Sous Vide Sweet and Sticky Chicken with Honey Glaze

My Sous Vide Sweet & Sticky Chicken, with five-spice, sweet soy sauce, ginger and garlic delivers an easy and unforgettable midweek meal.

This simple midweek dinner centers on Sous Vide Sweet & Sticky Chicken and becomes even more convenient when you prepare the chicken and a few sides ahead of time. Cooking sous vide shines when you batch-cook and store meals for busy weekdays—Sunday is often when my partner and I set up the immersion circulator and cook several dishes to make the week easier.

The combination of Chinese five-spice, sweet soy sauce (kecap manis), fresh ginger and garlic creates a bold, balanced glaze. The sous vide method makes the meat consistently tender while locking in flavor; a quick finish under a broiler, on the grill, or with a blowtorch gives the skin the attractive char and crisp texture that makes this dish irresistible.

Chicken Temperatures & Times

Breasts can be tricky to get perfect even with sous vide; that deserves a separate discussion. Here I focus on the tougher cuts—legs, drumsticks, thighs and wings—and share practical time and temperature guidelines so you can choose the texture you prefer.

Much of what I learned about sous vide technique came from books like Modernist Cuisine and Under Pressure, along with reputable online resources. The table below summarizes temperature and time recommendations for common chicken cuts adapted from those sources and practical experience.

Use these as starting points and adjust to your personal preference. Always follow safe food-handling practices when cooking poultry.

Chicken	Braised Texture	Tender & Juicy
Leg/drumstick/thigh	3 hrs at 68ºC/154ºF	1.5 hrs at 65ºC/149ºF
Wings	12 hrs at 62ºC/144ºF	1 hr at 65ºC/149ºF

I typically cook drumsticks and thighs at 68ºC for 3–4 hours for a braised, pull-apart texture, though I’ve also used higher temperatures briefly to speed things up. Finish the cooked chicken quickly on a hot grill or under the broiler to crisp the skin. Experiment with small variations in time and temperature to find your preferred balance of tenderness and mouthfeel.

Sweet Soy Sauce (Kecap/Ketjap Manis)

Sweet soy sauce, known as kecap manis, is an Indonesian-style condiment with the color of soy sauce and the viscosity of a syrup. I discovered it by chance and quickly came to rely on its rich, sweet-savory complexity. Many commercial bottles include palm sugar and aromatics like star anise or lemongrass, which give kecap manis its distinctive depth.

Kecap manis is excellent as a marinade, glaze or finishing sauce for poultry, seafood, pork, beef and vegetables. In this recipe I use it both to marinate the chicken and to brush on as a sticky glaze before serving.

This is a flexible recipe: swap cuts, adjust the five-spice and ginger levels, or use the glaze on grilled vegetables. If you try kecap manis for the first time here, expect a deep, molasses-like sweetness balanced by soy and spices.

Have a favorite sous vide time and temperature or a go-to chicken glaze? I’d love to hear what works for you—share your tips and variations.