My husband and children love rooster wings, and Japanese Honey Soy Hen is a household favourite. I really like this foolproof recipe as a result of it’s so easy to make. Marinated in savory soy sauce and golden honey, the rooster caramelizes fantastically within the oven, leaving a shiny glaze and irresistible taste.
When you love simple rooster recipes, attempt my Karaage, Hen Teriyaki, and Baked Hen Katsu subsequent!
What’s Honey Soy Hen?
In Japan, seasoning rooster with soy sauce and sweeteners like mirin or sugar is a home-cooking staple. Honey soy rooster has a sweet-savory glaze type that’s much like teriyaki, which started within the Edo interval (1603–1867) when it turned standard to grill meat or fish with soy sauce and sugar to create a shiny, flavorful coating. With honey for pure sweetness, this recipe makes tender, caramelized rooster that’s excellent for dinner and bento.
Why I Love This Recipe
- So scrumptious! – The fragrant and sweet-savory seasonings pair so nicely with the succulent rooster wings. It beats takeout anyday!
- Simple steps – It’s a failproof recipe that’s excellent for novices or anybody seeking to cook dinner a tasty but easy dish.
- Price range pleasant – Chances are you’ll have already got these elements in your pantry. With rooster as the one recent ingredient, this recipe is simple in your pockets.
- Works with different rooster elements – I used wings right here, however this recipe works nice with rooster breasts, thighs, and drumsticks.
Substances for Honey Soy Hen
- Hen wings – drumettes and flats, or use different cuts or rooster (see beneath)
- Sake
- Honey
- Garlic cloves
- Soy sauce
- Salt
- Black pepper
- Toasted white sesame seeds
- Inexperienced onion/scallion or chives – elective, for garnish
- Shichimi togarashi (Japanese seven spice) – elective, for a spicy kick
Discover the printable recipe with measurements beneath.
Substitutions
- Hen wings: I used flats and drumettes right here, however you should utilize different cuts like drumsticks, thighs, and breasts. See the recipe card for marinating and cooking instances.
- Sake: When you don’t have it, substitute dry white wine (like sauvignon blanc or pinot grigio), dry sherry, or Chinese language rice wine.
- Soy sauce: For gluten free, use tamari or GF soy sauce.
Learn how to Make Honey Soy Hen
Marinate
- Prep rooster. Toss rooster with sake and soak for 10 minutes.
- Marinate. Combine honey, soy sauce, crushed garlic, salt, pepper, and sesame seeds. Coat rooster and refrigerate for 3–24 hours in a tray or massive plastic bag, flipping often.
Bake
- Warmth oven. Preheat to 400ºF (200ºC) and place rooster items on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Bake rooster. Prepare dinner for half-hour, flipping midway. It’s completed cooking when golden brown and caramelized.
Assemble
- Garnish and serve. Switch to a plate and prime with sesame seeds, chopped inexperienced onions, and elective shichimi togarashi.
Nami’s Recipe Suggestions
- Marination issues – Wings want 3+ hours, however bigger cuts like drumsticks ought to marinate in a single day within the fridge for deeper taste.
- Prick or pound – Poke rooster pores and skin with a fork for sooner marination, or pound breasts to a fair thickness for even cooking.
- Don’t crowd the pan – House the wing items aside so that they cook dinner and caramelize nicely.
- Watch the oven – Honey burns shortly, so don’t add the marinade to the baking sheet. Cowl with foil if wings char too quick, or broil briefly in the event that they’re not browning sufficient.
Variations and Customizations
- Use completely different rooster elements. Drumsticks, rooster thighs, or boneless rooster breast work fantastically!
- Attempt it with beef or pork. This marinade would style scrumptious with flanken-style beef quick ribs, thin-cut beef ribeye, beef flank steak, pork tenderloin, or pork loin chop.
- Spice it up. When you love warmth, pump up the marinade along with your favourite chili seasoning like sriracha, chili crisp, chili oil, chili flakes, recent chilies, or chili paste.
- Grill it. Add a incredible smoky taste by cooking it on the BBQ grill or smoker!
- Make it vegetarian. Swap thick mushrooms or agency tofu steaks or cubes for a plant-based model.
- Pack it to go. Make it the star of your picnic or lunch field in a Honey Soy Hen Bento.
What to Serve with Honey Soy Hen
This honey soy rooster recipe is nice to make year-round. Pair it with:
Storage and Reheating Suggestions
To retailer: Preserve the cooled rooster in an hermetic container within the fridge for as much as 3 days or within the freezer for a month.
To reheat: Heat in a toaster oven or oven till heated by way of. Keep away from microwaving too lengthy, as it could dry the rooster.
Steadily Requested Questions
Sure. Marinate the rooster in a single day (as much as 24 hours) and bake the subsequent day. You’ll get quite a lot of taste from the lengthy marination and save time on cooking day.
You may simply substitute granulated white sugar for the honey. When you attempt one other sort of sweetener like brown sugar, agave syrup, or date sugar, please tell us the way it seems!
Stop your display screen from going darkish
For the Garnish (elective)
To Put together the Substances
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Collect all of the elements.Nami’s Tip: Prick the pores and skin of the wings with a fork for sooner marination. When you’re utilizing boneless, skinless rooster breasts, pound them to a fair thickness.
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Add 1½–2 lb rooster wings (flats/drumettes) and 2 Tbsp sake to a big bowl. Toss nicely to coat (I exploit my palms). Put aside for 10 minutes, turning the wings midway by way of. Nami’s Tip: The sake removes odors and tenderizes the rooster.
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Mix ¼ cup soy sauce, ¼ cup honey, ⅛ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt, and ⅛ tsp freshly floor black pepper in an hermetic container (I used my favourite stainless prep tray) or a big resealable plastic bag.
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Crush or mince 2 cloves garlic (I exploit a garlic press) and add to the marinade. Then, add 1½ tsp toasted white sesame seeds, saving the remaining for garnish. Combine nicely collectively.
To Marinate
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Pat the wings dry with a paper towel and add to the marinade.
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Toss the wings within the marinade to coat nicely. Seal and marinate within the fridge for at the very least 3–4 hours (and as much as 24 hours).Nami’s Tip: For drumsticks, marinate them in a single day.
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Flip the wings a number of instances whereas marinating, because the marinade will not cowl the wings utterly within the container. When you’re utilizing a resealable plastic bag, rub the rooster within the bag a number of instances, ensuring it’s coated nicely with the marinade.
To Bake
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Preheat the oven to 400ºF (200ºC). For a convection oven, cut back the temperature by 25ºF (15ºC). Put together a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Take away the wings from the marinade and place them on the baking sheet in a single layer, spaced aside. Don’t add the marinade, because the honey can burn simply.
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Bake for half-hour, flipping them midway by way of. Optionally available: Cowl loosely with foil for the primary quarter-hour if you happen to’re utilizing a smaller oven or in case your wings charred too shortly up to now. Then, uncover to complete cooking and let the glaze caramelize.Nami’s Tip: Drumsticks normally take 45 minutes. Boneless rooster thighs take 25–half-hour, whereas boneless rooster breasts want 20–25 minutes.
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Take out the baking sheet midway by way of cooking, shut the oven door, and flip the rooster. This prevents the oven temperature from dropping.
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After flipping, put the rooster again into the oven to complete cooking.Nami’s Tip: From this level, watch carefully since honey can burn shortly. Then again, if the rooster isn’t browning sufficient, swap to the broil setting for a couple of minutes as soon as it’s cooked by way of.
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Take away from the oven as soon as the rooster is cook dinner by way of, properly browned, and charred in spots.
To Serve
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Switch to a plate. Sprinkle toasted sesame seeds, elective chopped inexperienced onions or chives, and elective shichimi togarashi (Japanese seven spice) for a spicy kick. Get pleasure from!
Energy: 302kcal, Carbohydrates: 7g, Protein: 23g, Fats: 20g, Saturated Fats: 5g, Trans Fats: 1g, Ldl cholesterol: 94mg, Sodium: 410mg, Potassium: 195mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 6g, Vitamin A: 180IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 15mg, Iron: 1mg
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Editor’s Word: This submit was initially printed on April 9, 2013, and up to date on Could 15, 2020. The recipe was revised (with garlic and sesame seeds added to the marinade) on September 28, 2025, and the submit was republished on October 5, 2025.