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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.
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.
Other Teriyaki Recipes You Might Like:
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.
Cook’s 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
Can You Freeze Teriyaki Sauce?
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.
Is It Healthy?
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.
How Many Calories per Serving?
This recipe is only 462 calories per serving.
What Dishes to Serve with This Recipe?
This meal is best served with steamed rice for a rice bowl. For restaurant-style Japanese dinner at home, make the following dishes.
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Chicken Teriyaki
Ingredients
- 1 lb. 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 pinch of salt. Combine all the ingredients of the Teriyaki Sauce in a sauce pan. On low heat, simmer and reduce it to a thicker consistency, about 10 minutes.
- In the meantime, heat up a non-stick skillet on high heat. Pan-fry the chicken thighs (skin-side down first) until both sides are nicely browned and cooked through. The skin should be pan-fried to a crackly crispy texture. Turn off the heat, transfer the chicken out. Let cool.
- Slice the chicken thighs into pieces and drizzle the teriyaki sauce over the chicken. Garnish with the sesame seeds, if using. Serve immediately with warm steamed rice.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated, using Spoonacular, for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
Easy peasy recipe. My family love it. Thanks Bee!!!…My daughter has just moved out and I have been forwarding your recipes to her and she loves them. Thanks again Bee for all the easy step by step recipes. Have a good day!
Hi Shirley, thanks for trying my chicken teriyaki, yes, it’s very good.
…mmmm, look delicious.
Yes this chicken teriyaki is very delicious!
Hey Bee,
Many thanks for a wonderful recipe. It is going straight into my repertoire. YUMMO!
Thanks Grant for trying my chicken teriyaki recipe.
Thank you bee for sharing your beautiful recipes. I love them all. I don’t have a favourite l love them all. Thank you again. ?
Awesome thanks for your support.
Love this chicken teriyaki it’s better than takeout. Love the crispy skin, who would have thought the crispy skin adds so much to this recipe.
Bee, i abosolutely love your TERIYAKI chicken recipe. I have made it three times. I can’t wait to try your oTher recipeS.
Thanks!
Tried this chicken teriyaki, it’s right, it’s the best and most authentic chicken teriyaki recipe online. Some of the recipes put vinegar in the teriyaki sauce, which is horrible, but this recipe tastes so delicious even better than Japanese restaurants. So easy to make too.
Awesome Susan, thanks for trying my chicken teriyaki.
Hey there! What do you suggest as a substitute for the rice wine in this recipe if you can’t find some or you’d rather not use the wine? Thanks
Just skip and add some water to dilute the sauce.
Can I use honey instead of sugar?
Yes you can but the taste will change.
Hello,
I just discovered your website and I am truly impressed! Your recipes are amazing and the pictures are inviting your readers to try out your recipes right away.
Greetings
Harris
Thanks for your sweet comment! Please check out all my recipes here: https://rasamalaysia.com/recipe-index-gallery/
What brand of Japanese mirin and of soy sauce do you prefer? Thank you.
You can use San-J soy sauce and for mirin, I use Mizkan mirin.