Chicken Teriyaki (鳥照り焼き) is a lunchtime staple in Japan, filling bento boxes being carted off to offices and schools alike. Teri refers to the lacquered sheen that teriyaki sauce develops on the surface of the chicken, while yaki means grilled. Almost any cut of chicken can be used, but chicken teriyaki is most commonly prepared with the leg meat (thighs or drumsticks) which is filleted to ensure it cooks evenly. The skin is left on the chicken to keep the meat moist and it takes on a wonderful caramelized hue while getting slightly crispy as it grills.
Long before sushi became the ambassador of Japanese cuisine to the rest of the world, chicken teriyaki invaded the west, and for better or worse it came to represent the whole of the Japanese culinary repertoire. Perhaps it was the short list of approachable ingredients or the exoticism of food from the far east. Whatever the reason, it’s become so ingrained in American food culture that even Paula Deen has a teriyaki recipe.
So what makes for an authentic teriyaki sauce?
It’s simple… equal parts soy sauce, mirin, sake, and sugar.
It’s not that I have anything against those fancy sweet soy marinades with ginger, garlic, chili, green onions, sesame seeds, and or fruit puree in them, but sauces with these ingredients aren’t teriyaki sauce since they cloud the teri. Ginger, sesame seeds, green onions and chili are garnishes that are occasionally added after the chicken has been cooked.
Traditionally, the unseasoned chicken is grilled over coals then basted with teriyaki sauce. To tenderize and season the chicken all the way through, I brine it first in soy sauce and sugar, grill it, then shellac a few coats of teriyaki sauce on to finish. This seems to get the best balance of color, texture and flavour. I’ve written the directions for a broiler, but just reverse the cooking order (skin up, then down) if you are using a grill.
By using maltose or honey in the teriyaki sauce, the sauce gets thick without having to add any cornstarch. If you do use honey, make sure you use one without a strong flavour of its own.
Serve this chicken teriyaki whole or chopped up on a bowl of steaming hot rice with some extra sauce. The leftovers make great oyako donburi which will be a topic for another post.
Note: I also have an easy pan-fried chicken teriyaki recipe
Units
Ingredients
for brine
- ½ cup water
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons mirin
- 4 - 6 boneless skin-on chicken thighs skin -on filleted (boneless) thighs
for teriyaki sauce
- 2 tablespoons honey mild flavored
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons mirin
- 2 tablespoons sake
Instructions
- Combine the water, soy sauce, brown sugar and mirin in large ziploc bag and add the chicken thighs. Press out as much air as you can and seal the bag. Let this sit in the fridge for at least an hour.
- To make the teriyaki sauce, just add the honey, soy sauce, mirin and sake to a small sauce pan and boil over medium heat until the sauce is glossy and slightly viscous (it won't get quite as thick as the jarred types). It should take on a caramelized taste but be careful not to burn it.
- When you're ready to grill the chicken, turn the broiler on and move the oven rack up to the upper position. Put a wire rack on a baking sheet (I use the rack out of my toaster oven), and put the chicken thighs skin side down onto the rack (the idea is to keep the meat elevated off the pan).
- Grill until brown then flip so the skin side faces up. Baste the skin side with teriyaki sauce and continue to broil until the skin is golden brown with just a few charred spots. Give the chicken one final baste with the teriyaki sauce and serve.
Marc Matsumoto says
Mirin is a sweet wine made from rice and koji (a type of mold that converts the starches in rice into sugar), Good quality mirin will only contain these two ingredients and should not have salt, sugar or corn syrup added. Unfortunately it’s difficult to find real mirin in the US. If you have a choice of a couple brands, check the ingredients label and buy the one with the least additives. My guess is that “Sweet Cooking Rice Seasoning” and “Sweet Cooking Rice Wine” are both Mirin, but check the ingredients. As for anything with “vinegar” in the name, it’s rice wine that’s undergone the last stage of fermentation where the alcohol has turned into acetic acid (vinegar). It’s a totally different ingredient and should not be used in place of mirin. Hope that helps!
cyrille says
thanks for this recipe 🙂 i hope my boyfriend will like it because i will cook chiken teriyaki just a goodluck food for lunch for his interview tomorrow 😀
Luke says
This recipe sounds and looks delicious, but why so complex? For my grilled teri chicken, I rub both sides of the thighs w/ dried ginger pour on a little bit of sesame and safflower oil, alot of black pepper, soy sauce and agave nectar to taste and grill until I feel it’s done
Kumi says
You r absolutely fantastic.can I offer you a job in my house.?
Marc Matsumoto says
Thanks Kumi, sure:-)
Amy says
I just want to say thank you so much for the simple teriyaki sauce: 4 ingredients, same proportion, 1 dirty spoon. I always make extra to use when I make enoki wrapped with bacon in addition to the grilled chicken. A fantastic meal. Thanks you!
Marc Matsumoto says
You’re welcome!
Marc Matsumoto says
Sorry for the very late reply, looks like I missed your comment. Unfortunately this not mirin. The first ingredient is corn syrup. Real mirin is sweetened by the conversion of starches in rice to maltose via saccharization. So the only ingredients should be rice and koji (a type of mold). It will also have a deep amber to auburn hue and will probably be quite expensive as it requires some aging time.
Jill C says
Only had Mirin Seasoning and Cooking Sake on hand but still worked. Great flavours that both adults and kids enjoyed. Cannot imagine how nicer it would be when i use real sake and good quality Mirin. Thank you so much for this easy and delicious recipe. I’m currently cooking Chicken teriyaki again, for the second time this week. The kids and hubby couldn’t get enough of it. Also for those who wanted the sauce thick, it is possible to make it super thick, just cook on low heat for a long time (dont forget to mix with a whisk) It’ll thicken really well, mine got too thick that when it cooled, i had the consistency of thick caramel almost like soft fudge! So yes if you’re patient, you can get the sauce thick 😉 Many many thanks again.
Jill C says
Great you have a good recipe. You should get a blog yourself so we can try it. Otherwise your comment above has got no value to people who wants to follow *this* recipe.
Marc Matsumoto says
Glad to hear you enjoyed it! The main problem with cooking sake is that it tends to include salt, which can make the sauce too salty, but if you were happy with the results, thats the most important thing:-)