Who doesn’t love teriyaki chicken? A tender and juicy piece of chicken slathered in a thick sweet sauce that’s made with sugar, soy sauce, mirin, and ginger. Just the combination of savory and sweet alone, in its simplicity, is all you need to have a meal that you will crave all the time.
It was one of my first food crushes as a kid, taking the time to try all of the teriyaki bowl places in my neighborhood to find the best one. Unfortunately, when I moved a couple of years ago I had trouble finding a place that had the taste that I had fell in love with. Some restaurants had teriyaki chicken that was too sweet, some to savory, while others came out tasting sour for some strange reason. Eventually, I gave up and decided it was best for me to find that perfectly balanced flavor by experimenting at home. And folks, I’m pretty sure I’ve found it, thanks to one of my favorite cooking blogs, The Woks of Life. I’ve tweaked their recipe just a little bit, to make it a little easier for those who don’t have access to different kinds of soy sauce.
Well class, enough talk, let’s get to today’s lesson so that you can start making a quick and tasty meal in your own kitchen.
Teriyaki Chicken Recipe
Prep time: 1 hour
Cook time: 10 to 15 minutes
Serves: 4
Ingredients
1 ¼ Lbs of chicken, or about 4 chicken thighs
1 Tbsp of cornstarch
2 Tbsps of brown sugar
4 ½ Tbsps of soy sauce
3 ½ Tbsps of mirin
1 Tbsp ginger, finely minced
1 ½ Tsp sesame oil
Garnish:
toasted sesame seeds
sliced green onions
Instructions
- Marinate the chicken: Add the cornstarch, brown sugar, ginger, sesame oil, soy sauce, and mirin into a bowl and mix.
To this sauce, add the chicken and let it marinate covered in the fridge for an hour. 20 minutes before you plan to cook the chicken, take it out of the fridge so that it can get back to room temperature
- Cook the chicken in a pan: Get out a large pan, preferably a cast-iron one, pour two teaspoons of a neutral-tasting oil, such as canola, and put over a burner on high heat. Add each piece of the chicken to the hot pan, reserve the remaining marinade. Turn the heat down to medium-high and cook the chicken for 5 to 7 minutes on each side. Once cooked take the chicken out of the pan and stack them on a cutting board, cover them with foil.
- Make the teriyaki sauce: Turn the heat on the pan to medium-low and add the reserved marinade. Stir, and simmer the sauce for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the sauce is your preferred thickness.
- Cut up the chicken and plate: Take the foil off the chicken and cut each piece into thin strips. Serve it on a plate or in a bowl with rice. Top with teriyaki sauce, toasted sesame seeds, and sliced green onions.
- Enjoy
Teriyaki Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ Lbs of chicken or about 4 chicken thighs
- 1 Tbsp of cornstarch
- 2 Tbsps of brown sugar
- 4 ½ Tbsps of soy sauce
- 3 ½ Tbsps of mirin
- 1 Tbsp ginger finely minced
- 1 ½ Tsp sesame oil
Garnish:
- toasted sesame seeds
- sliced green onions
Instructions
- Marinate the chicken: Add the cornstarch, brown sugar, ginger, sesame oil, soy sauce, and mirin into a bowl and mix. To this sauce, add the chicken and let it marinate covered in the fridge for an hour. 20 minutes before you plan to cook the chicken, take it out of the fridge so that it can get back to room temperature
- Cook the chicken in a pan: Get out a large pan, preferably a cast-iron one, pour two teaspoons of a neutral-tasting oil, such as canola, and put over a burner on high heat. Add each piece of the chicken to the hot pan, reserve the remaining marinade. Turn the heat down to medium-high and cook the chicken for 5 to 7 minutes each side. Once cooked take the chicken out of the pan and stack them on a cutting board, cover them with foil.
- Make the teriyaki sauce: Turn the heat on the pan to medium-low and add the reserved marinade. Stir, and simmer the sauce for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the sauce is your preferred thickness.
- Cut up the chicken and plate: Take the foil off the chicken and cut each piece into thin strips. Serve it on a plate or in a bowl with rice, and top with teriyaki sauce, toasted sesame seeds, and sliced green onions.
Try out our recipe for sunomono, It goes great with this teriyaki chicken
