Easy & Quick Soy Sauce Chicken Bites

These Asian soy sauce chicken bites not only look good but also taste insanely delish! It’s almost impossible to believe such a tasty treat is possible to make with such minimal effort!

It was a quiet Saturday evening and we had no plans of going out. A quick craving for something fancy kicked in and I decided to make something ridiculously easy but at the same time tempting for our taste buds!

This is exactly how this soy sauce chicken bites came into existence! I didn’t consult any recipe for this as honestly this does not require any structured recipe; you just flow with your emotions and imaginations!

When I started searching for keywords, I was wondering if any such recipe called soy sauce chicken bites even exists! You may find other versions of soy sauce chicken, but this one truly originated in my home kitchen with all my love & passion for making good food!

What are soy sauce chicken bites?

I would describe these soy sauce chicken bites as crispy bite sized chicken laced with soy sauce powered stir-fry sauce! This one is the most no-fuss recipe I have made in a long time!

This dish is all about chicken and nothing else. Since I was looking for a super-quick snack recipe for the evening, I didn’t bother to add any accessory to this which meant no chopping or washing of veggies! How cool is that!

At the same time, it is absolutely okay to add any veggie of your choice! You can actually make a full meal using this if you add a few veggies and serve this soy sauce chicken on top of some plain white rice!

Ingredients for soy sauce chicken bites

Let’s check out the basic ingredients you need for this one!

Chicken thighs: Boneless & skinless chicken thighs are the best meat for making this juicy & tender soy sauce chicken. They don’t overcook easily unlike chicken breast and retain their softness even when stir fried at high heat.

Soy sauce: This one is of course the primary flavor of soy sauce chicken and I recommend using a high quality soy sauce. I generally use Kikkoman light or dark soy sauce. You can use either light soy or a combination of light & dark in the ratio of 3:1 (i.e. 3 parts of light and 1 part of dark soy sauce).

Garlic: Garlic is added in two ways as it is the main flavoring ingredient here other than soy sauce – first add garlic paste to the chicken before stir frying them and secondly add minced garlic while making the sauce as a base aromatic.

Egg: I feel this one is a universally magic ingredient as it not only softens cakes but also tenderizes chicken.

Spring onion / Scallion: Use the white part of spring onion while making the sauce as a base. It will give a subtle onion flavor without overpowering the soy sauce. The greens of spring onion are added at the end as a garnish and a final finishing touch!

Vinegar: The sauce for any stir fry recipe is all about balance and same is the case with this one. To cut the sharp saltiness of soy sauce, add a splash of vinegar. To be honest, any vinegar will do, but if you feel fancy, you can use the rice wine vinegar which is a staple in Chinese cooking.

Sugar: Again to balance out the saltiness of soy and tartness of vinegar, you need the element of sweetness which is brought in by sugar, white or brown. You may also replace sugar with half a tablespoon of honey.

Cornflour/cornstarch: Cornflour aka corn starch is the thickener which will aid the sauce stick to the chicken pieces. It also makes your dish look glossy and extremely tempting.

Salt & black pepper: Season your soy sauce chicken to perfection but do keep in mind that soy sauce is quite salty; so add any additional salt sparingly.

White sesame seeds: I love to garnish my Asian stir fries with a sprinkling of white sesame seeds as I feel it adds a new dimension to the overall look of the dish. It is not mandatory though but toasted sesame seeds not only adds aesthetic value but is also extremely nutritious for us!

Flavorless vegetable oil: Use a flavorless oil like sunflower or canola for frying your chicken and also to cook the aromatics & stir fry sauce. No olive oil please!

How to make soy sauce chicken bites?

I call this my quick fix recipe! When you have sudden guests or you want to eat something tasty without much fuss, all you need to make is this soy sauce chicken! Here is how!

Step 1: Prepare the spring onion by first separating the greens and whites. Then finely chop each part separately and set aside until needed.

Step 2: Wash and pat dry the chicken thighs. Then cut each thigh into small bite sized pieces, about 1 cm in length. I kept the chicken pieces purposefully small as all I wanted to make was an easy nibble.

Step 3: Take the chicken pieces in a mixing bowl and add garlic paste, beaten egg, 1 tablespoon of cornflour and salt & pepper to taste. Give a good mix. The chicken will only have a light dusting of cornflour and not a thick coating; this is exactly what you want in this dish!

Step 4: Heat about 4 tablespoons of oil in a wok. Once the oil is hot, drop in one chicken piece at a time into the wok keeping them in a single layer and not on top of each other. You may need to fry the chicken in batches without overcrowding the pan.

Step 5: Let the chicken cook without any disturbance for 5 minutes on medium heat. Then carefully flip them over and let the other side fry for 5 more minutes. Since the chicken pieces are quite small, it would not take much time to cook.

Step 6: Once the chicken is golden brown on the outside and fork tender, take them out and place on a plate lined with an absorbent kitchen towel.

Step 7: While the chicken is being cooked, you can prepare the sauce by simply mixing soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, remaining 2 tablespoons of cornflour and half a cup of water in a small bowl.

Step 7: Once all the chicken pieces are fried, heat another tablespoon of oil in the same wok. If you have left over oil in the wok, then just keep 1 tablespoon and discard the rest.

Step 8: Once the oil is hot, add the minced garlic and chopped spring onion whites. Stir fry them for a few seconds on medium heat.

Step 9: Then pour in the prepared sauce but only after giving it a quick mix as cornflour tends to thicken and sit at the bottom of the liquid.

Step 10: Keep stirring the sauce over high heat and let it come to a boil. As soon as it comes to a boil, it will start to thicken.

Step 11: Now add all the fried chicken pieces into the wok and keep mixing them with the sauce. Chicken will turn glossy and the sauce will start clinging to the chicken cubes.

Step 12: Add the spring onion greens and give a good mix. The sauce will mostly be absorbed by now. Your soy sauce chicken bites are ready to serve!

Step 13: Switch off the flame and transfer these quick chicken bites to a serving platter and sprinkle white sesame seeds on top and a final dash of green spring onions for that restaurant-like look! Enjoy!

Other quick & easy chicken starter from Flavor Quotient

Soy Sauce Chicken Bites | Easy & Quick Chicken Finger Food

Save Print

Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

35 mins

Author: Priyanka

Recipe type: Asian

Cuisine: Snack

Ingredients

Chicken thighs - 4, skinless & boneless (About 300 gms)
Garlic - 8 to 10 cloves, minced
Garlic paste - 1 tsp (or ½ tsp of garlic powder)
Egg - 1, beaten
Spring onion / Scallion - 5 to 6 stalks
Soy sauce - 2 tbsp
Vinegar - 1 tbsp (white vinegar or rice wine vinegar)
Sugar - 1 tbsp (white or brown sugar or ½ tbsp of honey)
Cornflour/cornstarch - 3 tbsp
Salt & black pepper to taste
White sesame seeds to garnish
Flavorless vegetable oil for frying

Instructions

Prepare the spring onion by first separating the greens and whites. Then finely chop each part separately and set aside until needed.
Wash and pat dry the chicken thighs. Then cut each thigh into small bite sized pieces, about 1 cm in length.
Take the chicken pieces in a mixing bowl and add garlic paste, beaten egg, 1 tablespoon of cornflour and salt & pepper to taste. Give a good mix. The chicken will only have a light dusting of cornflour and not a thick coating.
Heat about 4 tablespoons of oil in a wok. Once the oil is hot, drop in one chicken piece at a time into the wok keeping them in a single layer and not on top of each other. You may need to fry the chicken in batches without overcrowding the pan.
Let the chicken cook without any disturbance for 5 minutes on medium heat. Then carefully flip them over and let the other side fry for 5 more minutes. Since the chicken pieces are quite small, it would not take much time to cook.
Once the chicken is golden brown on the outside and fork tender, take them out and place on a plate lined with an absorbent kitchen towel.
While the chicken is being cooked, you can prepare the sauce by simply mixing soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, remaining 2 tablespoons of cornflour and half a cup of water in a small bowl.
Once all the chicken pieces are fried, heat another tablespoon of oil in the same wok. If you have left over oil in the wok, then just keep 1 tablespoon and discard the rest.
Once the oil is hot, add the minced garlic and chopped spring onion whites. Stir fry them for a few seconds on medium heat.
Then pour in the prepared sauce but only after giving it a quick mix as cornflour tends to thicken and sit at the bottom of the liquid.
Keep stirring the sauce over high heat and let it come to a boil. As soon as it comes to a boil, it will start to thicken.
Now add all the fried chicken pieces into the wok and keep mixing them with the sauce. Chicken will turn glossy and the sauce will start sticking to the chicken cubes.
Add the spring onion greens and give a good mix. The sauce will mostly be absorbed by now. Your soy sauce chicken bites are ready to serve!
Switch off the flame and transfer these quick chicken bites to a serving platter and sprinkle white sesame seeds on top and a final dash of green spring onions for that restaurant-like look! Enjoy!