I am pretty sure Teriyaki Chicken is more popular outside Japan than in Japan itself! When made with Homemade Teriyaki Sauce which is super easy and fast to make, you’ll really notice the difference in the strength and depth of flavour because it infuses into the flesh better than bottled Teriyaki Sauce.
Teriyaki Chicken – homemade Teriyaki Sauce
As a kid, all I ever wanted in my lunchbox was a peanut butter sandwich and crisps so I could be like the other kids. Instead, my mother used to send me to school with bento boxes and sushi rolls.
As an adult, all I want is for my mother to pack me bento boxes. A step up from the peanut butter sandwiches I usually end up slapping together.
Back when I was a child, Japanese food was not that popular in Australia. In fact, other than Chinese food, ethnic food generally was not widely available. As an adult I think back to those days and just shake my head remembering how I would try to eat my bento box lunches as quickly and discreetly as possible while I looked on enviously at all the other kids with their sandwiches in brown paper bags.
A decade later, bento boxes and Japanese food generally became “all the rage”. One of the first Japanese dishes to catch on in the Western world was Teriyaki chicken. The sweet, salty, thick glossy sauces is a flavour that appeals to kids as well as adults, it’s easy to use and great for outdoor grilling as well as cooking on the stove top.
Over the years, bottled Teriyaki Sauce started to appear in grocery stores. The ironic thing is that they are not made in Japan – in fact, I have never seen a Teriyaki Sauce made in Japan, not ever. I read somewhere once that in Japan, bottled Teriyaki Sauce is manufactured overseas.
Having been brought up with home-made Teriyaki Sauce, I consider it a blasphemy to even think of using bottled Teriyaki sauce! And once you see how simple making your own Teriyaki sauce is, I bet you will never use store bought again.
Though not strictly a 15 minute meal because of the marinating time, the active preparation and cooking time is less than 15 minutes so I’ve included it in that category.
Store bought Teriyaki sauce simply doesn’t compare – and when you read the list of ingredients it’s frightening how many of them you probably don’t recognise!! For the minimal effort it takes to make your own Teriyaki Sauce, it’s truly worth it.
This is a variation of my mother’s recipe. Strictly speaking, Teriyaki Chicken as made the authentic way in Japan is not marinated. This recipe yields a stronger more intense flavour, akin to Western palettes.
If you would like a truly authentic Japanese Teriyaki Chicken recipe, you can find it here <- It is my mother’s recipe on her blog RecipeTin Japan.
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Teriyaki Chicken (With Homemade Teriyaki Sauce)
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp Teriyaki Sauce Marinade
- 4 chicken thigh fillets , skinless and boneless (about 5oz/150g each)
- 1 tbsp oil
Teriyaki Sauce Marinade
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp mirin
- 2 tbsp Japanese cooking wine (sake)
- 2 tbsp water
Instructions
Teriyaki Sauce Marinade ("Marinade")
- Combine the 4 ingredients in a small saucepan over high heat.
- Bring to boil, then turn heat down and simmer until it reduces by half - it should only take 5 minutes or so. The consistency should be like a light syrup. Keep your eye on it - it will start to thicken suddenly!
- Bring to room temperature before using.
Chicken
- Combine the Marinade with the chicken and marinate for at least 20 minutes, preferably overnight.
- Remove chicken from Marinade but do not discard the Marinade liquid.
- Heat oil in non stick pan over medium to medium-high heat. You don't want it too hot because otherwise the sugar in the Marinade will burn before the inside is cooked.
- Place the chicken in the pan and cook the first side for around 3 minutes, checking to ensure the skin isn't cooking too quickly. If it is, remove pan from heat and turn the heat down, and add about 2 to 4 tbsp of water to the pan then return to the stovetop. The water slows down the searing process on the skin while still allowing the chicken to cook on the inside.
- Turn chicken over and cook the other side. Just before the chicken is finished cooking, add 2 tbsp of water to the pan and and swirl around and mix with the marinade that has come off the chicken. This will make a dark glossy "sauce". Move the chicken around in the pan to coat with this sauce.
- The Marinade is a strong flavour so you shouldn't need any extra sauce. But if you do want more, add equal parts of Teriyaki Sauce and water to the pan and allow to come to a simmer and let it cook until the desired consistency.
- Serve with rice.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Well… just lost 30mins trying to get the marinade to thicken. Reduced from about 1cm down to 2mm in my saucepan and it has still not thickened.
Maybe needs sugar in the ingredients?
Can you clarify if the chicken fillets are skinless or skin on please? Ingredients say skinless but instruction mention skin “checking to ensure the skin isn’t cooking too quickly.”
They are skinless – apologies – that was a typo from an earlier version of the recipe! N x
Made this & it tastes AMAZING.
Boyfriend thinks it tastes better than some restaurants we’ve been to. So simple to make too! So so yummy! One of my top fav Nagi recipes 😀
Nagi I’ve just put it to marinade and found dad got skinless BONE IN – can you tell me how long to cook them???
On med heat you can cook average sized bone-in thighs or drumsticks for 8-9 minutes *each side*. After that you need to add a little water and put the lid on for 12-15. Depending on your stove cook time will vary, but this method usually takes me around 30-35 minutes.
Hi Nagi! I was wondering if the chicken could be baked instead of cooked on the stove?
You hit the mark again Nagi! Tonight for dinner I cooked plain ol’ crispy chicken legs for the fam. I made this teriyaki sauce and poured it over the plain boiled rice we had. It is super delicious and I felt so clever. I never need to buy teriyaki sauce EVER again!!
You know I’m in love with ALL your recipes but I have what I feel is a silly question, is Japanese cooking wine Mirin? If so am I putting 4 tbsp in?
If you mean sake- what do you recommend as I’ve not bought Or had Sake before..
Hi Kyra, Japanese cooking wine is Sake – you’ll need 2 tablespoons of it as well as 2 tablespoons of mirin. For cooking you should be able to purchase it in your local Asian grocer – major supermarkets stock it here in Australia. N x
Thankyou for clarifying.. 😊 I’ll let you know how I go. 😊
As like all of your recipes…This was delicious and so easy to prepare.
I’m so glad you loved it Michelle!
I’m going to try this, it looks delicious. Confused about skinless (ingredients) and skin on (cooking instructions). Does it make a difference?
what oil do you use for this recipe?
Hi Liv, Any neutral flavoured oil would be fine – canola/vegetable – N x
It’s okay to add the used marinade to the pan, to quickly coat the chicken? I thought there was some dire rule about not using the marinade, unless you boiled it for 20 minutes … or, something like that.
Hi Chris – Step 6 in the directions is how you should cook the marinade if you want extra sauce – I hope you love it ☺️
Hi Nagi ! I accidentally stumbled across your blog and I’m so glad that I did . My husband and I both love anything teriyaki and we have had to keep it out of our lives for a while now as he is diabetic and the store bought sauces are loaded with sugar . I made this recipe yesterday and the homemade sauce with no added sugars is not only delicious but has helped bring back teriyaki chicken onto our menu . Thank you so much!
Beware Mariam that the most commonly available Mirin is Australia – Majo Mirin (see https://fruitezy.com.au/product/kikkoman-manjo-mirin/ for a pic of the bottle) contains both glucose syrup and corn syrup. Try to find the Daiwa brand. It is available online at Ichiba Junction here: http://www.ichibajunction.com.au/products/detail.php?product_id=42547535
Bonne chance !
I’m so glad! Thank you for letting me know Mariam! N x
Hi. I don’t see how much sugar is needed.
No sugar in this! 🙂
I think you should point out there is no added sugar as it is confusing when you mention sugar in the method section. Adam Liew published a teriyaki sauce recipe in The Age this weekend (so SMH as well?) and his recipe had caster sugar. Also he suggests bottling and keeping it in the pantry as it has a long shelf life. So I am now quite confused and ended up just buying a packet one today.
Do you think that this recipe would hold up on an outdoor grill, as long as the temperature wasn’t hotter than 400 degrees? Thanks!
Hi Rachel! Cook on medium low to ensure it doesn’t burn. It’s great on the grill!
Hi what is the Merin please?
Hello, what can i substitute Japanese sake with? I cannot find it anywhere including asian stores.
Hi Diana! Dry sherry or Chinese cooking wine will be a fine sub 🙂 N x
I know this is an old post, but I’m browsing recipes and it’s new to me. Nagi, when you mentioned bringing homemade, mom-crafted-with-love bento boxes to school (when everyone else brought peanut butter sandwiches)
it made me remember a children’s book character: Yoko, by Rosemary Wells. If I knew your address I’d send you the book!! The Yoko books are SO sweet! I’m curious to know if these books are available in Australian libraries and bookstores (kids’ section). If you find it I think you’d enjoy 😉 Thanks as always for your amazing recipes!!
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1423119835/ref=cm_cr_arp_mb_bdcrb_top?ie=UTF8
I’ll have to have a look! Thanks so much for the tip! N xx
I can’t emphasize enough that using Chinese cooking wine instead of mirin will result in a VERY salty sauce. I don’t believe that mirin contains any salt. Can’t really say for sure because I haven’t found any available locally (tried six large grocery stores!) Maybe people have lost the will (bottled is so easy!?) or ability/knowledge to make their own teriyaki sauce…what a shame. It seems the same with DIY dressings, sauces, marinades, dips, glazes, spice rubs, you name it! But home-made is always so much better! Will check out ordering mirin online…any suggestions for Western Canada? Anyway, terrific recipe, thanks so much.
Hi Vivian – thank you for sharing that tip! You had me panicked for a moment, wondering if I had suggesting using Chinese cooking wine – Phew, I haven’t!! Thank you for sharing that warning to others who may be thinking of substituting it! N xx
I loved the opportunity to make an authentic teriyaki sauce at home, as I too have not “loved” the commercial bottled ones. I found all the ingredients except mirim…it used to be available locally but now not. One employee in the grocery store (a former chef I was told) said he just used Chinese cooking wine and added some brown sugar. Well. as that was available, I tried it but the result, as you can imagine, was way too salty! So off to the big asian superstore here, (T&T) to get the real thing…MIRIN!! Thanks for the recipe, and I will do it proud with the proper ingredients!
Vivian
That’s wonderful to hear Vivian! Thank you for letting me know you enjoyed this – N x ❤️
Another win! I’ve never cooked with chicken thighs before, now absolutely converted! I had to stop myself eating all the portions! It’s so easy to make, this is definitely going on my regular list!
That’s so fantastic Beth! Thanks for letting me know! N x
Hi Nagi. In your mom’s recipe for the sauce she added sugar, but you did not. Should the sugar be added for a sweeter flavor?
HI Regina, I love that you cross checked! 🙂 It absolutely can be added. This is a great recipe to tweak to get to your exact taste preference! N xx