Saucy, succulent, and sure to satisfy, this Chicken Teriyaki recipe is sure to become a regular favorite! This chicken teriyaki rivals your favorite takeout or restaurant version and comes together so quickly, there’s simply no good reason not to make it at home – not to mention it’s much healthier (no preservatives or additives) and tastes even better!
Takeout always sounds great… until you sit back, puffy from sodium and drowsy from oil, to behold the abandoned containers and discarded plasticware that litter the kitchen table. This recipe is the perfect way to beat the post-takeout bloat. After searing, slicing, and saucing some chicken teriyaki, you’ll consider yourself an honorary hibachi chef. Teriyaki, the sweet Japanese sauce that characterizes the cooking technique, goes hand in hand with teppanyaki, the large iron griddle on which an array of Japanese dishes are customarily cooked. While your grill or broiler is probably a far cry from a teppanyaki, you can easily prepare chicken teriyaki-style at home. Besides being delicious, something I love about teriyaki sauce is its versatility: It acts as a marinade, a glaze, and a condiment throughout the steps in this recipe. Aside from the traditional ingredients in teriyaki sauce, we’re also adding some pineapple juice as an important ingredient for marinating process. Besides adding a pleasant sweet-tanginess, pineapple juice contains an enzyme called bromelain that will tenderize the chicken. A slurry of cornstarch is used to then thicken our marinade into a sauce to be drizzled over or served alongside the plated dish as a condiment. One ingredient in this recipe that might be unfamiliar is mirin. Mirin is a Japanese rice wine that is similar to sake but is sweeter and has a lower alcohol content. As such it is a popular cooking wine in Japanese cuisine and adds depth and umami to a variety of sauces, marinades, broths, and soups.
Make Chicken Teriyaki Work for You With These Swaps
To lower the sugar in this recipe, you can make several modifications: use a sugar-free brown sugar replacement (several brands offer this product) and/or substitute the honey with 1 tablespoon of agave nectar or liquid sweetener of your choice. If you don’t have mirin and don’t want to make a trip to the grocery store, sherry is an adequate substitute. But for the best results we highly recommend mirin.
How to Serve Chicken Teriyaki
I recommend serving chicken teriyaki sliced over a mound of steamed rice – the optimal blank canvas for this culinary delight. Add some steamed vegetables of your choice for a complete and balanced meal.
Chicken Teriyaki Recipe
This recipe follows four easy steps: And that’s all there’s to it! This teriyaki chicken also makes great leftovers – simply reheat in the microwave. Enjoy!
In the mood for more Asian food? Be sure to try these Asian favorites:
Mongolian Beef Mongolian Chicken Teriyaki Tofu Orange Chicken Beef and Broccoli Sesame Chicken Orange Beef Kung Pao Chicken General Tso’s Chicken Sweet and Sour Chicken Thai Peanut Chicken Char Siu
Originally published on The Daring Gourmet September 5, 2021 Read more about me…
