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Teriyaki chicken is a Japanese dish with savory and sweet teriyaki sauce. This is the best chicken teriyaki recipe that calls for only 4 ingredients. So easy!
Teriyaki Chicken
This is the BEST and easiest recipe you’ll find online. It’s so good!
I have tasted many amazing chicken teriyaki in the United States and in Japan. The best ones always have crackly and crispy skin.
The chicken thighs are usually grilled, then sliced and drizzled with delicious teriyaki sauce. For an extra kick of umami, consider adding shoyu egg to this recipe!
This recipe is quick, easy and takes only 20 minutes to make. It’s also very versatile and you can make it with an Instant Pot Chicken or Slow Cooker.
You can also stir-fry or make the recipe with chicken wings.
Teriyaki Chicken Recipe
In this recipe, you are going to learn how to make teriyaki chicken and the sauce by using only a handful of ingredients.
You will learn the easy techniques on how to make the chicken super crispy, just like how it’s served at the best Japanese restaurants.
You can check out my video in the recipe card and learn how to make teriyaki chicken from scratch at home.
How To Make Teriyaki Chicken
To make this popular Japanese dish, first you need to make the teriyaki sauce.
My recipe is very easy and calls for only three (3) ingredients:
- Japanese soy sauce. I like low sodium soy sauce for the sauce. It’s important you buy a good quality Japanese soy sauce. I like Kikkoman or San-J brand soy sauce.
- Sugar.
- Mirin or Japanese sweet rice wine.
After the sauce, prepare the chicken. I love using bone-in and skin-on chicken thighs. I debone the chicken thighs by following the steps in my How to Debone Chicken Thighs video.
Next, I season the chicken thighs with salt as the marinade. Then I pan-fry the chicken until crispy.
To serve, I drizzle the sauce on top of the chicken with a rice bowl.
Cooking Tips
For the best and authentic chicken teriyaki, please follow my cooking tips below:
- Use chicken thighs as the meat is juicy and tender.
- For the best results, grill your chicken with an outdoor or indoor grill.
- If you don’t have a grill, pan-fry the chicken until the chicken skin side down first until the skin turns crispy and golden brown.
- Make chicken teriyaki bowl with steamed white rice and boiled broccoli.
- Drizzle the teriyaki sauce right before serving.
Frequently Asked Questions
The teriyaki sauce can be made ahead. You can make it in advance and keep it in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
I don’t recommend freezing it as you don’t want the sauce frozen.
To ensure freshness of the sauce, keep it in a glass jar or a tightly sealed container.
Yes, chicken teriyaki is very healthy as Japanese recipes are one of the healthiest in the world.
The recipe is also perfect as a meal prep for the entire week.
This recipe is only 392 calories per serving.
What To Serve With Chicken Teriyaki
This meal is best served with steamed rice or green tea rice. For restaurant-style Japanese dinner at home, make the following dishes.
I hope you enjoy this post as much as I do. If you try my recipe, please leave a comment and consider giving it a 5-star rating. For more easy and delicious recipes, explore my Recipe Index, and stay updated by subscribing to my newsletter and following me on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram for new updates.
Other Teriyaki Recipes You Might Like
Chicken Teriyaki
Ingredients
- 1 lb. (500g) chicken thighs, deboned, skin-on
- salt
- white sesame seeds, for garnishing, optional
Teriyaki Sauce:
- 1/3 cup Japanese mirin, sweet rice wine
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce, low sodium preferred
- 1 tablespoon sugar
Instructions
- Lightly season both sides of the chicken thighs with a pinch of salt. Combine all the ingredients for the Teriyaki Sauce in a saucepan. Simmer on low heat until it thickens to a desired consistency, about 10 minutes.
- In the meantime, heat a non-stick skillet over high heat. Pan-fry the chicken thighs, starting with the skin-side down, until both sides are nicely browned and cooked through, achieving a crackly, crispy texture on the skin. Turn off the heat, transfer the chicken to a plate, and let it cool.
- Slice the chicken thighs into pieces and drizzle the teriyaki sauce over the chicken. If desired, garnish with sesame seeds. Serve immediately with warm steamed rice.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Hi, if I pre- make the sauce can I freeze it? My teen is obsessed and I thought I would make some for him as I’m going into hospital.
Thanks
Hi Anna. As specified in the recipe post, this sauce is best kept refrigerated for up to two weeks. Wishing you good health.
This is the best teriyaki chicken, and honestly the closest I’ve ever come to authentic (homemade) teriyaki chicken – same kind you’d find when you eat out at a Japanese restaurant!!
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Bee. I LOVE THIS RECIPE. I can eat Chicken Teriyaki every day and not get tired of it. I use as an accompaniment, a Japanese (dry) spice. (Sorry I don’t know the name of it as the label on the bottle is in Japanese) a heap of pickled ginger; heaps of wasabi and soy. YUMMO! BANZAI!
Sounds yummy! You can’t do wrong with more heat!
SOY OR TERIYAKI?
Soy sauce.
My teen approved!
I already bought a bottle of Kikkoman Teriyaki sauce and I find it too salty. Can you please advise what can I blend in so it’s not that salty? Please advise and thank you.
Add sugar and also water.
I tripled the recipe, I didn’t have light soy sauce so I used regular kikkoman and it was a bit salty after reduction, so I added a bit of water to the sauce. I also added grated ginger and reduced again until a bit thicker, I finished off with green onions and toasted sesame seeds. Also stir fried sliced mushrooms, cabbage, onions, bean sprouts, julienned carrots, then topped with a bit of the teriyaki sauce. Delicious!! This recipe is a keeper for sure.
You’re right. This is the best and easiest chicken teriyaki recipe online! This was my 13 year old daughter’s first attempt at making a full dinner for our fam of four and we couldn’t have been more pleased with the result. After deboning, our chicken thighs were a bit too thick so after browning in the pan she put in oven at 425 to finish off cooking for about 25 min. Doubled the teriyaki sauce and we marveled at the simplicity of only using 3 ingredients. Served over rice with steamed baby carrots and broccoli. So yummy, too bad we forgot to take a pic for pinterest, oh well, next time! Thanks for a super simple and delicious recipe.
Thanks for your trying!
Can I use breast in place of thighs ??
Yes.