Name: Chicken Chashu (Japanese Braised Chicken Thigh)
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 60 min
Total time: 790 min
Ingredients: 600-700 g boneless chicken thigh (boneless, skin-on); 50 g Japanese leeks (naganegi) (green part); 50 g ginger root; 3 cloves garlic; 150 ml soy sauce; 50 ml sake; 1 tbsp mirin; 30 g sugar; 250 ml chicken bouillon (leftover from simmering)

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What is Chicken Chashu?

Chashu is a meat dish from a Chinese dish called Char siu. It is usually made with pork soaked in soy sauce mixed with sugar, Chinese cooking wine, spices, etc., and then grilled or steamed. The long cooking time and combined cooking methods result in a succulent, melt-in-the-mouth meat dish that can be used in various recipes.

In Chinese cuisine, Char Siu is usually made by grilling the pork meat, however, in Japan chashu can be described as “boiled pork” and is usually simmered instead. In addition, Japanese chashu is characterized by the use of pork, which is very fatty, while Chinese char siu is characterized by a sweet taste with less fat. You could say they are two very different dishes.

In other words, chashu is a dish that originated in China but has been modified uniquely in Japan. Each ramen restaurant has its own specialties, using different parts of pork and different cooking methods.

In Japan, chashu is most often used as a topping for ramen, especially in shoyu ramen (soy sauce broth). Other than ramen, it is sometimes eaten as a beer snack or used to make rice dishes such as chashu donburi (rice bowl) or chahan (fried rice).

Recently, chicken chashu, which is made by applying the same process to chicken meat, is also becoming popular too. In this recipe, I’ll be teaching you how to make delicious chashu using chicken thigh; it works amazingly well! (I also have a pork chashu recipe)

Homemade chicken chashu served on top of shoyu ramen in a white and red bowl next to a plate of gyoza

Ingredients & Substitution Ideas

Boneless Chicken Thighs – For ideal flavor and texture, use boneless, skin-on chicken thighs. Chicken breast won’t work for this recipe.
Aromatics – Green parts of Japanese leeks (regular leek is a good substitute), fresh ginger, and garlic help soften the chicken’s odor.
Soy Sauce – Kikkoman is a reliable, affordable global option. Check out my soy sauce guide for more insights on varieties.
Sake – For the purest flavor, use unsalted drinking sake. Cooking sake works, but you need to adjust the salt content as cooking sake contains salt. Read my ‘Sake 101‘ for details.
Mirin – Hon-mirin (本みりん) like Hinode Hon Mirin has the most authentic Japanese taste. My mirin guide explains the differences.
Sugar – Plain white sugar is fine, but I prefer the deeper flavor of light brown cane sugar.

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Visual Walkthrough & Tips

Here are my step-by-step instructions for how to make Chicken Chashu at home. For ingredient quantities and simplified instructions, scroll down for the Printable Recipe Card below.

STEP

Pierce the skin

Chicken thigh pierced with a fork on a wooden chopping board

The first step is to poke holes in the chicken by stabbing it with a fork all over on both sides. The main purpose is to help the stock and marinade penetrate the meat after it’s rolled. Not only that, but it tenderizes it too!

STEP

Flatten

Next, cover the chicken with plastic wrap and beat it with a rolling pin. Flattening it out until it’s a similar thickness all the way over will make it easier to roll and cook more evenly.

The process also makes the meat more tender.

STEP

Roll and tie

Chicken thigh rolled into a cylinder and tied with butchers twine

Roll up each chicken thigh so the skin is on the outside, and then tie it with butcher’s string. Make sure to wrap it a few times from top to bottom and tie a few tight knots to secure it. You don’t want the string falling off during the cooking process!

You don’t need to use any particular method for tying the string, but if you want to see the way I do it then please refer to my pork chashu recipe, I have an instruction video you can watch there.

Optional step: You can seal the meat in a frying pan before you simmer it to crisp up the skin and add a charred flavor.

STEP

Simmer in a broth

Rolled chicken thigh boiling in a pot of water

Place the chicken in a large pot and fill with cold water until the chicken is fully covered. Place it on the stove and bring the water to a boil on a medium-high setting.

Rolled chicken thigh simmering in broth with ginger, garlic and spring onions

Once the water is boiling, turn the heat down to a simmer and add the ginger, garlic, and spring onions. If there’s scum from the meat floating on top of the water, then scoop it out with a spoon.

Simmering chicken chashu with a drop lid

Once everything is added, place a drop lid on top and let it simmer for 1 hour. The drop lid will stop too much liquid from evaporating. If you don’t have a drop lid, see here how to make your own using baking paper or foil!

STEP

Make the marinade

In a separate pan, add soy sauce, sake, mirin, and sugar and bring it to a boil. Allow to boil for a few minutes to burn off the alcohol in the sake and mirin, and then remove it from the heat.

STEP

Marinate

Chicken chashu marinating in a ziplock bag

Once the chicken has finished simmering, lift it out of the pot and allow it to cool for about 10 minutes. Make sure you keep the stock!

Once it’s cool enough to touch, place the chicken in a zip lock bag and add some of the stock, followed by the marinade.

Push the air out of the bag and seal it at the top. I recommend using a ziplock bag rather than a container to ensure the chicken is fully submerged in the marinade.

Tip

Place the ziplock bag on a plate or bowl in the fridge to avoid accidental leaks!

Rest the chicken chashu in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours, preferably overnight, for the best flavor.

STEP

Slice and serve

Shoyu ramen topped with homemade chicken chashu

Slice the chicken chashu while it’s cold, this will stop it from falling apart. (I tried to cut it while it was still warm once, it was not pretty!)

You can enjoy this chicken chashu on ramen, donburi (rice bowl) or eat it as a snack!

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How to Use Leftover Broth & Marinade

When you make this chicken chashu, there will be leftover chicken stock soup and marinade. Of course, there’s no need to throw them away and waste them! You can use them as an ingredient to make another great dish!

Chicken soup for ramen broth

Ramen is made with 4 elements; the broth, the tare (sauce), the noodles and the toppings. You can use the leftover chicken broth from this chicken chashu recipe as a base, then simply add tare, noodles and toppings to have your own complete homemade ramen! You can even use the finished chicken chashu for topping too.

This leftover soup works well with my shio ramen and shoyu ramen recipes. (I include how to make a tare in both recipes.)

Japanese shio ramen topped with slices of chicken, menma (bamboo shoots), soft boiled egg, white spring onion and chilli threads in a red and white ramen bowl on a grey background — My shio ramen

Homemade shoyu ramen topped with ramen egg, menma, narutomaki, chashu, chopped spring onions and nori in a white and red Chinese style noodle bowl — My shoyu ramen

Marinade as soy sauce like condiment

The marinade is like a weaker, sweeter and flavoured version of soy sauce. So you can use the left over marinade as soy sauce like condiment.

However, my recommendation is to use it to make chahan (fried rice).

Ramen restaurant style chahan side view — My chahan using leftover marinade

Again, you can cut up your chicken chashu and use it as an ingredients for chahan too!

Use as sauce for chicken chashu don

If you want to use your chicken chashu to make chicken chashu don (rice bowl), you can drizzle some of the marinade as an additional sauce.

A piece of chashu picked up with chopsticks — My chashu don (pork version)

Even though my chashu don recipe is made with pork chashu, you can use the same topping ideas for your chicken chashu don from here!

How to Store

Chashu can be kept in the refrigerator in a ziplock back for 3-5 days. It’s generally kept cold and will be warmed naturally from the heat of ramen soup or cooked rice in a donburi dish. There’s no need to reheat chashu.

It can also be kept in the freezer for up to two weeks. If you freeze the whole block, you will need to defrost it overnight in the fridge and then use it up within 3 days.

Alternatively, you could cut it into slices before freezing for convenient single portions that defrost quickly. I always recommend defrosting meat in the fridge to keep it at a safe temperature, and if it’s already cut into slices the defrosting time will be shortened considerably.

Homemade chicken chashu served on top of shoyu ramen in a white and red bowl close up

I hope you enjoy this Chicken Chashu recipe! If you try it out, I’d really appreciate it if you could spare a moment to let me know what you thought by giving a review and star rating in the comments below. It’s also helpful to share any adjustments you made to the recipe with our other readers. Thank you!