Chicken teriyaki
照り焼きチキン: pan-glazed chicken thighs in a sticky sweet soy sauce
Teri means shine and yaki means grilled, which sums up the glossy, lacquered finish of this weeknight favourite. Japanese restaurants often save the teriyaki treatment for yellowtail in winter, but at home it is usually chicken thighs, cooked in one frying pan and sliced over rice or packed into a lunchbox. The sauce is just soy sauce, mirin, sake and sugar, bubbled down in the pan until it clings. Serve it with shredded cabbage and a bowl of miso soup. Chef's tip: wipe the fat out of the pan with kitchen paper before the sauce goes in, so the glaze thickens and shines instead of sitting in a greasy pool.
- Total time
- 25 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 2
Ingredients
For the chicken
For the teriyaki sauce
To serve
Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Pat 1 ⅛ lb boneless chicken thighs, skin on dry. Prick the skin all over with a fork and make a few shallow cuts in the thickest parts of the meat so it cooks evenly. Sprinkle with 1 pinch salt and dust lightly with 1 tsp potato starch or cornflour.
Step 2: Mix 2 tbsp soy sauce, 2 tbsp mirin, 2 tbsp sake and 1 tbsp sugar in a cup. Mirin and sake contain alcohol; most of it bubbles off as the sauce reduces, but for an alcohol-free version, replace them with 3 tbsp water and 2 tsp extra sugar.
Step 3: Heat 1 tsp vegetable oil in a frying pan over a medium heat and lay the chicken in skin side down. Press it flat with a spatula or a smaller pan lid and cook for 7–8 minutes, until the skin is deep golden and crisp and plenty of fat has melted out.
8 minStep 4: Turn the chicken over, cover and cook for 4–5 minutes over a medium-low heat, until the thickest part reaches 165°F/165 °F and the juices run clear.
5 minStep 5: Tip the pan and wipe out the fat with a wad of kitchen paper held in tongs. Common mistake: adding the sauce earlier, while the chicken is still raw inside. The sugar burns and turns bitter long before the meat is cooked.
Step 6: Pour in the sauce and turn the heat to medium-high. Let it bubble for 2–3 minutes, spooning it over the chicken and turning the pieces, until the sauce is thick, syrupy and coats them in a shiny glaze.
3 minStep 7: Rest the chicken on a board for 2 minutes, then slice it 1.5 cm thick. Serve over 10 ½ oz hot cooked Japanese short-grain rice with 2 ⅞ oz white cabbage alongside, spoon over any glaze left in the pan and sprinkle with 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds.
2 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 640 kcal
- Protein
- 42 g
- Carbs
- 66 g
- Fat
- 20 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does chicken teriyaki take?
- About 25 minutes in total: 5 minutes to prepare and 20 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 2 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- What can I use instead of boneless chicken thighs, skin on?
- Chicken breast, same weight (cook a few minutes less so it stays juicy).
- What can I use instead of potato starch or cornflour?
- Arrowroot or potato starch, same amount.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Okonomiyaki
Okonomiyaki (お好み焼き, 'grilled as you like it') is the pride of Osaka, where it's cooked on hot iron griddles in lively restaurants. Finely shredded cabbage is folded into a light batter with egg and spring onion, then fried into a thick, soft pancake with a crisp outside. It's painted with a fruity brown sauce and zigzagged with mayonnaise. Bonito flakes are usual on top; this vegetarian version uses seaweed flakes and pickled ginger instead. Chef's tip: don't press the pancake down with your spatula while it cooks. Osaka cooks leave it alone so the cabbage steams inside and stays light and fluffy; pressing squeezes out the air.
Miso soup
Miso soup (味噌汁) is drunk every day in homes all over Japan, at breakfast as well as dinner, beside a bowl of rice. The base is dashi; this vegan version uses kombu and dried shiitake instead of bonito, which gives it a deep, rounded flavour. Silken tofu and wakame seaweed are the classic fillings. It takes ten minutes; just remember not to boil the miso. Chef's tip: add the miso at the very end and never let it boil. Boiling kills the miso's fresh, fermented aroma; Japanese cooks say the soup should only 'smile', with the surface barely trembling.
Agedashi tofu
Agedashi tofu (揚げ出し豆腐) is a classic izakaya dish eaten all over Japan: cubes of soft tofu dusted in potato starch, fried until they form a thin, crisp shell, then bathed in a hot, savoury broth. The coating turns silky as it soaks up the sauce while the tofu inside stays creamy. Usually topped with bonito flakes; here it's grated daikon, ginger and spring onion with a kombu-shiitake broth instead. Chef's tip: coat the tofu in starch right before it goes into the oil, not ahead of time; if it sits, the starch turns damp and the coating fries up gummy instead of crisp.