I am pretty sure Teriyaki Chicken is more popular outside Japan than in Japan itself! When made with Homemade Teriyaki Sauce which is super easy and fast to make, you’ll really notice the difference in the strength and depth of flavour because it infuses into the flesh better than bottled Teriyaki Sauce.
Teriyaki Chicken – homemade Teriyaki Sauce
As a kid, all I ever wanted in my lunchbox was a peanut butter sandwich and crisps so I could be like the other kids. Instead, my mother used to send me to school with bento boxes and sushi rolls.
As an adult, all I want is for my mother to pack me bento boxes. A step up from the peanut butter sandwiches I usually end up slapping together.
Back when I was a child, Japanese food was not that popular in Australia. In fact, other than Chinese food, ethnic food generally was not widely available. As an adult I think back to those days and just shake my head remembering how I would try to eat my bento box lunches as quickly and discreetly as possible while I looked on enviously at all the other kids with their sandwiches in brown paper bags.
A decade later, bento boxes and Japanese food generally became “all the rage”. One of the first Japanese dishes to catch on in the Western world was Teriyaki chicken. The sweet, salty, thick glossy sauces is a flavour that appeals to kids as well as adults, it’s easy to use and great for outdoor grilling as well as cooking on the stove top.
Over the years, bottled Teriyaki Sauce started to appear in grocery stores. The ironic thing is that they are not made in Japan – in fact, I have never seen a Teriyaki Sauce made in Japan, not ever. I read somewhere once that in Japan, bottled Teriyaki Sauce is manufactured overseas.
Having been brought up with home-made Teriyaki Sauce, I consider it a blasphemy to even think of using bottled Teriyaki sauce! And once you see how simple making your own Teriyaki sauce is, I bet you will never use store bought again.
Though not strictly a 15 minute meal because of the marinating time, the active preparation and cooking time is less than 15 minutes so I’ve included it in that category.
Store bought Teriyaki sauce simply doesn’t compare – and when you read the list of ingredients it’s frightening how many of them you probably don’t recognise!! For the minimal effort it takes to make your own Teriyaki Sauce, it’s truly worth it.
This is a variation of my mother’s recipe. Strictly speaking, Teriyaki Chicken as made the authentic way in Japan is not marinated. This recipe yields a stronger more intense flavour, akin to Western palettes.
If you would like a truly authentic Japanese Teriyaki Chicken recipe, you can find it here <- It is my mother’s recipe on her blog RecipeTin Japan.
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Teriyaki Chicken (With Homemade Teriyaki Sauce)
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp Teriyaki Sauce Marinade
- 4 chicken thigh fillets , skinless and boneless (about 5oz/150g each)
- 1 tbsp oil
Teriyaki Sauce Marinade
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp mirin
- 2 tbsp Japanese cooking wine (sake)
- 2 tbsp water
Instructions
Teriyaki Sauce Marinade ("Marinade")
- Combine the 4 ingredients in a small saucepan over high heat.
- Bring to boil, then turn heat down and simmer until it reduces by half - it should only take 5 minutes or so. The consistency should be like a light syrup. Keep your eye on it - it will start to thicken suddenly!
- Bring to room temperature before using.
Chicken
- Combine the Marinade with the chicken and marinate for at least 20 minutes, preferably overnight.
- Remove chicken from Marinade but do not discard the Marinade liquid.
- Heat oil in non stick pan over medium to medium-high heat. You don't want it too hot because otherwise the sugar in the Marinade will burn before the inside is cooked.
- Place the chicken in the pan and cook the first side for around 3 minutes, checking to ensure the skin isn't cooking too quickly. If it is, remove pan from heat and turn the heat down, and add about 2 to 4 tbsp of water to the pan then return to the stovetop. The water slows down the searing process on the skin while still allowing the chicken to cook on the inside.
- Turn chicken over and cook the other side. Just before the chicken is finished cooking, add 2 tbsp of water to the pan and and swirl around and mix with the marinade that has come off the chicken. This will make a dark glossy "sauce". Move the chicken around in the pan to coat with this sauce.
- The Marinade is a strong flavour so you shouldn't need any extra sauce. But if you do want more, add equal parts of Teriyaki Sauce and water to the pan and allow to come to a simmer and let it cook until the desired consistency.
- Serve with rice.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
I made this last night. Easy one. Marinated the chicken before work.
All I did after work was cook the chicken. Steam some broccoli, chopped some radishes, carrots, lettuce, cucumber, capsicum and pulled some edamame out of the freezer. Arranged before on a platter. Put Kewpie next to the Vegies. Cooked rice in a rice cooker. Great one to do after work. Healthy and the kids loved it!!
I made this chicken for my daughter’s birthday dinner (12 adults and 6 small children), everyone loved it and requested that I make it again! Thanks for the delicious recipe!
I was a little time poor & didn’t marinate my chicken. I plan fried chicken thighs and when ready to serve, I poured the teriyaki sauce over the cooked chicken & garnished with chopped spring onion. Served with rice & Chang’s crunchy Asian Salad. My fussy family loved it ❤️ thanks Nagi
I was a little time poor & didn’t marinate my chicken. I plan fried chicken thighs and when ready to serve poured the teriyaki sauce over the cooked chicken & garnished with chopped spring onion. Served with rice & Chang’s crunchy Asia Salad. My fussy family loved it ❤️ thanks Nagi
Tried this last night and it was super good! I added 1 tsp of sugar and also had stir-fry veggies on the side. It turned out reaaaallly well. 🙂 Thanks for the simple yet amazing recipe, Nagi!
Hola Nagi l hope you are doing well just l let you know that’s you’re doing very excellent comida muchas felicidades l love you chef Nagi 🙏🙏🙏🙏♥️
Love this recipe! All of yours actually!
Any chance this recipe could be used with beef in the slow cooker? Would you add more water etc?
Hi Nagi, when I compare your mother’s teriyaki she uses sugar where you use water…. can you let me know why you choose water and not sugar? Not judging (I prefer sugar free cooking), just interested why your two versions are different in this aspect.
This recipe is the another homerun! My picky eater son has loved EVERY recipe I have tried from your collection! Keep them coming Nagi!!
Hi,
Recipe is missing the (presumed) honey! I added 2 tablespoons and it worked out great 🙂
Did you by chance slick the chicken thighs in half?
It took way longer to cook on each side than three minutes. Used standard lillydale chicken thighs.
Delicious and easy sauce.
Absolutely loved this recipe. The chicken was so tasty and succulent. I paired it with rice and broccolini. Delicious meal I will be cooking again.
I enjoyed this – There is no sugar in the recipe – so I jumped over to recipe Japan eats as well
A generic question….do you define a tbs as 15 or 20 ml? not important (usually) but when you say 3 tbs the + / – difference is relevant, ie a tbs (45 or 60ml)! In Aus i think it’s fair to say that a tbs is 20 ml (presumably because we have bigger tables than most).
Amazing stuff Nagi! Can you point me in the right direction in regards to the leftover marinade sauce?
Any dishes I can use it with this week? 🙂
Thinking this over… why did we add water to liquids and then try to boil off the water to reduce it? Why not start with the other liquids only where it would reduce more quickly?
Well… just lost 30mins trying to get the marinade to thicken. Reduced from about 1cm down to 2mm in my saucepan and it has still not thickened.
Maybe needs sugar in the ingredients?
Can you clarify if the chicken fillets are skinless or skin on please? Ingredients say skinless but instruction mention skin “checking to ensure the skin isn’t cooking too quickly.”
They are skinless – apologies – that was a typo from an earlier version of the recipe! N x
Made this & it tastes AMAZING.
Boyfriend thinks it tastes better than some restaurants we’ve been to. So simple to make too! So so yummy! One of my top fav Nagi recipes 😀