A classic Japanese dish, teriyaki chicken is covered with a sweet-salty sauce. It’s a perfect meal for busy weeknights!
Traditional teriyaki sauce is a simple mix of soy sauce, mirin, and sugar. But this version adds a little fresh ginger and garlic to create a flavorful homemade teriyaki.
Ingredients
A quick and easy recipe for chicken glazed in a sweet and salty teriyaki sauce. It’s perfect for a weeknight meal that everyone will love!
Teriyaki is a popular Japanese cooking technique, involving boiling or grilling meat and seafood with a simple soy-based glaze. It can be served alone or as a flavorful addition to rice, pasta, or other Asian side dishes.
The classic teriyaki marinade is made with soy sauce, mirin, and sugar. It’s also often infused with ginger and garlic for more complexity. The homemade version is much simpler, but it still delivers the same classic salty-sweet flavor and a glossy glaze.
Start with boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts. Pat them dry, and brush both sides of the chicken with the teriyaki marinade. Let the chicken sit for at least 30 minutes to allow the flavors to blend and the sauce to penetrate the meat.
Preheat the oven to 400degF. Place the chicken in a baking dish and brush with the remaining teriyaki sauce. Bake until no longer pink and juices run clear, about 20 to 30 minutes.
While the chicken cooks, prepare your rice and vegetables in separate bowls. This way you can serve them all at once, and avoid any soggy rice or vegetables that may come into contact with the teriyaki sauce.
Once the sauce is ready, add it to the pan and reduce heat to medium-low. Stir constantly, scraping up browned bits, until it thickens and becomes glossy, about 3 minutes.
Return the chicken to the pan and toss to coat with the sauce. Top with toasted sesame seeds and reserved green onions if desired.
For a healthier option, substitute low-sodium soy sauce for the traditional salty soy sauce. The sauce will still be a bit salty, but it’s less of a flavor bomb than if you use full-sodium soy.
To ensure even cooking, cut chicken into bite-sized pieces so they cook evenly. It’s also important to make sure the oil gets hot before adding the chicken. This ensures that it sears and does not become tough.
Marinade
Teriyaki marinade is a flavorful liquid that can be used to enhance meat, fish, vegetables or meat substitutes while being cooked. It can also be used as a dressing, sauce or dipping condiment.
This delicious recipe is easy to make and can be made on the stove, grill, in a crock pot or in the oven. The teriyaki marinade tenderizes and flavors the chicken making it incredibly moist and delicious.
You can use a variety of different protein types in this recipe, including pork, beef, lamb, chicken and turkey. You can also substitute any type of vegetable, such as broccoli, carrots or edamame.
The key to this recipe is to marinate the chicken in the teriyaki sauce for at least two hours before cooking it. The longer the marinade combines with the chicken, the more flavor it will have.
To make the marinade, combine soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, rice vinegar, Asian sweet chili sauce, mirin, garlic and ginger in a small bowl. Mix until all ingredients are incorporated and the sugar is dissolved.
Transfer the mixture to a large plastic storage bag or freezer bag, add the chicken and secure the seal. Massage the chicken in the marinade to fully coat it. Refrigerate the marinade for at least 2 hours or freeze it up to 1 month; defrost in the refrigerator overnight before cooking.
Once the chicken is ready to be cooked, grill or pan fry it in a hot skillet or sauté pan on the stove. Once the chicken is golden brown, flip and cook the other side. You can also bake it in a 400 degree preheated oven for 20-25 minutes until it’s fully cooked.
These teriyaki chicken skewers are quick and easy to prepare and make for a great weeknight dinner! They’re perfect with a side of rice and pickled cucumbers. They’re also a great appetizer.
This teriyaki chicken is a great way to enjoy your favorite Asian flavors without all of the calories and fat! It’s also so versatile and can be served over rice, in salads or as a wrap. It’s one of those recipes that everyone will love!
Grilling
Grilling is a simple and quick way to prepare chicken, especially when you pair it with an easy homemade marinade. It also keeps the meat moist and tender.
Start the grill on medium heat, and place the chicken on it. Cook for about 6 minutes per side (less time if using boneless skinless chicken breasts). An instant-read thermometer should read 165 degrees F at the thickest part of the chicken.
Remove the chicken from the grill and place on a serving platter to rest for a few minutes before slicing into bite-sized strips. Serve with teriyaki sauce, rice and vegetables for a complete meal!
You can find many of the ingredients needed to make this recipe at your local Asian or Japanese grocery store, but you can also buy them online. The most common ingredients used in teriyaki sauce are soy sauce, cooking sake, mirin and sugar.
When making the sauce, be sure to use a high-quality soy sauce with no added MSG or other preservatives. This is a very important step in creating the flavor that you desire.
The teriyaki sauce can be made ahead of time, and it will keep for weeks in the fridge. It also makes a great base for stir fries, burgers and other dishes.
After you make the teriyaki sauce, reserve about half of it for later use. This is a perfect option for when you don’t want to throw away any of the marinade, but you don’t have enough to marinate the entire batch of chicken.
Once the chicken is fully cooked, brush it with the reserved sauce. This will help the chicken to absorb more of the delicious teriyaki flavors.
To eat the grilled chicken, serve it with a bowl of steamed white rice or noodles such as yakisoba. You can also use the leftover teriyaki sauce to top a salad or add it to a wrap.
Teriyaki is a Japanese term that combines the words teri and yaki, which means “luster” or “shine.” It’s a cooking style where chicken is coated with a sauce that gives the dish a glossy appearance and salty-sweet flavor. It’s typically used with beef but can also be used with chicken and other meats.
Serving
Teriyaki is a Japanese style of cooking and it is popular in homes and restaurants around the world. It is a versatile sauce that can be used on chicken, fish, vegetables, and other foods. It is a mix of salty umami from soy sauce and a sweeter flavor from mirin, a low-alcohol version of sake.
There are many different recipes for teriyaki, but most of them have a simple base of soy sauce and mirin. They may also include other flavors like ginger, citrus, garlic, or sesame.
The best cut of meat for teriyaki is chicken thighs, which are known for their tenderness and juiciness. Unlike breasts, chicken thighs can hold up to high heat in a pan without drying out quickly. This allows the teriyaki sauce to penetrate and caramelize throughout the dish.
Before cooking, marinate the chicken in a mixture of soy sauce, mirin, and sake. This gives the meat a delicious flavour while it is being cooked.
Serve the teriyaki chicken over rice and garnish with green onions and sesame seeds. This is a delicious and easy meal to make that can be served for dinner in just 30 minutes!
To ensure the chicken stays moist, use a high-quality pan that is non-stick and has a lid. This will help the skin to turn brown and crisp.
Once the skin is crispy, remove from the pan and flip it over to cook the other side. When both sides are golden and crispy, remove from the pan and place on a plate.
After about 15 minutes, turn the chicken over again and continue to cook until fully cooked. The internal temperature should register 165 degrees F, and the juices should run clear.
Alternatively, you can bake the chicken instead of grilling it. Simply preheat the oven to 400 deg.F and bake for about 20 minutes until fully cooked. The juices should be clear and the chicken should be slightly browned on top.
If you want a more robust flavour, you can add a little extra soy sauce or even some of the reserved teriyaki marinade to the baking pan. This will reduce and thicken as it cooks, creating a glaze.
