Japanese Teriyaki Chicken (照り焼きチキン) Recipe
Japanese Teriyaki Chicken is easy, fast and high in protein! It’s perfect for family meals and meal-preps alike. Learn how to make teriyaki the Japanese way in this post!
Why I Love Japanese Teriyaki Chicken
Growing up in America, I first tasted Japanese-style teriyaki chicken in the comfort of my own home.
Since then I’ve made teriyaki chicken many times for four main reasons:
- It’s easy
- It’s healthy
- It’s predictable
- It’s delicious!
My cooking time is often limited due to school, sports, and church. A meal like teriyaki chicken, which I can prepare using a few pantry staples in less than an hour, is so useful.
Also, my primary cooking skills lay in Japanese cuisine as well as other Asian cuisines. However my family is not Asian. They are very supportive and try new things, sometimes they just want something they can expect.
That’s where teriyaki chicken shines since it’s so common in America (albeit a bit different).
It’s not anything too exotic, and it pairs well with a salad, roasted vegetables, and some rice to make a nutritious meal.
What is Japanese Teriyaki Chicken?
Teriyaki (照り焼き) directly translates to “gloss grilled” or “shine grilled” in Japanese. It refers to the cooking technique, not the sauce we Americans call teriyaki.
As a cooking technique it was originally used for fish (like my teriyaki salmon recipe), but now chicken and other proteins are also common in Japan.
Essentially, teriyaki involves searing ingredients (in a pan, flat-top, or grill) before cooking them in a sauce called tare (pronounced tah-reh).
Tare is a Japanese word used for many sauces. The basic tare used for teriyaki consists of equal parts mirin, soy sauce, sake, and usually half a part chicken. However this isn’t set in stone, and it seems like everyone has their own small adjustments!
Although many Japanese restaurants in America serve teriyaki chicken (often as a part of “hibachi” meals, in Japan, it’s considered a home-cooked dish.
The tare for teriyaki is seldom store-bought (according to Just One Cookbook), and it’s not often used as a marinade. Instead, Japanese cooks pan-fry ingredients before finishing them with tare.
You can read more about the history of teriyaki in this post.
American Teriyaki vs. Japanese Teriyaki
The main differences between American and Japanese Teriyaki are:
American
- Often stir-fried
- Sweet, syrupy, thick sauce
- The sauce often has many ingredients including soy sauce, cornstarch, rice vinegar, honey, brown sugar, and even pineapple juice.
Japanese
- Uses whole cuts of meat.
- Lighter sauce and not as sweet
- The sauce usually has 3-5 ingredients: soy sauce, sake, mirin, sugar, and sometimes ginger or garlic.
Note: American is a bit of a generalization as there are different variations, such as Seattle and Hawaiian style.
Ingredients for Japanese Teriyaki Chicken
Chicken Thighs – For chicken teriyaki, the flavor works a lot better with natural umami in the chicken fat. Skin-on is the classic Japanese choice, but skinless works too.
Salt – A little bit of salt will help the exterior of the chicken dry out and brown better.
Soy Sauce – Soy sauce is the main source of salt and umami. You can find the Kikkoman brand in most supermarkets, and it’s a great choice for Japanese food.
Sake – Sake adds another layer of umami and a lightness to balance the soy sauce. I buy it online at Weee, and always have it stocked in my pantry.
Mirin – Mirin is the main source of sweetness, and gives teriyaki its shine. I always buy mirin online on Amazon.
Sugar – A little bit of sugar rounds out the sweetness. Regular white sugar is my go to for teriyaki.
or
Prepared Tare – This super simple sauce is made of equal parts soy sauce, sake, and mirin and I usually add half a part sugar too. You can find a recipe on my How to Make Teriyaki Anything Post.
Sides for Japanese Teriyaki Chicken
Do a quick google search of 照り焼きチキン (teriyaki chicken), and you’ll see that Japanese teriyaki chicken is almost always served with a side of greens.
This is also my go to, usually a simple dark green salad, often with radishes, and something pickled if I have it.
I also serve teriyaki chicken with steamed rice, as per the norm of just about all Japanese foods. When I was filming I made mushroom rice, but I don’t have the recipe up yet (sorry!).
Japanese Teriyaki Chicken (照り焼きチキン) Recipe
Time:
30 minutes
Yield:
8 servings
Cuisine:
Japanese
Ingredients
- 900 grams (2lbs., 5-6) chicken thighs, bone-out skin on
- Salt
- 100-120 grams (7-8 tbsp.) prepared tare
Without prepared tare:
- 33 grams (2 tbsp. + 1 tsp) of soy sauce
- 33 grams (2 tbsp. + 1 tsp.) of sake
- 33 grams (2 tbsp. + 1 tsp) of mirin
- 15 grams (1 tbsp.) of white sugar
Directions
Tare
- Combine all tare ingredients in a small container.
2. Reserve until ready to cook.
Chicken
- Start by preparing the chicken thighs. If the chicken thighs have bones, use a knife to remove them before continuing.
2. Use a small knife or a fork and stab through the chicken skin repeatedly. This will help the fat to render out of the skin.
3. Pat each chicken thigh dry with paper towels, then lightly sprinkle the chicken with salt. The first the three steps can be done in advance, up to a few days.
4. Add 2 chicken thighs to a cold, dry pan, then turn the heat to medium high heat. Cook for 4-5 minutes on the first side. As you cook, use a paper towel to soak up the excess chicken fat.
5. Flip, then cook for 2-3 minutes on the second side.
6. Once the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 140 degrees Fahrenheit, remove it from the pan and transfer to a warmed (200 degree) oven, or in aluminum foil.
6. Add the next 2 chicken thighs, and repeat steps 4-5. The pan will cool down when you add the chicken, but it will cook faster since the pan is warm.
7. After cooking all the chicken in this way, remove all the excess fat from the pan. Turn the heat down to medium and add the prepared tare.
8. Add two chicken thighs at a time to the pan, starting with the ones that have rested the longest.
9. Add lid to the pan and cook for 30-45 seconds on each side, or until the chicken reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
10. Take the pan off the heat and reserve the reduced tare.
11. Repeat with the remaining chicken, then cut immediately. There is no need to rest the meat since we rested it in between the first and second cooking stage.
12. Brush the reduced tare on to the teriyaki chicken and serve with a salad, steamed rice, and maybe a bowl of miso soup!
Nutrition Facts: 1 serving (about 115 grams)
Calories: 299kcal (15%) Protein: 29g Carbohydrates: 4g (1%) Total Fat: 17g (22%) Saturated Fat: 5g (24%) Cholesterol: 105mg (35%) Sodium: 359mg (16%) Dietary Fiber: 0g (0%) Sugar: 3g (6%) Vitamin D 0mcg (0%) Calcium 15mg (1%), Iron: 2mg (9%) Potassium: 260mg (6%)
The (%) tells how much a nutrient contributes to a daily diet, based on a 2,000 calorie per day diet.
Nutrition Disclaimer
I am not a certified health professional, and while I do my best to provide accurate nutrition information, these values should be considered estimates. Specific brands, natural variation in produce and meat, as well as the nutrition calculator used can cause small deviations in the nutrition of any recipe.
