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This easy Teriyaki Chicken recipe is a meal the whole family will love. The marinated chicken is grilled allowing the teriyaki sauce to caramelize on the chicken.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
There are all kinds of ways to make teriyaki chicken. I often make it in the crock pot. But today we have a more authentic, traditional version.
The word teriyaki comes from the Japanese root words teri, to shine, and yaki, to broil or grill. That’s the way traditional teriyaki looks, it’s shiny and has grill marks.
Ingredients Needed
- Chicken. I prefer to use boneless, skinless chicken thighs for this recipe. You can use boneless, skinless chicken breasts if you prefer.
- Soy Sauce. I prefer to use low sodium soy sauce. You can also use Tamari if you need a gluten free version.
- Mirin. This is a Japanese rice wine vinegar and gives the sauce a subtle sweet tang. I highly recommend using it. You can find it in the Asian aisle of the store along with the soy sauce. If you can’t find it, you can substitute dry sherry, sweet marsala wine, dry white wine or rice vinegar will also do, though you’ll need to counteract the sourness with about a 1/2 teaspoon of sugar for every tablespoon you use.
- Garlic. I use fresh minced garlic.
- Ginger. If you don’t have fresh you can substitute dried ginger but use half the amount.
- Sugar. Use granulated sugar or you an substitute honey.
How to Make Teriyaki Chicken
- Combine the soy sauce and sugar in a sauce pan and bring to a bowl, stir so that the sugar dissolves.
- Reserve 1/4 cup of marinade to pour over cooked chicken.
- Let the 3/4 cup of mixture cool and then add in the garlic, ginger and mirin and blend in the blender.
- Add chicken and marinade to a plastic bag. Place in the refrigerator over night.
- Grill chicken until cooked through.
- Slice the chicken, and place on a serving plate.
- Pour reserved sauce over the top.
- Serve with rice and garnish with green onions.
Tips
- Use any chicken that you prefer, but chicken thighs offer more flavor and are less likely to dry out while cooking.
- For best results, marinade the chicken in the teriyaki sauce overnight.
- I use a gas grill but you can also use a grill pan on the stove top if you prefer.
Pair this with
Frequently Asked Questions
What chicken should I use for this recipe?
I like to use boneless, skinless thighs for this recipe but you can also use boneless skinless chicken breasts if you prefer. Trim excess fat off of the thighs.
How do I store leftovers?
Store any leftover teriyaki chicken and rice in separate containers in the fridge for up to 4 days so that the sauce doesn’t make the rice soggy.
Can I add veggies to this?
My favorite veggies to add are bell peppers, broccoli, mushrooms. Saute them in some light oil until tender and then serve them with the chicken over the rice.
Check out more easy dinner ideas:
- Crock Pot Teriyaki Chicken
- Teriyaki Beef Marinade
- Slow Cooker Teriyaki Beef
- Roasted Teriyaki Brussels Sprouts
- Teriyaki Hamburgers
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Teriyaki Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 2 Tbsp mirin
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar or honey
- 1 tsp ginger minced
- 4 tsp garlic minced
Instructions
- In a sauce pan combine soy sauce and sugar. Bring to a boil and stir to dissolve sugar. Cool. Set aside 1/4 cup.
- Combine 3/4 cup of soy sauce mixture with mirin, garlic and ginger. Place in blender and blend until smooth.
- Pour mixture over chicken in a zipper bag. Marinate for at least one hour to overnight.
- Grill chicken. Slice and pour reserved sauce over top.
Tips & Notes:
Nutrition Facts:
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