Teriyaki is a Japanese classic that has been made quite popular in the US and worldwide in the 1960’s when Kikkoman introduced the first bottled teriyaki sauce.
Can you imagine if you were unfamiliar with Japanese flavors and then tasted teriyaki sauce for the first time? Your mouth would have no idea what just happened, but it would definitely want more…
Teriyaki sauce is a sweet, salty, sticky sauce that comes together really quickly and will make any cut of meat taste like candy. Today, we are pairing it with chicken, but it is also quite fabulous with pork, beef, turkey or tofu… all of it.
If you have 20 minutes and a couple of basic pantry ingredients, you can have chicken teriyaki for dinner tonight.
Let’s get started…
Begin by thinly slicing around 2 1/2 pounds of boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs. This recipe will give you plenty of sauce, so if you want to add a little bit more chicken, be confident that you will have enough sauce to go around.
Place a large skillet over medium heat and cook the chicken until it is cooked through and you start to get some browning on the edges.
While the chicken is cooking, combine the teriyaki sauce ingredients.
You will need 1 1/4 cups of chicken stock (you could use water here instead, but chicken stock will give you better flavor and more protein), 3 tablespoons of cornstarch, 1/2 cup of soy sauce, 1/2 cup of brown sugar, 1/4 cup of honey, a teaspoon of ginger paste (or 1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger) and 2 teaspoons of minced garlic (or 1 teaspoon of garlic powder).
Once the chicken is cooked through, add all of the sauce and bring it up to a simmer.
At first, this will seem like way too much sauce, but it will quickly reduce and thicken due to the cornstarch.
As soon as the sauce is thick, glossy and sticky, transfer the skillet off of the heat because dinner is ready to go!
I love serving this chicken teriyaki over fluffy rice with some steamed vegetables. I usually do broccoli, but I saw these beautiful lima beans at the grocery store and we loved how they paired with everything else.
This is one of my favorite weeknight dinners, because it comes together so quickly and the leftovers reheat well and are something that I genuinely look forward to tomorrow at lunch.
If you are looking for a simple, flavorful meal that will squash those take-out cravings in less time and for less money then give this chicken teriyaki a try. You are going to love so much about it!
Chicken Teriyaki
Ingredients
- 2 - 2 1/2 pounds of boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs, thinly sliced
- salt and black pepper
- neutral oil
- 1 1/4 cups of chicken stock or water
- 3 tablespoons of cornstarch
- 1/2 cup of soy sauce
- 1/2 cup of brown sugar, packed
- 1/4 cup of honey
- 1 teaspoon of ginger paste (or 1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger)
- 2 teaspoons of garlic, minced (or 1 teaspoon of garlic powder)
- white sesame seeds
- spring onions, thinly sliced
Instructions
- Place a large skillet over medium heat and add a few tablespoons of a neutral oil
- Thinly slice about 2 pounds of boneless skinless chicken and season generously with salt and black pepper
- Cook the chicken for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it has cooked through and is beginning to brown a bit
- While the chicken is cooking, whisk 3 tablespoons of cornstarch, 1/2 cup of soy sauce, 1/2 cup of packed brown sugar, 1/4 cup of honey, 1 teaspoon of ginger paste (or 1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger) and 2 teaspoons of garlic, minced (or 1 teaspoon of garlic powder) into 1 1/4 cups of chicken stock or water until fully combined
- Once the chicken is cooked through, add the sauce and mix until evenly distributed
- Simmer the sauce, stirring occasionally, until thickened and sticky
- Serve garnished with sesame seeds and thinly sliced spring onions with fluffy rice and steamed veggies
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