You’ll love this easy teriyaki chicken recipe that rivals your favorite teriyaki restaurants. Thanks simple teriyaki sauce which doubles as a marinade, the chicken is slightly sticky, takes on a nice shine, tastes fantastic, is quick to put together and can easily be made ahead of time. Jump to the easy Teriyaki Chicken recipe or read on to see our tips.
We just shared ours homemade teriyaki sauce with you, and that’s exactly what we use to make this chicken teriyaki. It’s made with just five ingredients and keeps for weeks in the fridge. For another version of teriyaki, check out our Orange Ginger Teriyaki Chicken. In this recipe we replace the sugar with orange juice and honey.You can enjoy this too easy stir fry sauce made with fresh ginger and garlic.
Main ingredients:
- Chicken meat. I like boneless, skinless chicken thighs for this recipe because they stay tender but cook quickly. They also soak up the flavor of the teriyaki. Skin-on chicken thighs would also be great if you like.
- Low sodium soy sauce. I use low sodium soy sauce as the base of my sauce. It may seem salty at first. It will blend perfectly with the other ingredients. You can substitute with light tamari.
- Sugar. Granulated sugar balances out the soy sauce and makes the teriyaki sauce thick and glossy when cooked. Feel free to add brown sugar, coconut sugar, or even honey, but remember that they can make the sauce taste sweeter. you might enjoy this honey teriyaki chicken!
- Sake: Don’t stress about buying expensive sake for the teriyaki sauce. If you can’t find sake, mirin (a sweeter rice wine) works well too in the recipe.
- Rice vinegar. This adds a little tang to the sauce. You can usually find it in other grocery store vinegars. For substitutes, try white wine vinegar. Don’t worry if the sauce seems a little strong after you add it. is
- Fresh ginger (optional). I like to grate fresh ginger so it melts into the sauce.Ginger adds a bright, spicy note that complements the other flavors perfectly.
How to make Teriyaki Chicken
The first step in making the best homemade teriyaki chicken is our preparation real teriyaki sauce. Then use some of the chicken to marinate and reduce the rest until it’s thick and shiny, which you later use as a glaze. Marinate your chicken for as long as possible (up to 12 hours).
Teriyaki chicken is often cooked on the grill, giving it a smoky char an upside-down grill that delivers intense heat from above.
To start, place an oven rack at the top of your oven about six inches from the burner. Place the marinated chicken on a baking sheet and place under the broiler. Cook the chicken until nicely browned and starting to set, then flip and continue to cook until cooked through.
This whole process takes about 15 minutes. I keep close by to make sure the chicken doesn’t burn or smoke too much. I also like to spoon or brush the chicken with extra sauce to make the sauce shiny.
If you don’t have a broiler, fear not. An outdoor grill or a stovetop grill pan are great alternatives, but you won’t get the same glazed look. That’s okay though, because the flavor will still be incredible.
Teriyaki chicken
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TOTALLY
This homemade teriyaki chicken recipe rivals my favorite restaurant teriyaki.The chicken is best when marinated for a while, but you can get away with a shorter marinating time if you’re short on time.
In our recipe, we’ve shared the ingredients to make one batch of teriyaki sauce, which is perfect for 1 ½ pounds of chicken.We highly recommend making a larger batch of the sauce (it’s that good). Teriyaki sauce recipewhich makes 2 cups and provides enough sauce for two batches of chicken.
4 servings
You will need it
1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1/2 cup (120 ml) light soy sauce
1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar
1/4 cup (60 mL) sake, see tips
2 tablespoons (30 ml) of rice vinegar
2 teaspoons finely grated ginger, see tips
Directions:
- Marinate the chicken
1:In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, sugar, sake, vinegar, and ginger. Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. Transfer 6 tablespoons of the sauce to a resealable plastic bag or container and add the chicken. Marinate the chicken in the refrigerator, turning once, for at least 30 minutes and up to 8 hours.
2:Add the remaining sauce to a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring it to a boil and cook until the sauce thickens and looks glossy, 3 to 5 minutes. If it’s too thin, add a little water to make a filling. Cool, then refrigerate to use sauce for cooked chicken.
- Cook the chicken
1:Place oven rack up about 6″ from broiler. Preheat broiler to high.
2:Line a baking sheet with foil, then arrange the chicken skin side down. Pour a little marinade over the chicken and pour the rest. Cook for 5 minutes. Stay by the oven to keep an eye on the chicken as it cooks.
3:Turn the chicken over, then spoon or brush the juices or pan sauce back over the chicken. Doing this a few times during cooking helps add a shiny, brown crust to the chicken for, use a spoon or brush to coat the chicken.
4:Cook for another 5 to 10 minutes or until the outside of the chicken is browned and caramelized and the inside is cooked through.
5:00Meanwhile, reheat the sauce, adding a little water if it seems too thick.(This is the sauce that hasn’t touched the raw chicken, not the marinating sauce).
6:00To serve, cut the chicken into strips, place on plates and drizzle with the warmed sauce. Leftover sauce can be stored in the refrigerator for several weeks (I like to drizzle it over rice and vegetables).
Advice from Adam and Joan
- Storage. Store chicken teriyaki in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
- Remainder of the sauce. The reduced teriyaki sauce (not the sauce that sits with the raw chicken) can be refrigerated for several weeks.I like to drizzle it over rice and vegetables.
- Boiling chicken. Depending on your oven, the cooking time may vary. Keep an eye on the chicken. If it looks or smells like it’s burning, continue cooking until cooked.
- Ginger: We use a Microplane rasp grater which helps the ginger to “melt” into the sauce.
- Substitute forWe love the subtle flavor of sake for teriyaki sauce, but if you can’t find it, there are some alternatives. Mirin is a sweeter version of sake. You can either change it for the sake and leave the amount of sugar back a little to accommodate the extra sweetness. Dry vermouth or dry sherry can also work as a substitute. As a last resort, you can leave it out altogether keep in mind that this will change the taste of the sauce dramatically (taste the sauce before using it, as you may find that without the sake/mirin, you need to adjust for additional vinegar or sugar).
- The nutrition facts below are estimates. You will likely have leftover sauce, so the actual nutrition facts may be less.
Nutrition per serving
Serving size
1/4 of the recipe (about 1 1/2 medium thighs)
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Calories
370
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Total fat
7.1 g
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Saturated fats
1.9 g
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Cholesterol
159.8 mg
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Sodium
1000.9 mg
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Total carbohydrates
30.9 g
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Dietary fiber
0 g
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Total sugars
26.6 g
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Proteins
36 g
