I’m stocking up on slow cooker recipes for the heat wave ahead, and this shredded sweet soy sauce chicken breast checks every box. Start with chicken breast, the classic blank canvas—it shreds like a dream, soaking up every drop of flavor. Pour over a jam sweet-and-sour sauce that sticks to each strand and throws balance right over the top. Want a little fire? Toss in a handful of chili flakes or fresh chopped peppers. Serve it on steamed white rice to keep things simple or scoop it into fried rice, letting the sauce become the star of the show. There’s no fuss, just bold, glossy flavor that steals the spotlight, even on the hottest summer night.
PrintShredded Sweet Soy Sauce Chicken Breast
A simple, fast, very tasty way to prepare chicken. Chicken breast is perfect for shredding. Because it’s so lean, it is especially great combined with a jam intense flavored sauce that is sweet and sour. Add a kick of chili if you want! Great served on rice or use the sauce as the flavoring for a fried rice!
- Prep Time: 10 min
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Chicken, Dinner
- Cuisine: Asian
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
- 3 tsp water
Instructions
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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).
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Pressure Cooker: Place all the Shredded Chicken ingredients in the pressure cooker. Cook for 35 minutes on high.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Mix together the Sauce Thickening ingredients and add to the saucepan. Simmer until it thickens to a syrup consistency.
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Toss the chicken in the sauce and serve over rice. (Note 4)
Notes
1. I used blueberry jam. Blackberry or other dark ones are great but you can use any flavour at all because the jam is used as the sweetener / thickening agent for the sauce rather than flavour.
2. I like pops of black pepper in this. It’s not that spicy because it becomes mild once cooked. But if you’re making this for kids, I recommend using ground pepper.
3. If your slow cooker has a saute setting, you can do this in your slow cooker. If you are using a stovetop pressure cooker, you can do this in the pressure cooker.
4. The sauce is great to use for fried rice, as is the chicken. Just stir fry onions and garlic, add diced vegetables, then day old, cooked rice, the chicken and the sauce. Stir fry to heat through, then serve!
5. You can add extra flavorings if you want! I like to add ginger, sriracha or red pepper flakes, a dash of hoisin or oyster sauce, or sesame oil.
6. Freeze leftovers after cooking and toss in sauce. To use, allow to defrost then I recommend pan frying with a bit of oil. This will revitalize it as the sauce tends to become a bit watery when it defrosts.
