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 deboned 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, 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 allure 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 flavor. 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 flavor of its own. By the way, if you prefer making this in a pan, I have a stovetop teriyaki chicken recipe you can check out for the details.
Serve this chicken teriyaki whole, or chopped up on a bowl of steaming hot rice with some extra sauce.
📖 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
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 zipper 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, 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.
Soha Ellaithy says
Hi Marc,
We don't drink or use alcohol so i was wondering if there are any substitutes to mirin and sake that I can use without compromising the recipe too much
Marc Matsumoto says
It's up to you, but in Japan, we use short grain rice often labelled "sushi rice" in the US.
andy says
What kind of rice should I use
Marc Matsumoto says
No worries. You should be able to find Japanese soy sauce at almost any grocery store in the US. Japanese soy sauce is different from Chinese dark soy sauce in that it has a much lighter color and flavor. But within Japanese soy sauce, there are light and dark variations. For this recipe you just want regular Japanese soy sauce. The most common brand is Kikkoman.
Susique says
I'm new to Asian cooking and have what is probably a stupid question. Is there a difference between "Japanese soy sauce" and "dark soy sauce"? Also, should I buy these at an Asian market or can I find good ones at a "regular" grocery.
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Melanie Sawyer says
This was a really nice tasting Teriyaki recipe. Made the recipe exactly as stated. Thanks for a good recipe.
Marc Matsumoto says
Sorry to hear you didn't enjoy it. Perhaps if you tell me a bit more about
what you thought went wrong, I can help you change it so it better suites
your tastes.
Ariella says
it was gross.
Ariella says
hi
annoymous says
It would be horrible.
Marc Matsumoto says
This sauce will not get super thick, it's not supposed to be as thick
as most bottled teriyaki sauces. The idea is to thicken it just enough
to make it stick to the meat. If you want it thick, you can add
cornstarch to the mixture and it will thicken up.
Sixseto says
Hi!
Thanks so much for this fabulous recipe! Our family loves the real thing--authenticity is our priority. And your recipe looks great!
Can you let us know how long to one should "boil" the sauce. I like it as thick as you can get it but am afraid of burning it. Approximate how many minutes after the liquids starts to softly boil? THANKS so much! Can't wait to try it!
Medyogwapo says
i love the japanese food
Allyson Dangelo says
Totally authentic! Awesome!
Reincloudt says
I dare say this is the best chicken teriyaki recipe on the net!
Marc Matsumoto says
Sure, it's not quite the same, but many home cooks in Japan will pan
fry it and then baste it with the glaze. I don't have a grill, so I
just broil it.
On Wednesday, April 13, 2011, Disqus
purpleaddict says
This might sound stupid but can this be fried rather than grilled?
Skivvey says
I have a recipe for what I "thought" was an authentic teriyaki sauce, but I just realized after reading this article that I was putting in WAY too many ingredients. I usually make a half gallon of my old sauce at a time and use half and give half to friends and family who beg for it. However, next time I make teriyaki sauce I am making this recipe. I have a feeling it will not take half the time and will probably taste 10X's better!
Thanks so much for the culinary education! 😉
dining table says
It has been a long time since I made some teriyaki! Thanks for the reminder. Your teriyaki really look so delicious.
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi John, it's possible your grill is too hot. If you are using charcoal,
just push them over to one side to create a hot side and a cool side. If
you're using gas, try turning down the temp. Also, the glaze goes on at the
very end, if you put it on any earlier it will burn.
John says
I love the recipe, but I'm running into a bit of a problem. Marinating the chicken and brushing a coat of teriyaki sauce while the chicken is on the grill is causing the sugar to burn and create black grill marks while the inside of the chicken is not cooked. I think the sugar is burning long before the chicken is cooked through.
Any suggestions?
Marilia says
My daughter likes Teriyaki, so she always orders it whenever visiting a Japanese restaurant. Your recipe is simple but authentic! Sake is one I have missed. OK! I will try your secret recipe next time.
spikethebike says
It turned out really well! Paired with some jasmine rice cooked with some rice wine vinegar and sesame oil in the cooking water.
spikethebike says
Oh ya, and a little sweet chili sauce, too!
Marc Matsumoto says
That sounds like a great idea! Cooking is all about experimenting with
flavours that work for you:-)
spikethebike says
How do you suppose some kecap manis would work in this dish? I marinated a whole chicken overnight that will be going in the barby soon, and so far my glaze has some honey, kecap manis, chinese cooking wine(sangchew?), dry sherry that has been used to store ginger root, and sake.
Claire says
This looks fantastic. But is this expensive?', '0', '1', 'Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 7.0; Windows NT 6.0; MRSPUTNIK
Claire says
This looks fantastic. But is this expensive?
Valerie says
Love the idea of using the leftovers for oyako donburi. That makes two of my all-time favorite dishes in one shot!
Marc Matsumoto says
There really isn't a good non-alcoholic replacement for sake andmirin. Mirin is a sweet rice wine, so you can try using a mixture of sugar andwater (1 part sugar to 2 parts water). As for the sake, you could replace itwith water. You could also try using some kind of relatively neutral fruitjuice (like apple juice or grape juice) in place of the mirin. Hope thathelps!
Marc Matsumoto says
There really isn't a good non-alcoholic replacement for sake andmirin. Mirin is a sweet rice wine, so you can try using a mixture of sugar andwater (1 part sugar to 2 parts water). As for the sake, you could replace itwith water. You could also try using some kind of relatively neutral fruitjuice (like apple juice or grape juice) in place of the mirin. Hope thathelps!
Aasma_khani says
Can I please get some replacement for mirin and sake because I could not find them in my local market in Pakistan : )
Marc Matsumoto says
You could use a bowl too, but you'll need to stir the chicken a coupletimes while it's marinating to ensure it marinates evenly. By pushingthe air out of the bag, you surround every piece of meat with themarinade (even if there's only a small amount). You could also justincrease the amount of marinade so all the chicken is completelysubmerged in the bowl.
Marc Matsumoto says
You could use a bowl too, but you'll need to stir the chicken a coupletimes while it's marinating to ensure it marinates evenly. By pushingthe air out of the bag, you surround every piece of meat with themarinade (even if there's only a small amount). You could also justincrease the amount of marinade so all the chicken is completelysubmerged in the bowl.
Michelle says
why do you put the chicken in an airtight bag (v. just a bowl)? just wondering because I don't like using ziplock bags . . .
Michelle says
why do you put the chicken in an airtight bag (v. just a bowl)? just wondering because I don't like using ziplock bags . . .
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mylene mendoza says
im not so into this teriyaki chicken recipe,in fact i didnt attempt to try it because i thought thats its just like adobo,but......just 2 days ago,when my daughter had a graduation party,and they served this meal-i said omg this is good,really good.and im planning to include this recepi this week.
zernike says
I am so grateful to find a recipe for thick teriyaki sauce without cornstarch! Tastes fantastic too!
Marc Matsumoto says
Well, technically there is no alcohol in this since it is cooked (sothe alcohol evaporates), but if you're asking if you can make it withother ingredients, you can just replace the mirin with 2 parts waterand 1 part sugar.
Marc Matsumoto says
Well, technically there is no alcohol in this since it is cooked (sothe alcohol evaporates), but if you're asking if you can make it withother ingredients, you can just replace the mirin with 2 parts waterand 1 part sugar.
mahia says
Is there a way of making teriyaki sauce without any alcohol??
CookInTraining says
Marc, Thanks for your incredible website. My husband is half-Japanese and I've always struggled to match the cooking skills of his mother (who was born in Osaka)! You've simplified in a way that a girl who was raised on fast-food can even understand. My biggest challenge still is my allergy to seafood. I'll just have to work around it! Thanks again!
CookInTraining says
Marc, Thanks for your incredible website. My husband is half-Japanese and I've always struggled to match the cooking skills of his mother (who was born in Osaka)! You've simplified in a way that a girl who was raised on fast-food can even understand. My biggest challenge still is my allergy to seafood. I'll just have to work around it! Thanks again!
Ryuuku says
You could use dry sherry instead of sake, or just increase the Mirin and decrease the sugar (mirin is a type of sake which is sweeter than normal sake). Or you could just leave it out. I've seen teriyake recipes that just use equal parts soy sauce and mirin. I guess you'll have to experiment to find a version you like.
Ryuuku says
You could use dry sherry instead of sake, or just increase the Mirin and decrease the sugar (mirin is a type of sake which is sweeter than normal sake). Or you could just leave it out. I've seen teriyake recipes that just use equal parts soy sauce and mirin. I guess you'll have to experiment to find a version you like.
John says
Hi Marc,
Your recipe is so simple. i like it. 🙂 Good job!
Just a question though, what could be a good replacement for the sake in making the teriyaki sauce?
thanks!
John says
Hi Marc,
Your recipe is so simple. i like it. 🙂 Good job!
Just a question though, what could be a good replacement for the sake in making the teriyaki sauce?
thanks!