We’ve all had days where we had no idea what we were going to feed our family for dinner, and Pantry Hawaii Shoyu Chicken is one of those recipes that will get you through that rough afternoon. You don’t have to worry about defrosting frozen bone-in chicken thighs in the microwave before you start cooking. It’s still going to be faster, cheaper, and healthier than trying to figure out what to get from a restaurant. Give everyone a quick snack of some fruit to keep their tummies at bay while the chicken cooks.
How do you cook chicken from frozen?
First things first, make sure that you have a meat thermometer to check the temperature of the chicken by the bone. You don’t want to serve raw chicken and get someone sick.
This recipe takes about 22 minutes for the pressure cooker function in my multipurpose cooker to come to high pressure and start the cooking time. When you add the time that it takes to wait for the pressure cooker to naturally release pressure so you can safely open the device, that is at least 30 minutes of additional time waiting for your food. Just keep this in mind if you need to use this recipe; start your chicken first then wash your rice and start the rice cooker. You’ll have enough time for your rice to cool off a little when the chicken is done.
If you don’t have a pressure cooker, just put everything in a pot that’s 5-quarts or larger, heat it on high to boiling and cover it. Once it reaches a boil, turn the heat down to medium low and cook for 45 to 60 minutes with the cover on, stirring every 5 minutes. Turn the heat down further if you think the liquid is going to boil over. (If cooking it with the cover off, you might have to add extra water halfway through the cooking time due to evaporation. You want to make sure the liquid is covering the chicken while it is boiling.)
More Frozen Cooking Tips
The chicken doesn’t have to be completely covered in your shoyu/soy sauce mixture when you cover the pressure cooker. Because the chicken is frozen, it will shrink a lot while cooking and most of it will get cooked in sauce. There may be a few areas that don’t get the benefit if the sauce while cooking and look a little pale like the piece in this picture. Just make sure to soak it in sauce, or just save that piece for yourself.
Looking for more dinner recipes? Here are some others that you will enjoy.
Pantry Hawaii Shoyu Chicken (from frozen)
Equipment
- 1 pressure cooker or multipurpose cooker with pressure cooker function
- measuring cups and spoons
- 1 meat thermometer
- 1 tongs
- 1 fat strainer separator optional
Ingredients
- 2 pounds frozen bone-in chicken thighs
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- ⅛ cup coconut palm sugar or palm sugar
- 2 cups water
- 2 ½ tsp granulated garlic
- ½ tsp ground ginger
Instructions
- Add soy sauce, palm sugar, water, granulated garlic, and ground ginger to the pressure cooker or multipurpose cooker pot. Stir until everything is combined.
- Add the frozen chicken thighs. Cover the pot and set it to cook on high pressure for 22 minutes. (Note: it takes about 22 minutes for my multipurpose cooker to come to pressure).
- Once the pressure cooker is done cooking, let the pressure naturally release for 10 minutes or follow the manufacturer’s instructions for natural release.
- Remove the chicken thighs from the pot onto a plate to rest. Remove and discard the skin. Put the liquid from the pot into a fat strainer separator.
- If using a pressure cooker on the stove, return the liquid to the pot and heat until boiling with the lid off. If using a multipurpose cooker, return the soy sauce liquid separated from the fat into the pot and boil to thicken. Let the liquid boil for 2 to 3 minutes to thicken. Liquid will thicken further as it cools.
- Serve the chicken in the sauce with steamed rice and a side salad or steamed vegetable.
