This chicken teriyaki is one of those dishes that reminds you of the simple pleasures in life. Just imagine this: a juicy, grilled chicken thigh over a bed of shredded cabbage, steamed rice, and vegetables. Oh my! Teriyaki is an actual cooking method and not a sauce like we have all come to believe on the western side of the world. This cooking method consists of pan frying or grilling meat or fish with a sweet, yet savory sauce. Nowadays, you can find hundreds of bottled sauces to prepare chicken teriyaki, but nothing compares to making it from scratch. This recipe here is one of the easiest you will find for the most amazing chicken teriyaki, and I promise you this: you’ll never buy another teriyaki sauce after trying it! 😋
🥣 Cooking Time: 40-45mins
🍲 Servings: 6
Ingredients
1½ lbs of boneless, skinless chicken thighs (approx. 6 thighs) 3 tablespoons of brown sugar 5 tablespoons of soy sauce 1 tablespoon of toasted sesame oil 2 whole garlic cloves 1 small bunch of scallions ½ teaspoon of sesame seeds 2 teaspoons of potato/corn starch (optional) ½ tablespoon of canola oil
For the cucumber-lime agua fresca (serves 10-12)✨Bonus✨🤗 1 cup of lime juice 4 large cucumbers, peeled and cleaned 8 cups of water
1 cup of sugar
Directions
1. Start by mincing the garlic cloves and placing them into a small bowl or container.
2. Then rinse the scallions, removing any older outer leaves, and roots.
3. Once cleaned, cut lengthwise into halves, then mince and combine with garlic.
4. Combine the rest of the ingredients along with the garlic and scallions, except the chicken and potato starch. This will be your teriyaki marinade.
5. In a large container or Ziploc bag, place the chicken thighs and add the teriyaki marinade.
6. Make sure the chicken is coated in the sauce, and allow to marinade for at least 30 minutes before cooking.
7. When ready to cook, preheat a large cast iron pan or regular nonstick pan over medium heat.
8. Drizzle ½ tablespoon of canola oil over the pan, and reduce the heat to medium low to grill the chicken thighs. The oil here will prevent the chicken from sticking to the pan when being grilled.
9. Grill the chicken for about 3-4 minutes on each side, or until the chicken is fully cooked. Be mindful the cooking time of your chicken will depend on the size and thickness of each piece.
10. Once the chicken is ready, allow the meat to rest at least 5 minutes before cutting.
11. While the chicken rests, you have the option to cook and thicken up the remaining marinade for a glaze. Otherwise, you can skip the remaining steps and serve your chicken with steamed rice, or any desired side dish.
12. To prepare the glaze, pour the remaining marinade into a small sauce pan, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. You want to make sure to cook the leftover marinade first to kill any bacteria from the raw chicken. Do not skip this step if you want to use remaining marinade for a glaze.
13. Once the marinade is boiling, mix potato starch with approx. ¼ cup of water and then add to the pan.
14. Stir until everything begins to thicken, and acquires a smooth, caramel consistency.
15. Once ready, you may drizzle your chicken with the glaze, or any rice or veggies of your choice. ¡Buen provecho!
For the agua fresca ✨Bonus✨🤗
1. With the help of a blender, blend the cucumbers with 2 cups of water.
2. Strain the blended cucumbers to keep the juice, and discard the seeds and pulp.
3. Have a large pitcher ready with ice, and mix the remaining water, lime juice, and cucumber juice (here I use a 1 gallon pitcher).
4. Add 1 cup of sugar and mix again.
5. Place the pitcher in the fridge, and chill the agua fresca for 30-60 minutes before serving.
Notes
To prepare a teriyaki glaze with the leftover marinade, you always want to make sure to cook the leftover marinade first to kill any bacteria from the raw chicken. This is why it is very important that you do not skip this step if you want to use remaining marinade for a glaze. If you don’t feel safe using leftover marinade, you can always make a fresh batch of marinade, and reduce it to prepare a glaze without using any leftovers that have been in contact with raw chicken.
To thicken up your marinade and turn it into a rich glaze, you can always use either potato or corn starch; both are perfectly fine.
This marinade can easily work with tofu as well for a delicious vegetarian option. Allow the tofu to marinate for at least 1hr, or preferably overnight. This will help the flavors to really infuse the tofu, and give you a wonderful flavorful meal 🤗
The beauty of making this chicken teriyaki is the accessibility of most ingredients listed in this recipe. The majority of supermarkets always carry most of the ingredients listed here. However, as always, I recommend you to visit any local Asian markets around your area. If for some reason your local market doesn't sesame oil, or even soy sauce, chances are you'll find almost all ingredients here. Based on personal experience, these markets have much fresher produce and ingredients. Plus, it's always good to support local business.
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