20 Min Savory-Sweet Soy Glazed Chicken Rice Bowl
If you are looking for an EASY 20-minute dinner, try making my Soy Glazed Chicken Rice Bowl. It’s the perfect balance between savory and sweet. This Soy Glazed Chicken Rice Bowl will be your new go-to weeknight dinner! I have the perfect secret weapon to make this deliciously savory-sweet. Plus, this is also a perfect dish for meal prepping throughout the week.
Coca Cola Chicken Rice
Soy Glazed Chicken Rice Bowl
This Asian Soy Chicken Rice Bowl combines sweetness of our secret ingredient, Coca Cola, with savory soy sauce all over tender chicken, all atop a bed of fluffy, steaming rice. This is a classic speedy way my mom would use to get the perfectly balanced sauce that has that beautiful, caramelized color without cooking the chicken forever.
It’s not only yummy, but it’s actually super adaptable. You can adjust the sweetness or saltiness of the glaze allows you to tailor the dish to your taste preferences! Personalize your bowl by experimenting with different vegetables, grains, or even switch out the protein!
Ingredients For Asian Soy Chicken Rice Bowl
- 5 chicken thigh boneless with the skin on
- 1 tablespoon garlic minced
- 3 tablespoons Soy Sauce
- 3.5 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 0.5 tablespoon dark soy sauce optional
- 1 pinch black pepper
- 1 can Coke 12 fl oz
- sesame seeds to garnish
- green onion to garnish
Best Chicken Cuts For Soy Glazed Chicken
I prefer to use chicken thighs WITH THE SKIN ON when making Soy Glazed Chicken Rice Bowl. Chicken thighs have great flavor and, when deboned, become even more tender while also speeding up the cooking time; watch my video HERE on how I de-bone my chicken. It is super easy to debone chicken thighs at home, and it takes an extra 2-3 minutes.
Alternatively, you can also get your local butcher shop to prepare it for you. However, you can also use chicken breast as well. Adjust the cooking time depending on what cut of chicken you are making.
REplacing chicken with other proteins
With this recipe, you can switch out your protein options, like using tofu or shrimp instead. If you are vegetarian, you can also use medium-firm tofu instead of chicken. Trust me, this dish is like a warm hug for your taste buds!
Coca Cola: The secret to Sticky Sweetness
You will never guess what the secret ingredient for this Soy Glazed Chicken Rice Bowl is … Coca-Cola! Coca-Cola is often found in many Asian cooking, such as the famous Coca-Cola Chicken Wings. You might be raising an eyebrow at the idea of using soda in a savory dish, but trust me on this one.
Coca-Cola, with its caramel sweetness and subtle zing, works wonders when used as a base for a sticky, finger-licking-good sauce for the chicken. The soda’s blend of flavors enhances the richness of the sauce, resulting in a mouthwatering glaze that coats each chicken with perfection!
Extra Tips For Cooking Chicken Rice Bowl
- Let the Chicken Soak It Up: Marinate the chicken with soy sauce, oyster sauce, black pepper, and lots of garlic for 5 minutes. If you have time, you can also let it marinate overnight!
- Time to Cook: Fire up your skillet or grill pan to medium-high heat. Add in the chicken, and pan-fry the chicken for 4-5 minutes or until it gets nice and brown! (your house should be smelling AMAZING right now!)
- The SECRET ingredient: Pour in the SECRET ingredient … Coca-Cola! This will help balance the savouriness of the soy sauce, while thickening up the sauce. Cover and let it cook for 7-8 minutes
- ASSEMBLE: While your chicken’s sizzling away, get your rice and veggies ready. Then, start the assembly line: rice, veggies, and tender juicy chicken. Pour any of that remaining glaze over the top – don’t let any bit of flavor go to waste!
How To Make Easy Coca Cola Glazed Chicken Rice Bowl
- Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces and marinade with soy sauce, oyster sauce, black pepper, dark soy sauce (optional) and lots of garlic—massage and set aside for 5 minutes while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
- Turn the heat up to medium-high, drizzle in oil, and once the pan is hot, add in the chicken. Pan-fry for 4-5 minutes or until the chicken is brown.
- Pour in Coca-Cola, mix well, cover, and let it cook for 7-8 minutes or until the sauce gets thick. OPTIONAL: after 8 minutes, Uncover, and let it cook on high heat for another 1-2 minutes if you like your sauce extra thick!
- Garnish with green onion and sesame seeds, and ENJOY!
Meal Prepping Tips with Asian Soy Chicken Rice
This is actually one of my favorite lunchboxes to pack, because it’s so easy to reheat and tastes exactly the same.
- Let Steam Escape Before Sealing: Let the hot rice and glazed chicken cool for about 10 minutes before snapping the lid shut. Sealing boiling-hot food traps condensation, which turns the rice mushy and waters down the soy glaze.
- Spoon Glaze Directly Over the Rice: Pack the rice on one side and the chicken right next to it (or layer the chicken directly on top). Drizzle the remaining thick glaze over both so the rice absorbs all that savory-sweet flavor while sitting in the fridge.
- The Damp Paper Towel Trick: Cover the open container loosely with a damp paper towel. This creates a steam dome that keeps the chicken juicy and restores moisture to cold, hardened rice.
- Microwave on Medium-High (1.5 to 2 Minutes): Heat for 90 seconds, give the container a light tilt to redistribute the sauce, and microwave for another 30 seconds if needed.
- Fresh Toppings Last: Pack a tiny baggie or container with fresh chopped green onions and sesame seeds to sprinkle on after microwaving for a fresh crunch and pop of color.
Side Dishes To Pack with Soy Chicken
Since it has a sweet, savory flavor with a tender texture, I love pairing this chicken with a savory or bright veggie side that gives it a little more crunch. Bonus points if it’s a little spicy, which gives you that perfect contrast with that rich, sweet glaze. All of the side dishes below either are easy to make in bulk for the week, or super simple to whip up in 10 minutes. I recommend packing these cold side dishes on the side, or put a divider in between the sides and the chicken rice.
Soy Glazed Chicken Rice Bowl
By Tiffy Cooks
Ingredients
- 5 chicken thigh boneless with the skin on
- 1 tablespoon garlic minced
- 3 tablespoons Soy Sauce
- 3.5 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 0.5 tablespoon dark soy sauce optional
- 1 pinch black pepper
- 1 can Coke 12 fl oz
- sesame seeds to garnish
- green onion to garnish
Instructions
- Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces and marinade with soy sauce, oyster sauce, black pepper, dark soy sauce (optional) and lots of garlic—massage and set aside for 5 minutes while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
- Turn the heat up to medium-high, drizzle in oil, and once the pan is hot, add in the chicken. Pan-fry for 4-5 minutes or until the chicken is brown.
- Pour in Coca-Cola, mix well, cover, and let it cook for 7-8 minutes or until the sauce gets thick. OPTIONAL: after 8 minutes, Uncover, and let it cook on high heat for another 1-2 minutes if you like your sauce extra thick!
- Garnish with green onion and sesame seeds, and ENJOY!
Video
@tiffycooks Day ONE of EASY DINNER RECIPES, lets make Soy Glazed Chicken Rice Bowl in 20 MINUTES! Seriously SO good 🤤 #chicken #dinnerideas #ricebowl
♬ original sound – TIFFY COOKS 🥟
Will definitely try this recipe. Does it make a difference if I use Diet Coke? It’s all we have in the house.
Hey, Angela! Did the Diet Coke work?
I loved this recipe! I never thought adding coca cola to chicken would make it delicous!
Love Tiffy recipes but this one did not thicken up for me after the 7-8 mintues covered. It’s delicious, the meat is very tender but I would suggest cooking for an extra 8, I kept thinking I omitted corn starch but there is no corn starch in the recipe. Not a criticism, just a share.
I found that this happened to me as well when I had used slightly too much oil and my pan was not hot enough when first putting the chicken in. This does very well in a wok that is very very hot. Or stainless steal anything. When I cooked it in my non-stick pan The chicken just did not sear, never turned brown and kind of boiled in the marinade and then in the Coca-Cola. I’m positive it will probably taste good regardless, but with this time having it not sear I’m a little nervous haha
Just tried this recipe and it was delicious and super easy to prep and cook! Thank you for these amazing, quick recipes. Definitely a keeper and my family loves it!
ok
This was SO good! I ended up using chicken breast because that’s what I had and it was also my first time using oyster sauce so I didn’t use as much as the recipe called for and it was still delish! I will definitely be making this again, and again, and again! I can’t wait to try more of your recipes 🙂
I don’t do caffeine. Will the Coca Cola keep me up at night? Can I use caffeine-free?
Hi Jo-Ellen, the amount we use shouldn’t be enough to keep you up at night, but if you’re more sensitive to caffeine, you can definitely use caffeine free!
Think of it like when you cook with alcohol, you don’t get drunk.
This is the second time I’ve made this recipe (my youngest daughter loves it) but again – it didn’t thicken. Not sure what I’m doing wrong. Still yummy though.
I just made this and it’s absolutely delicious! I was having issues with mine thickening as well, but brought it to a rapid boil and it thickened up after a few minutes (with fairly constant stirring).
You can add a cornstarch slurry – 1tbsp cornstarch and 1tbsp water mixed together. That will thicken it up without having to boil it forever and overcook the chicken!
The broth did not thicken but it was delicious nonetheless.
I used coke zero and it still was very good. I added broccoli to it and it soaked up the sauce and made it very flavorful and delicious to eat 🙂
Just to say I made this recipe with my son,we enjoyed making it together,it was so so delicious would highly recommend this recipe for a tasty treat! 😁👍
Like others have said, it takes a while to thicken. Mine took about 20 minutes at a rapid boil. But ohhhhhh boy, once it thickened, it tasted SO GOOD!!!
I just wanted to let you know that the recipe says uncover and turn up the heat if you like your sauce extra chicken! Did you mean “thickened” ? 🙂
Great catch Carolyn, thank you so much! I did mean thickened.
Tiffy
This recipe is really good. I made it tonight. Used a cornstarch slurry to thicken the sauce and it was very flavorful! I’m usually disappointed with Chinese recipes but this was perfect
This is really tasty! I meal prepped a weeks worth, and this is definitely something I could eat daily with no problem. However, I did tweak a few things.
I made the first batch as directed and, like others, couldn’t get the sauce to thicken. So with the second batch I drained the extra marinade off before browning, and turned up the heat to just two notches below high. I got a nice caramelized result with that in about 6 minutes.
Then when I added the cola, I skipped putting a lid on it so the moisture could boil off for 8 minutes. I then turned up the heat to the highest setting, and basically stir fried it for about 3 minutes. The sauce thickened up perfectly with no corn starch needed.
Important to note: I used a large non stick frying pan. So it may differ when using a wok. I also added a tablespoon of honey, and half a tablespoon of ginger paste to the marinade and let it soak for about 30 minutes. This was mostly about personal taste (I like things a little sweeter than most, and love ginger).
Anyway, it came out great. So for those having issues getting it to thicken up, id recommend cranking up the heat and leaving the lid off. Also, I only stirred it every 2 to 3 minutes during the 8 minute cook time. Same with the browning step. Over stirring seems to impede browning and thickening, especially with dishes like this (from my personal experience).
So yeah, awesome recipe. I will definitely be making it again! Thanks for sharing it!