mention, soy sauce gives us a familiar taste to the dish.
How to Make Butter Shoyu Chicken
The ingredients for the butter shoyu sauce is fairly basic and short, but it has all that it takes to enrich a dish.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Skin-on chicken thigh (see why in the cooking tips section)
- Sake
- Mirin
- Soy sauce
- Sugar
- Butter
3 Easy Steps
- Pan sear the chicken on the skin side until golden brown.
- Flip to cook the other side and add sake to steam the chicken until cooked through.
- Season the chicken with the sauce.
Cooking Tips
- Use skin-on chicken thighs – Instead of using chicken breasts, I prefer to use chicken thighs. Fattier than lean meat, they are less likely to turn dry on the heat. The skin from the thigh gives extra flavor and keeps the meat moist and juicy. I recommend removing the bone first so it’s faster to cook.
- Sear until golden brown – The moment the oil gets hot, it’s time to give the chicken a deep, nice sear for presentation and crispness. You’d want to go for a bit darker brown (not burnt) since we’ll be giving the meat a quick steam later that will take away some of the colors.
- Use sake for steaming – Sake not only masks unwanted gamey flavor but also adds nice umami. If you don’t have sake, you can use white wine (dry sherry would be a good sub). Alternatively you can use water, but no additional layer of flavor to the chicken.
- Spoon the sauce over the chicken – After adding the sauce to the pan, repeatedly spoon the sauce over the chicken while the sauce is being reduced. It’s an extra step, but I think it’s really worth it in the end.
What to Serve with Butter Shoyu Chicken
If you are thinking of cooking chicken tonight, definitely give this recipe a try. There is no need to marinate, and you can finish cooking in 20-30 minutes!
Serve the Butter Shoyu Chicken with steamed rice and miso soup alongside a vegetable side dish and you’ve got a delicious meal for the family.
Other Delicious Recipes
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Butter Shoyu Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 lb boneless, skin-on chicken thighs (about 2 thighs; find them at a Japanese grocery store or ask your butcher to debone bone-in, skin-on thighs)
- ¼ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- ⅛ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1 Tbsp neutral oil
- 4 Tbsp sake (or water; for steaming)
- 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients.
- From 1 lb boneless, skin-on chicken thighs, cut each chicken thigh into 2 pieces (as you see, this chicken thigh is large). Cut off any excess fat. Prick the skin with the tip of the knife to help distribute the flavors and heat faster.
- Lightly sprinkle both sides with ¼ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt and ⅛ tsp freshly ground black pepper.
- Combine the sauce ingredients in a small bowl: 2½ Tbsp soy sauce, 2 Tbsp sake, 1 Tbsp mirin, and 1 Tbsp sugar. Whisk until the sugar is dissolved. Set aside.
To Cook the Chicken
- Heat a large frying pan over medium heat. When it‘s hot, add 1 Tbsp neutral oil and distribute it evenly. Add the chicken, skin side down, to the hot pan. (If you‘re doubling the recipe, fry the chicken in batches and return it to the pan before continuing to the next section.)
- Cook the chicken until golden brown, roughly 4–5 minutes.
- When the bottom side is nicely brown and crisp, flip over and cook the other side for 3 minutes.
To Steam and Add the Sauce
- Add 4 Tbsp sake and cook, covered, until cooking liquid is gone.
- Remove the lid and wipe off any excess oil from the frying pan with a paper towel.
- Add the sauce ingredients and 1 Tbsp unsalted butter.
- Coat the chicken well with the sauce. Spoon it over the chicken a few times.
- Serve the chicken onto a plate and drizzle it with some sauce. I usually serve simple veggies like blanched broccoli and tomatoes (serve with homemade Wafu Dressing or Sesame Dressing).
To Store
- You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days and in the freezer for a month.
Nutrition
Editor’s Note: The post was originally published on February 14, 2011. The images and blog content have been updated in May 2021.
Thank You so much for all your time you share such delicious foods with all. Also I truly from the heart love the music in the background of your videos. Thank you for n unforgettable cooking experience. ありがとう
Hi Fonchie! Aww thank you so much for your kind feedback. I’m so happy you enjoy my videos and website. I hope you continue to enjoy my recipes! Thank you!!
can i use salted butter?
Hi Gladys! Sure, just remember to go easy on salt. 🙂
Any suggestion on a side vegetable dish for this dish?
Hi Cynthia! So many options…but I don’t know what you like. If I was cooking this tonight, then I’d pick Japanese Potato Salad (https://www.justonecookbook.com/japanese-potato-salad/) and Hijiki (https://www.justonecookbook.com/hijiki-salad/) or Spinach Gomaae (https://www.justonecookbook.com/spinach-with-sesame-sauce/).
https://www.justonecookbook.com/categories/recipes/side/
https://www.justonecookbook.com/categories/recipes/salad/
Tried this recipe for a quick dinner today, it was really good and we have no leftover ????it is also very quick to prepare, great for a weeknight meal. Thank you!
Hi Wendy! Yay, I’m so happy to hear you liked this dish. Thank you for your kind feedback Wendy! xo
ive just brought teriyaki marinade, and was wondering if i could marinate the chicken in it instead of making my own sauce. would it still taste the same
Hi Charlesjnr! It’ll taste different as the store-bought marinade and homemade teriyaki are different. 🙂
Hi Nami,
I recently discovered your blog, and being a working mum, your many quick, simple and delicious recipes such as gyudon and teriyaki are a life saver!
However, I am just wondering if you ever encountered the issue of excess juice/liquid coming out of the chicken when you’re frying/stir frying it. My chicken produces so much liquid every time I had to cook uncovered for a long time for it to evaporate, and by that time the chicken would be too tough and dry! I tried coating the chicken with flour and that helps – but it’s certainly not the way you cook it!
I’m just wondering if that’s an issue with the chicken or with my method…
Thanks!
Tracy
Hi Tracy! Thank you for finding my blog and I’m happy to hear you enjoy cooking from it.
First thought came to my mind is if your chicken has left on the kitchen counter for a long time before you cook it. For example, you take out from the fridge and there is a long time for the chicken to be at the counter before you start cooking it. In that case, I recommend removing the extra moisture with paper towel before cooking process. The second thing is that if your frying pan is very low temperature when you start cooking the meat. After putting cold meat on a pan that’s not hot enough, the pan gets even cooler and it takes a long time to heat up. During that time chicken releases water and by the time pan is hot, you have a lot of liquid. Instead you should use higher heat to start (and pan will be less hot due to chicken) and remove the moisture as soon as possible. And third point is to use a bigger pan that gives enough space for chicken to move around. If it’s crowded, the meat will be “steamed” instead of getting enough heat from all arounds. Hope this helps? 🙂
Is it okay to cook with sake if i will serve this for my toddler?
Hi Rose! Alcohol evaporates and only umami flavors from sake (rice wine) remain in the dish. In Japan, we use sake and feed the children if it’s cooked like this. 🙂
Thanks so much for replying! Now i can use both sake and mirin without any worries. My family loves japanese food most especially my 8year old. Love all your recipes esp the tonaktsu and tonkatsu sauce!!!
Hi Rose! I’m happy to hear your 8 year old enjoys Japanese food. Thank you so much for trying my recipes! 🙂
I’ve always love chicken teriyaki, and today I cooked it myself for the very first time! ^^ The taste is really really good (yay! ^^)… but the chicken did’t feel as tender as how it would usually feel when I get it from the restaurant. Do you have any idea what I did wrong? I was thinking maybe I cooked too long, I’m not sure..
Hi Jessica! You could be right. Overcooking could cause the meat hard and dry. Also, which part of chicken did you use? Some restaurant uses chicken thigh, some use breast… it depends, but I know thigh is more flavorful and tender. Hope that helps! 🙂
Thanks Nami for your reply. I used chicken thigh in my cooking. I’m going to try cooking again this weekend, and I’ll let you know if I get it right this time 🙂
Thanks so much for your response. Good luck! 🙂
I cooked teriyaki chicken on Saturday evening for my family, and the response was good! I’m going to do this again and again, because it tastes so very good! And I also tried your recipe for Zaru Soba too, love it! 🙂
Hi Jessica! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe (and zaru soba recipe)!! Thank you very much for your kind feedback. 🙂
i just did this teriyaki chicken for dinner. Looks good and am sure it’s yummy. I wonder for the extra sauce, can we keep in the fridge for the next dish like salmon?
Hi Vaness! I’m so glad to hear you liked this recipe! Thank you for your kind feedback. 🙂 I’m sorry for the late response. Is the extra sauce cooked or non-cooked. I usually recommend to make it fresh every time. 🙂 If you are going to re-use it, make sure to re-heat it. 🙂
making a crockpot teriyaki chicken and using your teriyaki recipe!! Thanks alot!
Hi Vicki! Nice… I want a crockpot one day too! 🙂 Hope you enjoy this recipe!
Hi Nami. I,m very pleased to find your blog. I visited Japan many years ago and of course I was eating in restaurants. However, I always wanted to know more about japanese cuisine. I only have one question to you. you said you do not often eat Teryaki at home. Why ? and I’m interested in Tempura.
I will follow you and happy to try your suggested japanese recipes .
Hi Mona! Welcome to my blog and I’m glad you stopped by!
We have many other ways to make seasoning besides Teriyaki style sauce. Unfortunately, most of Japanese dishes in Japanese restaurants have “Teriyaki” sauce only. But we have different kinds of sauce or marinade we use. So that’s why we don’t eat “teriyaki” often.
Many of Japanese dishes uses same condiments – soy sauce, mirin, sake, but we simmer or braise food and it’s no longer Teri “yaki” (grilled).
I have a shrimp tempura recipe here and plan to share vegetable tempura soon.
Hope you enjoy my recipes!
I made this today for dinner,I must say it was amazing and very delicious! I will be making this again!
Hi Lena! Ohhh I’m glad you liked it! It’s easy to prepare right? Thanks for letting me know!
Hi Nami,
Just stumbled onto your site and want to make everything on here!! My bottle of mirin says it’s a cooking sake, but they are not the same thing, are they?
Thanks!
I’m glad you found my blog, welcome! Mirin and cooking sake is different. I’ve noticed that some level says cooking sake. You can use regular sake or cooking sake, or chinese rice wine. Mirin is sweet, and we use it to substitute sugar or gives some nice luster in the sauce, but it contains some alcohol in it.
Hope this helps. Just in case you don’t know, I have a pantry page (which I need to update…) you might think it’s helpful too…
Is cooking sake the same as “kikkoman Manjo Aji-morin sweet cooking rice seasoning”?
It does contain 8% alcohol. Thanks
Hi Julie, that’s Mirin, not sake. You can buy either cooking sake, or buy a cheep bottle of (drinking) sake and use for cooking. If you can’t find sake, then you can substitute with Chinese rice cooking wine. 🙂
Amazing dish! My family really enjoyed it (even my picky kids)
I use your recipes every couple weeks and they always turn out amazing! Thank you!
Hi Amanda!
Aww. Thank you very much for your kind feedback and for trying our recipes every couple of weeks!
We are so glad to hear you and your family enjoyed our recipes!
I am living in Okinawa and trying to cook Asian, so your site is very helpful. I would prefer using chicken breast instead of thighs. What do you think?
Hi Lexi! I’m happy to hear you like my blog. 🙂 Chicken breast works too, but it is more dry so we don’t usually eat that much. I think cooking in a frying pan is quicker than oven, and it keeps moist in the meat. Hope it will work!