Teriyaki is a traditional Japanese cooking technique in which meat is grilled then brushed with a sweet glaze made of soy sauce, sake and mirin. Below is a popular Western adaptation of teriyaki sauce. It excludes sake and substitutes mirin with more widely available ingredients, such as honey and brown sugar.
For my chicken teriyaki recipe below, I pan-fry the chicken so that I can use one pan for both chicken and sauce. No need to also clean a grill! Plus, pan-frying achieves a beautiful golden brown crust. Just be mindful of those oil splatters! Make sure chicken is completely dry before frying. Hot oil splatters hurt like a mother.
For the sauce, some Western recipes use corn starch as a thickening agent. Corn starch isn’t necessary as soy sauce and sugar will naturally thicken over high heat. The fried chicken gets added back into the sauce and everything gets tossed together for an even flavorful coating.
I made a large batch of this recipe in hopes to eat it for a few days and save me from cooking. No such luck. It was super tasty that my family gobbled everything down as soon as it came off the stove. Boo.
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Simple & Delicious Teriyaki Chicken Recipe
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
A simple and delicious Western-style teriyaki chicken, pan-fried to golden perfection and coated in a sweet, savory homemade teriyaki sauce. Perfect for an easy weeknight dinner served over steamed rice with veggies.
Ingredients
- 3 lbs boneless thicken thighs
- 4 tablespoons vegetable oil for frying
Teriyaki Sauce
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 teaspoon grated ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon grated garlic
- 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons honey
Instructions
- Prepare the Sauce: Mix sauce ingredients together in a small bowl until completely dissolved. Set aside.
- Pan-Fry the Chicken: In a large frying pan, add a small amount of vegetable oil and pan-fry the chicken until golden brown on both sides. You may have to fry in batches.
- Drain Excess Oil: Transfer fried chicken to a plate lined with paper towels to absorb the excess oil. Either pour out excess oil from the frying pan or use a paper towel to wipe clean.
- Thicken the Sauce: Add the sauce mixture into the pan and let it thicken slightly.
- Coat the Chicken: Add chicken and let the sauce continue to reduce down to the desired consistency.
- Serve: Serve with steamed white rice and steamed bok choy or yu choy for a complete meal.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Chicken, Main Dish
- Method: Fry
- Cuisine: Japanese, Fusion
