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.
I made this Butter Shoyu Chicken tonight. My Japanese wife and I really enjoyed. Thinking about brushing some of the leftover sauce on an ear of corn. Very good and uncomplicated recipe.
Thanks
Hi Jim and Yuka! Thank you so much for trying this recipe and I’m so happy you two enjoyed it. Thank you for your kind comment. 🙂
Dear Nami,
I tried this recipe out last night, replaced the sake with water – but it still tastes really good and my husband enjoyed it! I am new to cooking meat in general. I found your step-by-step instructions very clear and easy to follow.
I halved the amount needed for the sauce as I only used one piece of chicken thigh which seems larger than average – but it’s still a lot of sauce. May I know the average weight of a piece of chicken thigh used in your recipes?
Hi Shaunny! Thank you for trying this recipe! I’m happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe and thank you for your kind feedback. 🙂 We actually noticed that each chicken thigh weighs differently depending on which grocery store I buy from… so I include the weight in my newer recipes along with the count of the meat pieces. For this old recipe, I didn’t weigh.
From this recipe (https://www.justonecookbook.com/chicken-teriyaki/) I used 3 chicken thighs (1 lb, 454 g). So each thigh should be 150 g or 5.3 oz.
I followed the recipe but tweeted it by adding onions and garlic after I pan fried the seasoned chicken. For additional umami flavor
Hi Korichan! That sounds delicious! Thanks so much for your kind feedback. xo
Nami, I love your posts and your human warmth and caring. Please keep on. You are loved and appreciated by your audience.
Hi Cyndie! Awww… thank you for such a heartwarming comment! It meant so much to me. Thank you!
I made the butter Shoyu chicken today. It was delicious! Thank you, Nami, for sharing your wonderful recipes. The best part is that you make it so easy to follow. My husband loved it. We had it with rice and stir fried Chinese spinach.
Hi EeFong! I’m so glad you and your husband enjoyed this recipe! Thank you for trying my recipe and for your kind feedback. 🙂
My husband loves this dish. Thank you for sharing this!
Hi Rizza! Thank you so much for trying this recipe! I’m glad your husband likes it. 🙂
Hello! What kind of side dishes go well with this recipe?
Hi Rizza! I’m not sure what you enjoy, but I hope this page will inspire you!
https://www.justonecookbook.com/categories/recipes/side/
Just made this and it is amazing! So easy and simple, perfect for a weekday quick yummy dinner. I also get stuck sometimes trying to figure out menus and this is just prefect. Very flavourful!
Hi Sheila! I’m glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe! Thank you for trying it and for your kind feedback. 🙂 It’s a great weeknight menu, indeed! xo
Hi. Nami
Love your blog. My 4 years old really enjoy this recipe.
I find it hard to achieve crispness on the skin even though I followed the instruction to pan fry the skin side first. Do you have any suggestions? Thank you.
Hi Cory! Thank you for trying this recipe! When you coat with the sauce, the skin will be wet. However, use a cast iron skillet or use high heat to make the chicken skin crisp as much as possible before coating with the sauce. 🙂
Hi, Nami, I was just wondering if you use a Japanese flat drop lid when you cover the chicken, or a regular lid. Thank you.
Hi Kathy! A regular frying pan lid. I usually say Otoshibuta (drop lid) when I use it in my recipes, so don’t worry! 🙂
[…] Butter Shoyu Chicken […]
Hi Nami,
I make lots of your dishes and I just love them. I have made the shoyu butter chicken a couple of times now, but I seem to struggle to get the 3 Tbsp of sake to fry off with a lid on. Do you have any advice?
Hi Jessica! Thank you so much for trying my recipes and I’m glad to hear you enjoy it! You can reduce to 2 Tbsp as long as the chicken is cooked through inside. Or use 3 Tbsp, but once the chicken is cooked through, open the lid and let the remaining sake evaporated. Either works in this case. 🙂
Just made this tonight. So good! Yet so easy! Thank you!!
Hi Carrie! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe. Thank you for your feedback. 🙂
I just wanted to say thanks for this excellent recipe. I made it for my family tonight and we all loved it! Absolutely delicious! Just wanted to clarify, the “print” version of the recipe calls for adding the saké and covering until the liquid is almost gone. The instructions above do not. Which is right?
Hi Sara! I’m glad you enjoyed this recipe. Thank you for your kind feedback!
“Print” version and the recipe box are exact same recipe. Step 4, to be exact. What do you mean by “the instruction above”?
Hi there, this looks great. Can I ask what frying pan you use? Nonstick or not and name? I’m tired of my poor quality pans. Thanks!
Hi Lisa! I’ve been using All-Clad non stick pan. The quality is very good, but we also can’t use more than medium heat (techinically medium high heat, but I have a strong gas burner, so I am allowing myself to use only medium heat for my non-stick). Still, I change it once every 2 years or so because the edge of pan gets scrapped off etc. But it’s been the best non-stick pan that I keep using the same. 🙂