5 minutes prep for dinner? Yes please! Especially if it’s this juicy pile of shredded chicken coated with a sticky Asian sauce! Make this Shredded Sweet Soy Sauce Chicken Breast in your slow cooker, pressure cooker or on the stove – instructions provided for all three.
Like Slow Cooker Crispy Chinese Shredded Chicken, this Asian shredded chicken is ideal to toss through noodles, use in salads or serve over rice!
Shredded Sweet Soy Sauce Chicken Breast
This is a bit of a unique recipe in my books for a couple of reasons. Firstly, there are very few recipes where I’ll say it really does not matter if you brown the meat first before cooking it. This really is a “chuck it all in, set and forget” recipe.
And secondly, I don’t cook with chicken breast much. I know it’s healthier and I do know a foolproof way of poaching it so it’s guaranteed to come out juicy (I’ve got the direction in this Foolproof Poached Chicken Chinese Noodle Soup recipe).
But chicken breast is more expensive and has less flavour than every single other part of the chicken! (Eerm, well, I must say, I stick to the ordinary cuts – wings, thighs etc. I’m told that chicken feet, liver, heart etc is very tasty, but I don’t have any immediate plans to find out for myself!)
I find it very amusing when I go to Asian butchers and find that “western” cuts of meat are so cheap because Asians don’t value lean cuts of meat like chicken breast, lamb back strap and pork tenderloin. Asians love “dark meat” – chicken wings, and red meat cuts that need to be slow cooked. More flavour!
However, when it comes to shredded chicken, breast is best (try saying that after 5 wines). You can make this with any cut of chicken, but chicken breast shreds the easiest. Plus, because the sauce it’s tossed in is so jammy, you don’t need a fatty cut of chicken.
I make this in my slow cooker, on the stove and even the pressure cooker. Just depends on my schedule on the day. 🙂 No marinating is required, no browning, nothing. This really is a super shortcut recipe that doesn’t compromise on flavor or quality at all. You know how there are some recipes which are turned into shortcut recipes? This is not one of those. This is how it is meant to be made.
It’s a handy “back pocket” recipe to have because you probably always have the ingredients to make this in your pantry. And the sauce flavour is quite neutral so it’s a great base for adding your own touch. I like to add ginger, sriracha or red pepper flakes, a dash of hoisin or oyster sauce, or sesame oil.
Typically I just serve it on rice, though I LOVE it in Chinese buns too. And I often make a double batch because the sauce and chicken are fantastic for making fried rice! I’ve provided directions in the notes to the recipe.
Oh, and it freezes well too! The sauce does thin slightly, but the flavour is all there. When I defrost it, I like to pan fry it as the caramelisation sort of revitalises it and the excess liquid evaporates.
Hope you’re having a wonderful week! – Nagi
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Shredded Sweet Soy Chicken Breast
Ingredients
Shredded Chicken
- 1 lb / 500g chicken breast (skinless, boneless pieces)
- 2 cloves of garlic , minced
- 1/2 onion , finely diced
- 1 tbsp oil (vegetable, canola, olive oil or grapeseed oil)
- 1/3 cup soy sauce (ordinary soy sauce)
- 1/3 cup white vinegar (or substitute with other vinegar except balsamic)
- 3 tbsp jam (Note 1)
- 1 tbsp black peppercorns or 1/2 tbsp ground black pepper (Note 2)
- 3/4 cups water
Sauce Thickening
- 2 tsp cornstarch / cornflour
- 3 tsp water
Instructions
- Slow Cooker: Place all the Shredded Chicken ingredients in the slow cooker and cook on low for 5 hours (or 2 1/2 hours on high).
- Pressure Cooker: Place all the Shredded Chicken ingredients in the pressure cooker. Cook for 35 minutes on high.
- Stove: Place all the Shredded Chicken ingredients in a saucepan large enough for the chicken to fit snugly in one layer. Add 1/2 cup extra water so the chicken is mostly, but not completely submerged. Cover and simmer for about 50 to 60 minutes, turning once or twice.
- The chicken is ready when it can be easily shredded with two forks. Remove the chicken from the liquid and shred it while it is warm. Set aside and cover to keep warm.
- Transfer the liquid from the slow cooker / pressure cooker to a saucepan and bring to simmer. (Note 3) Reduce to around1 1/4 cups - it should only take a few minutes.
- Mix together the Sauce Thickening ingredients and add to the saucepan. Simmer until it it thickens to a syrup consistency.
- Toss the chicken in the sauce and serve over rice. (Note 4)
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Made this tonight…doubled everything. Turned out a bit vinegary and watery but just adjusted to taste with some extra jam, extra cornflour and simmered sauce down for longer til syrupy…was really easy and yum…picky three year old loved it…yay!!! Another winner…Thanks Nagi!🤗
Another fantastic recipe. Devoured by my toddler and husband! I added sliced carrots to the slow cooker for a veg boost and served with rice, avocado and cucumber ribbons. The recipe was perfect with bone-in thighs too (as that’s all I had!). Yay for another keeper of a recipe. Oh I did have an issue getting the sauce to thicken but just added a little more cornflour.
Recently bought a slow cooker during our isolation & searching for recipes when stumbled across this delicious chicken recipe!
I couldn’t believe it was so easy and effortless. It was truly delicious with noodles and veggies – the whole family loved it. Another great Nagi recipe!
I can’t wait to try more of your slow cooker recipes 😋
This is a regular in our household! So delicious and easy!! I add in all the extras you suggest and do the slow cooker option and it’s perfect every time! Thanks Nagi 🙂
Perfect Sarah! N x
Tried this in the instant pot due to time constraints. It worked well but seemed a little salty. Perhaps because I used a bulk Chinese medium soy sauce? I like the idea of adding a little sesame oil or the pineapple that was suggested and may try it next time. It was good but not wow like most of your recipes that I have tried.
So if I use 1kg chicken breast , do I double the rest of the sauce quantity?
Sure do! Enjoy!
If you’re doubling the chicken, how much extra cooking time would you expect?
Thanks.
If using instant pot, do you do quick release?
Hi Isela – yes quick release – N x
I usually use the slow cooker method on this recipe and add only a small amount of water 1/4 to 1/2 cup depending on the humidity where I live. This saves me time, and I don’t have to reduce it later. The controlled environment helps keep the food moist. This is a regular recipe in my household! Love adding other options like half+ a can of pineapple instead of water when slow cooking, sesame oil at the end instead of at the beginning adds another layer of flavor. Amazingly easy for this working mom!
Sounds great Monica!!
I just came across this awesome looking recipe and I really want to try it in my Instant pot. Has anyone tried it? Do any settings/cook times need to be adjusted? 35 min in the IP sounds like a long time but I’m still pretty new at it……thank you!
Hi Molly, pressure cook for 35 minutes as per step 2 – N x
Hi Nagi, i’m hoping you can help diagnose what went so wrong with my try of this tonight 🙁 i followed the instructions exactly. I used my brand new Crockpot and cooked the recipe as advised for 2.5hrs on high. The chicken was done, however I ended up with so much liquid, (easily over 3 cups) – i was at the stove for 30 mins trying to reduce it – to no avail. I also doubled the cornflour/water quantity, this only worked slightly and we still ended up with shredded chicken stew tonight 🙁 Would you know what went wrong?
Hi Nagi!
I love all your recipes and about to do this chicken…when would you add the extra things like oyster sauce, at the beginning or the end before reducing?
Hi Cassie, I’d do it as step 6 so you can do it to taste – N x
Thank you!
Looking forward to more recipes from you. We had the Chicken Meatloaf Wellington last night, it was a winner!
I’ve made this several times using apricot jam and even doubled the ingredients for extra sauce. It’s a very forgiving and delicious recipe, thank you Nagi!
I’m so glad you love it Monica!
Hi this recipie sounds amazing, if I wanted to slow cook it in the oven what is the best time and temp for it?
I’m sorry James, it’s been so long since I did this one I can’t guess 🙂 Sorry!
I just got an Instant Pot and cooked frozen chicken breasts in 12 minutes and it was easy to shred; makes me question the 35 minutes suggested in the recipe.
I’m gonna try it with my timing and let you know. 😉
I see that the nutrition includes 3/4 cup of rice but is that 3/4 cup part of the 312 grams for a serving size?
Thanks so much for this recipe. I am going to try to omit the jam & sub in for a non bitter stevia to lower the carb counts. Fingers crossed!
Delicious! This recipe is a definite keeper since it is so simple and easy. I used seedless blackberry jam as it was all I could find at the store. Then I used rice vinegar because I forgot to get white vinegar. My slow cooker must be a bit hotter than normal as my chicken was done in four hours on low. It got a bit over cooked but it was still tasty. I used a slow cooker lining bag which made it easy to transfer the juice to a sauce pot for the final step. I just carefully removed the bag from the slow cooker and poured it into the pot. After the sauce thickened, I dumped the chicken into the sauce pot, mixed it up and served it on jasmine rice with a side of steamed broccoli. Five Stars!
Great to find a nice and simple recipe for the pressure cooker today to help when I was on the run and have a giant package of chicken breasts that we invested in earlier in the week that wasn’t cooked yet and it is Friday night with a bunch of mouths to feed quickly 🙂 Couldn’t follow exactly, but the techniques were most important to me today – chicken is in the cooker – rice is on the go! Thanks so much! I will check out the rest of the site too.
I made this tonight in the slow cooker – YUM. The sweetness combined with the pepper (neither too over powering). I’d definitely make it again. My 9 & 8 year olds also declared it to be delicious and ate it all up.
Success! Thank you 😊
Great to hear Philippa! So pleased you enjoyed it – N x
Thanks for the recipe! Next time I will use low-sodium soy sauce, because my family thought this was extremely salty- and they usually like things salty!
Hi Meg! I’m sorry you thought this was salty – did you use normal soy sauce and not light soy sauce? because light soy sauce is much saltier!!
Hi Nagi. This sounds delicious!
Just a few questions though please.
I’d love to use up frozen chicken breasts that I’ve got in the freezer for this recipe. Would frozen chicken breasts also work for this recipe? If so, how much longer would I need to leave the chicken in the slow cooker?
I’m a fairly new follower of your website and have tried quite a few of your recipes (butter chicken, sweet and sour chicken, stir fry sauce). All the recipes I’ve tried are awesome! Thank you for the yummy recipes and please continue the awesome work!
Hello from Vancouver, BC, Canada. 🙂
Hi Maggie! Sorry to say I don’t recommend using frozen breast because bacteria can build before the chicken reaches safe temperature. Can you pop it in the microwave to defrost?
Okay, thanks Nagi!
I’ve decided to defrost the chicken breasts in the fridge first and then throw them in the slower cooker. 🙂