Honey Soy Chicken はちみつ醤油チキン

Easy Honey Soy Chicken marinated in sake, soy sauce, and honey. This is a quick and simple meal everyone needs for a weeknight dinner.

On the busiest nights, we all need some reliable chicken recipes to save the day. This is my fail-proof, super easy Honey Soy Chicken that works every time.

Savory and sticky sweet, my family never seem to have enough of these chicken whenever I cook up a batch. I hope the recipe will come in handy on your busy days too!

Why You’ll Love This Recipe:

• So delicious!
• Requires minimal, pantry-friendly ingredients.
• Simple prep work.
• Highly flexible –  I used drumettes for its tender dark meat and quick cooking time, but you can use any other cuts of chicken like breasts, thighs, drumsticks, or wings. If you like to fire up the grill or smoker, this recipe works great too.

3 Ingredients Marinade for Honey Soy Chicken

The tasty marinade requires only 3 ingredients:

1. Soy sauce
2. Sake
3. Honey

The savoriness from the soy sauce and the slight sweetness from the honey not only imparts a wonderful flavor to the chicken but also a shiny golden glaze on the surface. The sake or Japanese rice wine tenderizes the meat and helps remove any odor. If you couldn’t find sake, you can substitute it with dry sherry. 

All you need is to combine the mixture in a large ziplock bag. Add in the chicken, make sure each piece is well coated, and let it marinade. When ready to cook, pop them into the oven and bake for 30 minutes until golden. The results are tender, juicy drumettes that everyone will love. 

Pack Your Chicken Leftovers in the Bento!

If you cook up a big batch for leftover, you can remove the meat from the wings and shred it into pieces and pack it into a bento lunch box with tamagoyaki (Japanese Rolled Omelette), cherry tomatoes, sauteed cabbage, fruits, and onigiri (rice balls). 

Itadakimasu!

When the chicken is baking in the oven, I would prepare steamed rice, a simple salad, and miso soup. In no time, a delicious, healthy dinner is ready for the family!

This Honey Soy Chicken makes an ideal candidate for a weeknight dinner. Because they are so fun to eat, my family also enjoys them on movie nights. 

More Delicious Japanese Chicken Recipes

• Teba Shio (Salted Chicken Wings)
• Spicy Miso Chicken
• Karaage (Japanese Fried Chicken)
• Chicken Teriyaki
• Baked Chicken Katsu

Wish to learn more about Japanese cooking? Sign up for our free newsletter to receive cooking tips & recipe updates! And stay in touch with me on Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, and Instagram.

Honey Soy Chicken

4.78 from 81 votes

Easy Honey Soy Chicken marinated in sake, soy sauce, and honey. This is a quick and simple meal everyone needs for a weeknight dinner.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time: 10 minutes mins

Cook Time: 30 minutes mins

Marinating Time: 1 hour hr

Total Time: 1 hour hr 40 minutes mins

Servings: 3

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 1½ lb chicken drumettes (12 pieces; or other chicken parts; if you use drumsticks, marinate overnight for more flavor)
• ▢ Diamond Crystal kosher salt
• ▢ freshly ground black pepper

For the Seasonings

• ▢ 4 Tbsp honey
• ▢ 4 Tbsp soy sauce
• ▢ 2 Tbsp sake (or substitute with Chinese rice wine or dry sherry)

Japanese Ingredient Substitution: If you want substitutes for Japanese condiments and ingredients, click here.

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

 

• Gather all the ingredients.
  
• Pat dry 1½ lb chicken drumettes with a paper towel to remove the moisture.
  
• Combine 4 Tbsp honey, 4 Tbsp soy sauce, and 2 Tbsp sake in a Ziploc bag. Tip: I keep the measuring cup upside down to get the last drop of honey while I do the next step.
  
• Prick the drumettes all over with a fork and season with Diamond Crystal kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
  
• Add the drumettes to the Ziploc bag, squeeze the air out, and zip up the bag. Coat the drumettes with marinade all around by rubbing them. Marinate for at least 30–60 minutes. You can also marinate overnight if you prefer.
  

To Bake

• Preheat the oven to 425ºF (220ºC). For a convection oven, reduce cooking temperature by 25ºF (15ºC). Place the drumettes in a baking pan. Make sure the drumettes are not overlapping each other and the skin side is up. Pour the marinade liquid over top. Bake for 30 minutes.
  
• Baste the drumettes a couple of times during the baking. If the drumettes are done and the top is not browned, you can change the oven setting to broil until the top is nicely browned. If the top is browned too fast while baking, cover with a sheet of aluminum foil to stop the chicken from burning. Serve immediately.
  

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Honey Soy Chicken

Amount per Serving

Calories

302

% Daily Value*

Fat

 

20

g

31

%

Saturated Fat

 

5

g

31

%

Trans Fat

 

1

g

Cholesterol

 

94

mg

31

%

Sodium

 

410

mg

18

%

Potassium

 

195

mg

6

%

Carbohydrates

 

7

g

2

%

Fiber

 

1

g

4

%

Sugar

 

6

g

7

%

Protein

 

23

g

46

%

Vitamin A

 

180

IU

4

%

Vitamin C

 

1

mg

1

%

Calcium

 

15

mg

2

%

Iron

 

1

mg

6

%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Author: Nami

Course: Appetizer, Main Course

Cuisine: Japanese

Keyword: baked chicken, easy

©JustOneCookbook.com Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any website or social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.

Did you make this recipe?If you made this recipe, snap a pic and hashtag it #justonecookbook! We love to see your creations on Instagram @justonecookbook!

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on April 9, 2013. It’s been edited and republished in May 2020.