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Hero shot of Teriyaki chicken on a white plate with shredded vegetables.
Teriyaki Chicken
Prep Time
5 mins
Cook Time
10 mins
Total Time
15 mins
 

Teriyaki Chicken is one of the most popular Japanese dishes. The Teriyaki Sauce is so easy to make, it’s just a mixture of soy sauce, sake, mirinand sugar. You do not marinate the chicken in the sauce to make Teriyaki Chicken. Just sauté the chicken and cook it in the sauce, which takes only 15 minutes in total! See the video below the recipe to believe it.

Recipe Type: Main
Cuisine: Japanese
Keyword: chicken teriyaki, teriyaki chicken, teriyaki sauce
Serves: 2
Calories: 442 kcal
Author: Yumiko
Ingredients (tbsp=15ml, cup=250ml)
  • 350g/12oz thigh fillets skin on , bone removed (note 1)
Teriyaki Sauce (note 2)
  • tbsp soy sauce (see post for sample photo)
  • tbsp sake (see post for sample photo)
  • tbsp mirin (see post for sample photo)
  • 2 tsp sugar
To Serve (note 3)
  • 2 cups shredded cabbage
  • ½ cup shredded carrot
  • ¼ cup thinly sliced capsicum
  • a sprig of parsley or mint (optional)
Instructions
  1. Combine the Teriyaki Sauce ingredients in a small bowl or cup and mix well until the sugar dissolves (note 4).

  2. If the thickness of the chicken is uneven place a fillet on a cutting board, skin side down, make a cut horizontally and outward where the meat is thick and butterfly it (see the Video).

    Poke the skin with the tip of the knife in several places so that the sauce will get through to the flesh better.

  3. Heat a non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Place the chicken in the pan, skin side down. Cook for 3-4 minutes until the skin gets cooked to a golden brown. Turn the chicken over and cook for about 3 minutes (Note 5). If a lot of oil comes out of the chicken fat and skin, absorb excess oil with a paper towel (Note 6).

  4. When the chicken is nearly cooked, add the sauce, shake the pan to even out the sauce, and put the lid on. Cook for 30 seconds.

  5. Remove the lid and cook until the sauce thickens and reduces to about 1-1.5 tablespoons (Note 7). Turn the chicken over and coat the skin side with the sauce.

  6. Remove the pan from the heat and place the chicken on the cutting board, skin side up. Cover with foil for few minutes to let it cook further. Slice the chicken into 1.5-2cm/⅝-¾” thick pieces.

  7. Place mixed cabbage, carrot and capsicum salad on a plate and then arrange the sliced chicken. Pour the sauce over the chicken and add a sprig of parsley/mint if using. Serve immediately.

Recipe Notes

1. I could not find chicken thigh with only skin on. So, I bought chicken thighs with skin and bone on and removed the bones.

You can use skin off and even chicken breast if you prefer. The texture of the chicken will be different, particularly with chicken breast, but the flavour should be the same.

2. You can make a larger quantity of Teriyaki Sauce to use for another dish. Teriyaki Sauce keeps about a month in the fridge.

3. You can pick any vegetables to go with the Teriyaki Chicken but I would recoomend either fresh salad or boiled vegetables.

4. You can warm up the sauce on the stove or in the microwave to dissolve the sugar faster if you want.

5. Depending on the thickness of the thigh fillets, time will vary.

6. It is important to remove the excess oil as much as possible. Too much oil from the fat prevents the teriyaki sauce from sticking to the meat. This is the reason for using a non-stick frying pan with no oil. If using a normal frying pan, I’d suggest that you oil the pan with a small amount of oil when heating it up.

7. You need to retain enough sauce to pour over the chicken on the plate. After turning off the heat, the sauce continues to cook with the pan’s residual heat and concentrate further. So, turn off the heat slightly earlier. You can always concentrate further if required.

8. If you are making Teriyaki Chicken don (Teriyaki Chicken on rice in a bowl), increase the quantity of Teriyaki Sauce by 50% and pour it over the cooked chicken on rice. The rice will absorb extra sauce which is really tasty.

9 Nutrition per serving including salad.

serving: 329g calories: 442kcal fat: 26g (40%) saturated fat: 7g (35%) trans fat: 0.1g polyunsaturated fat: 505g monounsaturated fat: 11g cholesterol: 166mg (55%) sodium: 301mg (13%) potassium: 634mg (18%) carbohydrates: 19g (6%) dietary fibre: 3.1g (12%) sugar: 14g protein: 31g vitamin a: 109% vitamin c: 127% calcium: 4.6% iron: 9.5%

Originally published in August 2017. Rewritten in June 2019, new photos, Meal Ideas added.