Make Ahead

Soy Saucy Chicken and Eggs

by:
April 28, 2011
4
4 Ratings
Photo by James Ransom
  • Serves 6
Author Notes

I make this almost weekly and it is literally greeted at the table with cheers by my kids. I’m not surprised…I loved it eating my mom’s version as a child with noodles. It is true homey comfort food, not at all fancy. Though I sometimes grow weary of making it, I do love its convenience. The basic elements are the soy, wine, and sugar. From there you can add or subtract ingredients depending on your taste or what you have on hand. I can get this and a pot of rice on the table in 30 minutes after work but the version I’ve written up here is best made the day before. After sitting overnight, the chicken gets more flavorful, the eggs become more deeply stained with soy, and I can also easily skim off the fat before heating it up. My version has a big dose of tomato, which gives the sauce some body and just a hint of tang to counter the sweetness. I wanted to write it down so that my kids will be able to have a taste of home when they someday cook their own meals. I’d be very happy to be remembered for this every time they do. - monkeymom —monkeymom

Test Kitchen Notes

This is the epitome of an easy week night meal; from start to finish you can be done in under an hour. The soy, tomato and wine combine to make a richly flavored sauce, just begging to be soaked up by rice or noodles. The chicken and mushrooms pick up loads of flavor, and the hard boiled eggs are an unexpected treat. We had this for supper two nights in a row—it is even tastier the second day. - hardlikearmour

hardlikearmour

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 6 eggs
  • 4 cloves garlic, smashed
  • 2 slices ginger
  • 2 lbs chicken thighs (on the bone. I take off the skin from at least half of the thighs. The skin adds flavor but too much fat. Adjust skin amount to suit your taste).
  • ½ cup wine (we use rice wine but sherry, sake, or even a sweet white wine will work)
  • 1 cup diced tomatoes (or 3 fresh tomatoes or 3 Tbsp tomato paste)
  • ½ cup soy sauce (we use Kikkoman light)
  • 1 Tbsp brown sugar
  • 3 shiitake mushrooms, sliced (dried or fresh)
  • dried red chili peppers (optional)
  • water
Directions
  1. Put eggs in a pot and cover with water. Place on stove on high heat and bring to boil. Boil 10 minutes then drain hot water and rinse eggs and cover with cold water. Crack eggs under the cold water, then peel and set aside. Please don’t curse me if the shells stick…ugly eggs still taste good.
  2. In another large pot add garlic and ginger and place on medium high heat. Place chicken in skin side down. Let chicken brown on all sides for 5 minutes. It doesn’t have to get very dark, you just want a bit of browning for flavor. Also, make sure you don’t let the garlic burn.
  3. Add the wine and deglaze the pot for a couple of minutes. Then add the tomatoes, soy, sugar, mushrooms, and peppers if you are using them. Add ½ cup of water and gently stir to mix the ingredients. Let it come to boil.
  4. At this point, taste the sauce. You must adjust it to suit your taste by adding either soy, sugar, or water. You may also need to add a bit more water to just barely cover the chicken and eggs.
  5. Add eggs and turn heat to low. Simmer for 20-30 minutes. Don't cook too long or the chicken will get stringy.
  6. You can serve now (skim excess fat) with plenty of rice. Or turn off the heat and let it cool. Refrigerate overnight and skim off fat from the surface. To serve, bring to a boil to warm chicken and eggs thoroughly.
  7. Note: You can dilute the sauce to your taste. If you serve with noodles you’ll probably want to dilute the sauce with some water or chicken stock. You can also throw in some big handfuls of spinach, cover until it is wilted, then serve with rice.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • stilllifewithwhisk
    stilllifewithwhisk
  • stephanieRD
    stephanieRD
  • vvvanessa
    vvvanessa
  • FrancesRen
    FrancesRen
  • Midge
    Midge
monkeymom

Recipe by: monkeymom

My favorite distraction is to cook. Though science and cooking/baking have a lot in common, I'm finding that each allows me to enjoy very different parts of my life. Cooking connects me with my heritage, my family, friends, and community. I'm really enjoying learning from the food52 community, who expose me to different ingredients and new ways to cook.

46 Reviews

Denise December 15, 2022
Just made this. It was really quick and delicious. I didn't have patience to boil the eggs. Instead, crispy fried jammy eggs gave another element of texture in the dish. This will absolutely be in our family meal rotation. Thanks for sharing.
 
lilroseglow September 15, 2019
Step 4 instructs the cook to taste the sauce for adjustments, but is it safe to eat at this point? The chicken has only been browned, is still mostly raw, and surely is leaking uncooked juices into the sauce...
 
Hummuvation June 15, 2016
I made this with fresh sole instead of the chicken and upped the ginger. Didn't stop it from being delicious.
 
kaleandsalt January 31, 2016
I actually didn't like this recipe that much. It was easy and tasty, but I would have liked for the sauce to be thicker and the tomatoes to break down more. I know I could have removed the chicken and cooked down the sauce, but it seemed silly to do so in a recipe designed to be minimal fuss. I loved the soy saucy eggs though, just wish the flavor and penetrated more deeply.
 
stephanieRD January 31, 2016
I'd suggest adding some corn starch (dissolved in some water) and then turn up the heat a bit to help thicken up the sauce!
 
sollared July 22, 2014
This is basically the bento box that you traditionally get when riding on the trains (and now high speed rail) in Taiwan.
 
stilllifewithwhisk December 10, 2013
So, wow! This is a truly delicious dinner.
 
bugawa January 27, 2013
I added lots of fresh baby spinach to the pot at the end and let it wilt before serving over rice, and it was all SO good-- a big hit with my young kiddos, too. Something about eating the eggs with the chicken made for a perfect winter meal...thanks for a wonderful recipe!
 
stephanieRD September 9, 2012
I'm making this for dinner tonight! I have some duck eggs that are preserved (which I love) and I wonder if they will be any good in this recipe? Thoughts anyone?
 
monkeymom September 9, 2012
I hope you enjoy it! Are they the salted duck eggs? I've never tried it so you'd have to let us know how it goes. I think they might be too salty with the soy sauce/tomato thing going on in this.
 
stephanieRD September 27, 2012
So, nay on the duck eggs as they are too salty in combination with the recipe itself. I only included 2 of them and did 4 regular eggs *just in case*. And with those, it was delicious! Quite the comfort food and just what I'd want on a cold day. This is going in my special "bombass" cookbook!
 
monkeymom September 28, 2012
Awesome! Thanks for checking back in!
 
vvvanessa August 14, 2012
How did I miss this? I'm sooo making this this week!
 
vvvanessa October 24, 2012
I'm just dishing this up for dinner tonight. The tomato and brown sugar make this extra delicious!
 
AnnieHynes April 28, 2012
I made this last night and everyone loved it. I especially loved the eggs!
 
AnnieHynes April 28, 2012
I made this last night and everyone loved it. I especially loved the eggs!
 
FrancesRen March 26, 2012
love this. it's simple, it never fails. :) And the sauce can be reheated and mixed with rice and veggies for lunch!
 
Midge May 16, 2011
We had this for dinner last night; it was so good! Just the ticket for a chilly Sunday night.
 
monkeymom May 15, 2011
hardlikearmour - thanks so much for the positive review. I'm so glad you enjoyed it!
 
hardlikearmour May 15, 2011
It was really yummy. For lunch the third day I threw some Spanish chorizo and castelvetrano olives in - extra yum!
 
Lizthechef May 4, 2011
This is my favorite kind of recipe, a weeknight easy-to-prepare winner!
 
monkeymom May 4, 2011
Thanks so much Liz! Been scoping out your blog...love it!
 
gingerroot May 4, 2011
I made this tonight with my kids for dinner and it was a huge hit! Everyone LOVED IT (usually my son is the holdout with new dishes). It is definitely going in the regular rotation. It was everything you described and more. The tomato is a brilliant addition; I have never added tomato to my soy based dishes but will experiment now because it added such a wonderful layer of flavor! Thanks so much, monkeymom!
 
monkeymom May 4, 2011
I'm so excited that you tried it! Did you do the eggs? I'm always surprised how much the kids dig the eggs. Thanks for the feedback!
 
gingerroot May 5, 2011
My daughter LOVES hard-boiled eggs so I included three. She ate two (one for dinner, one for breakfast) and I had one. My son is still a bit suspicious of them, but I'm hoping he'll come around the next time we make this (which will be soon!).
 
gingerroot June 22, 2012
I made this again last night and added thick slices of silken tofu -- delicious!!
 
mrslarkin May 2, 2011
This sounds so tasty, monkeymom! I think I can hear your mom saying "Don't burn the garlic!!" My mother-in-law makes a soy sauce chicken using star anise and ginger. Can't wait to try your version. Thanks for sharing.
 
monkeymom May 4, 2011
You know it mrsL! Burned garlic is a big no-no around here. My mother-in-law also uses the 5 spice packets in her version which is also delicious!
 
healthierkitchen May 1, 2011
I can't wait to make this! I love the idea of passing on your family recipe to your children. I've often thought of putting a little booklet together for my almost grown kids, of the recipes for their favorite dishes growing up.
 
monkeymom May 2, 2011
thanks healthierkitchen! I'm hoping to use food52 as the source to pass on recipes to my kids. Accessible anytime, anywhere. They are already well versed in it...they see me on it all the time!
 
boulangere May 1, 2011
Mmmmmm! I see a brand new addition to our comfort food collection. And of course it's the story as much as the food. Thank you for sharing with us.
 
monkeymom May 2, 2011
I hope you like it. Thanks very much boulangere!
 
gingerroot April 30, 2011
I love this, monkeymom! My mom made a similar chicken dish when we were growing up -with the soy, wine, sugar, garlic, ginger base - except no one liked mushrooms (only me) so she would often make it with broccoli. I really, really love your addition of tomato and can almost taste how that would round out the the other flavors. It is wonderful that it was a childhood favorite of yours and now of your children. That is the best kind of food! I am looking forward to making it for my two.
 
monkeymom May 1, 2011
it is truly home-style cooking! Real mom food...hope your family likes it!