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:
Hey! Looks good! But what’s the “skinny” on the skin? The ingredients say skinless, but step 4 twice cautions against overcooking the skin. What to do?
“Skin” is the wrong word! I meant “surface”. Sorry about the confusion!
I made the teriyaki sauce last night, poured over the chicken and let marinate for 24 hours! It was fabulous! The sauce thickens quickly, and at one point it seems like it won’t thicken- but you really have to watch- because ALL of a sudden it is thick and done. I am glad to have a teriyaki sauce to make on my own. I did use boneless white chicken- five of them- as it was all that I had, and I cooked on my indoor grill, giving it nice sear marks and crispy parts. It sliced so tender and fed 6 1/2 of us! and a few people had triple servings! This will be a family must have meal, it was so well loved. Served with white rice w/ peanuts and hot chili sauce on the side 🙂 Thank you for another fabulous meal.
Lisa 🙂
Lisa, I’m so glad you enjoyed it!! It’s so much better than store bought, isn’t it? And you’re right, it does seem to thicken all of a sudden, I must add that tip into the recipe. Thank you for your useful tip and your wonderful feedback Lisa!! 🙂
Hi Nagi… I was just showing Mike, my husband, your blog and he pointed to this, so I guess that is CAVEMAN for ‘make-please’…GEEZ- 🙂 … , so I will happily be making Nagi’s version of teriyaki chicken, and my guess it will be a FAVE among all who live here, plus me AND a recipe that I will make over and over, like your mac n cheese, Syrian chicken, pork carnitas, chicken lettuce wraps, and on and on…and CRACK BREAD! We HEART Nagi in Portland.
I hope you do like it Lisa! It’s a very authentic Japanese version of teriyaki. The bottled ones you buy here in Australia always have the wrong flavour! Usually far too sweet 🙂
Hi Nagi, I only have drumsticks on hand today. Would you still recommend this recipe?
Hi Rebecca! To make teriyaki chicken using drumsticks, I recommend starting it on the stove and lightly brown the drumsticks all around, then finish them in the oven – 180C/350F for around 40 minutes (depending on the size of the drumsticks), turning once or twice. Because of the shape of them, they are difficult to cook completely on the stove. Also hard on the outdoor grill because of the sugar in the sauce, the marinade burns before the chicken cooks (if using drumsticks. It is GREAT to cook on the BBQ using thigh fillets!). And drumsticks definitely need to be marinated! Because of the shape, the sauce doesn’t “glaze” the drumsticks as well as thigh fillets (because they lie flat on the pan) so you really want the flavour to infuse into the drumstick. Hope that helps! 🙂
My marinade never became like that of a light syrup… what may have gone wrong? I let it reduce for over 6 minutes.
Hi Aaron! Per the recipe directions, you need to reduce it by about half and it should most definitely be like a light syrup by that point. (Just to clarify, I mean a light syrup as an a “thin” syrup, not a light coloured syrup! This marinade is definitely not light coloured!). The reduction time will differ depending on strength of the stove top and also how large a pot you are using (larger = faster because liquid evaporates faster). Just to confirm, did you substitute any of the ingredients with anything else??
Hi Just wondering if the recipe is written correctly…2 tbsp. everything? But then it also says cup??
Thanks
Hi Michelle – thanks so much for pointing out that typo for me! I’ve fixed it – it should be 2tbsp. Yes, it is 2 tbsp of everything – easiest marinade in the world to remember!! Hope you enjoy it 🙂
Hi Nagi, this recipe looks so good. I really like that it does not contain white sugar. A question about the ingredients…the amounts of mirin and water should be tbsp. only, not cups? Can’t wait to try this out!
Hi Marsha – thanks so much for pointing that out, yes it should be tbsp, I’ve fixed it. Easiest marinade ever to remember – the same quantities of everything!