Teriyaki Chicken

Hmmm teriyaki chicken! If I had to cast a vote for the most versatile meat to cook with and the most versatile sauce, it would most definitely be chicken and teriyaki sauce! Chicken, as you can imagine, can be made grilled, fried, roasted, baked, boiled! And teriyaki sauce can be paired with chicken, beef, duck, and fish! Talk about a jack of all trades! Teriyaki, gets its name from the Japanese word, “teri”, which refers to the shininess of the sauce when mixing soy sauce, sake (or mirin), and honey, also known as “tare”. The “yaki” refers to the method of grilling and broiling. 

Teriyaki Sauce

In my house, sauce is king. My husband AND son will always ask for anything saucey so that they can slather it all over their rice and teriyaki has come to be one of our go-to’s sauces. The delicate sweetness from the honey, combined with hints of ginger and sake, thickened into a sweet and sticky glaze, tastes oh-so-delicious when drizzled over freshly grilled chicken thighs and rice. 

This meal only takes a speedy 20 mins, and that includes making the sauce from scratch! No store-bought sauces here.  When you make your own sauce you’re also welcome to adjust the sweetness and savoriness to your preference and make the sauce as thick as you want! This sauce only requires 4 ingredients and are staples in Japanese cooking with a long shelf life, so there’s a high likelihood you’ll be able to use them again! To enjoy this simple and delicious meal, read on to learn how to make this classic japanese dish. 

Ingredients

• 1 pack of boneless chicken thighs
• 2 tbsp of mirin
• 2 tbsp of sake (Japanese wine)
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 ½ tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp ginger diced 

Instructions

1. Dice ginger into small bits. Heat pan up in medium heat until the pan is warm. Add 1 tbsp of oil. Check to see if the oil is warm by coating the pan. Once oil is warm, carefully lay chicken thighs in the pan. Pan fry until golden brown for about 6 minutes on each side, depending on the size of the chicken thighs. 
2. In a bowl, combine soy sauce, mirin, sake, and sugar.
3. Once thighs are done, take them out of the pan and turn down the heat to medium-low. Slice chicken thighs into ½ inch pieces. Set aside.  
4. Pour in sauce and ginger into the pan. Deglaze the pan by using a wooden slotted spoon to gently scrape the chicken bits off the pan. 
5. Bring the sauce to a boil and simmer for a few minutes until sauce thickens into a glaze. Once sauce thickens, take it off the heat and pour over chicken thighs and serve.

Print