Soy Sauce Chicken 豉油雞
Soy sauce chicken is one of my low-key favourite Chinese dishes.
It is one of those dump and boil recipes that I love; simply because I didn’t get confused while my dad was making this dish.
Soy Sauce chicken or (“See Yau Gai” in Cantonese) is one of those very common Chinese foods that you can easily pick up at the local Chinese BBQ place. The quantities are often quite limited in my opinion, but if you head to the BBQ just a bit ahead of the dinner rush, you can snag some.
Now my mom in particular hates buying Soy Sauce chicken at the BBQ shop because:
- She claims she can make it better
- It’s a cheap dish that you can make at home
Both are definitely true, and recurring theme of why I hardly ever go out for Cantonese food. But today, I’m going to show you how to make this dish yourself.
You won’t need any special equipment for this recipe, you’ll just need a pot big enough to hold all of the chicken pieces that you’ll be making. This recipe serves four.
Ingredients for Soya Sauce Chicken 豉油雞

Ingredients needed for the Soy Sauce Chicken. Not pictured is the little bit of vegetable oil needed to fry.
- 4 pieces whole chicken legs
- 1 cup of light soya sauce
- 3 tablespoons dark Soya Sauce
- 2/3 cup of sugar
- 3 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper.
- 5-6 cloves of garlic sliced
- 1 star anise
- 1 ½ teaspoon sesame oil
- 10-12 thin slices of a large knob of ginger
- ¾ cup of whiskey or Chinese cooking wine.
- 3 cups of water
- 1 tsp of vegetable oil
Instructions for Soy Sauce Chicken 豉油雞
- Prepare the garlic and ginger.
- Place all ingredients except the chicken in a pot large enough to just accommodate the chicken pieces in one layer.
- Bring the mix to a boil and allow to simmer for 20 minutes.
- Place the chicken legs into the pot and turn up the heat for about 3-5 minutes to bring the pot to a low boil and return to low heat with the pot lid covered and allow to simmer for 20 minutes.
- Flip the chicken pieces over after 20 minutes and the allow to simmer for another 15 minutes.
- Turn off the heat and let the chicken rest in the pot for 10 minutes, do not uncover the lid, before removing the chicken to a plate and allow to rest for 10 minutes before cutting and serving.
Print-Friendly Version
- Serves: 4
- Serving size: 4
- Calories: 461
- Fat: 8g
- Saturated fat: 1g
- Sugar: 46g
- Sodium: 10210g
- Protein: 20
- Cholesterol: 83g

- 4 pieces whole chicken legs
- 1 cup of light soya sauce
- 3 tablespoons dark Soya Sauce
- ⅔ cup of sugar
- 3 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper.
- 5-6 cloves of garlic sliced
- 1 star anise
- 1 ½ teaspoon sesame oil
- 10-12 thin slices of a large knob of ginger
- ¾ cup of whiskey or Chinese cooking wine.
- 3 cups of water
- 1 tsp of vegetable oil
- Prepare the garlic and ginger.
- Place all ingredients except the chicken in a pot large enough to just accommodate the chicken pieces in one layer.
- Bring the mix to a boil and allow to simmer for 20 minutes.
- Place the chicken legs into the pot and turn up the heat for about 3-5 minutes to bring the pot to a low boil and return to low heat with the pot lid covered and allow to simmer for 20 minutes.
- Flip the chicken pieces over after 20 minutes and the allow to simmer for another 15 minutes.
- Turn off the heat and let the chicken rest in the pot for 10 minutes, do not uncover the lid, before removing the chicken to a plate and allow to rest for 10 minutes before cutting and serving.
Until we dine again,
– The Piquey Eater