This Chicken Teriyaki recipe is probably one of the easiest recipes I ever made. Only a few ingredients are needed, but it still has tons of flavor. Let’s go!
Teriyaki in Japanese means glossy (teri) and grilled (yaki), so in essence this is what the dish should be. Meat is charred to perfection and the sauce coats and glistens it all over.
My uncle who’s a Japanese chef taught me how to make authentic teriyaki. It’s not the usual recipe you know that has onion, ginger, honey, and sesame oil. Instead, he only uses soy sauce, sugar, mirin, and/or sake and the combination is a balance of sweet, savory, and a bit of tang.
I know not everyone has mirin or sake, so in this recipe, I modified it and I’ll share a replacement that will keep the recipe simple but still just as good!
Ingredients for Chicken Teriyaki
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- Boneless Chicken Thigh – I prefer to use this because it’s easy to cook and it remains juicy. Alternatively, you can use the breast part, but you need to be mindful that it easily dries out if you cook it for too long.
- Garlic, Onion, and Peppers – For additional aroma and to add vegetables to the dish. You can also add other veggies you prefer like scallions, carrots, broccoli, etc.
Teriyaki Sauce
- Soy Sauce – For the salty, umami flavor. Use regular soy sauce for this recipe.
- Sugar – For the sweet component that will balance the soy sauce and additionally will help thicken the sauce as it cooks.
- Chicken Stock – Feel free to use your preferred chicken stock, but you can also make one from scratch by boiling the chicken we will use in this recipe. The stock will add depth and savor to the sauce.
- Potato Starch and Water – To thicken the sauce
This will raise lots of eyebrows, but this teriyaki sauce recipe has been tried and tested by many of my followers and they love it!
You don’t need a lot to make something delicious, it’s only a matter of the correct ratio. In this case, the ratio of soy sauce, sugar, and stock can already result in a sweet and savory sauce perfect for any grilled meat. Additionally, with this sauce, there’s no need to marinate, it will still be tasty through and through!
How to Make Chicken Teriyaki?
Make a Simple Chicken Stock
Prepare the chicken by removing the fat and chopping it into bite-sized pieces.
Boil two cups of water in a pot, then add the chicken. Let it boil for five minutes to create a broke boyz stock. Do not overboil the chicken because it may dry out—strain to separate the chicken and stock.
Make the Teriyaki Sauce
Combine soy sauce, sugar, and chicken stock, then bring it to a boil. Mix together potato starch and water, then gradually add to the teriyaki sauce while mixing until the desired thickness is reached. Set this aside.
The sauce can be doubled up and kept in a clean jar to be used anytime you feel like having teriyaki!
Make Chicken Teriyaki
In a pan, place it on high heat, add oil, and saute the garlic and chicken. Let it pan-fry until there’s a bit of browning for additional flavor. Once browned, add onions and peppers and continue sauteing.
TIP: If you want your chicken to be a bit crispy, you can sprinkle potato starch before pan-frying the chicken.
Pour the sauce gradually until everything is coated. Taste and adjust with more sauce as needed.
How to Serve Chicken Teriyaki?
Pair chicken teriyaki with rice for an easy, cheap, and filling lunch or dinner. Alternatively, you can also serve this with any noodles and drizzle all that excess sauce. This is also great with other vegetable dishes like beansprout banchan or chive kimchi.
This recipe is also perfect for meal prep. Serve it with some multigrain rice for a healthier kick, then store it in a clean container inside the fridge, and it can last for a whole week! Enjoy!
Other easy and delicious lunch or dinner ideas you may like:
- Cantonese Steamed Fish
- Beef Bulgogi
- Spicy Stir Fried Pork
- Leftover Steak Fried Rice
- Korean Sausage Stir Fry
Make sure to leave a rating, a comment, or tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Tiktok when you chop them up! Yeobosayo!
Easy Chicken Teriyaki Recipe
Ingredients
- 450 grams Boneless Chicken Thigh Cut into bite-size pieces
- 2 tbsp Vegetable or Canola Oil For sauteing
- 1/2 tbsp Garlic
- Onion Diced
- Red & Green Peppers Diamond Cut
Teriyaki Sauce
- 1 cup Chicken Stock
- 1/4 cup Soy Sauce
- 1/3 cup Sugar
- 1/2 tbsp Potato Starch
- 1 tbsp Water
Instructions
- Cut the fat out from the chicken thighs and chop it to bite size pieces.
- Boil 2 cups of water and place the chicken thighs in it. Let the chicken boil for 5 minutes.
- Drain the chicken and save the chicken broth, this is going to be your chicken stock.
- Combine chicken stock, soy sauce, and sugar and bring it to a boil. This is the teriyaki sauce base.
- Combine potato starch and 1 tbsp of water to create a starch slurry and add to the teriyaki base. Bring the sauce to a boil until it becomes thick. Turn off the heat.
- In a separate pan, saute the chicken with garlic and pan-fry it until the chicken is nicely light brown.
- Add the vegetables and saute them again until nicely lightly brown.
- Pour in the sauce until everything is covered.
- Taste and adjust with more sauce as needed.
- Plate and serve with freshly cooked rice. Enjoy!
I love your videos Chris! I bought your cookbook and I’m slowing trying each one. 😉 Great job! Thank you!
Hope you enjoy each one!!! Keep cooking fam~~
Can you use cornstarch instead of potato starch?!
Yes~
Just cookee this tonight and my 17 month old asked for another bowl! Lol it was delcious!
Yeobosayo!!! So glad your baby liked it!!!
Made this last night, was delicious. Tempted to make it again tonight!
Yeobosayo!!!
Man, so simple, so delicious!!
Great recipe that is quick and fantastic.
Made recipe with a batch of thighs and a batch of breast meat as some do not like thigh meat.
I definitely preferred the thighs but the breast worked too.
So glad you liked it and it worked both ways for you!! Ooooh! Yeobosayo!!