Juicy and tender chicken in teriyaki is well known as the one of the best flavors. Making teriyaki flavor is very easy and once you know the trick you’ll use it in a lot of dishes!

People love teriyaki, and today I want to show how to make Teriyaki chicken that is so easy and tasty for your dinner table!

What is Teriyaki? Is Teriyaki good?

Do you like Teriyaki flavor? This flavor is loved not only by adults but also kids. In japan, we use it for bento or make it as meal prep.

A little tip about Teriyaki (照り焼き) is that it is not a name of sauce, it is actually a cooking method. Teri means “luster” which means the sweet soy sauce marinade and yaki means “cooking/grilling”. This method is used for fish or meat by either frying in a pan or grilling, and it turns the dish a nice brown luster.

The classic and basic teriyaki sauce needs four ingredients: soy sauce, mirin, sake, and sugar. I will show you the ratio or the steps in the recipe below, but they are the only ingredients we need for teriyaki. Everyone in Japan changes the ratio slightly depending on their favorite taste.

Chicken thigh or chicken breast for Teriyaki Chicken?

People often ask about whether to use chicken thigh or breast for Teriyaki Chicken. I recommend chicken thigh with skin on. The reason why we should use chicken thigh is it has more flavor and chicken breast is too dry for chicken teriyaki.

How to find boneless and skin-on chicken thighs?

It is extremely difficult to find boneless skin on chicken thighs in the states. In Japanese recipes, there are a lot of times that you have to use this kind of meat because the skin becomes the layer between the chicken meat and a hot pan so it keeps the meat so soft and juicy. To get you can of course ask your local butcher or you can do it by yourself. I attached a useful video for it!

3 Tips to Make Delicious Teriyaki Chicken

Here are the 3 tips for making the best teriyaki chicken!

Prick the chicken’s skin with a folk in order to get the oil to come out while it’s being cooked. This step is a must because it ensures flavors are absorbed quickly and fully. You will notice how juicy it makes the chicken in the end result!
The important part is to “Pan-fry” the chicken. No oil, and pan fry the skin side first.
Remove extra oil while you are pan-frying. By doing this, the chicken becomes crispy and it is easier to make the teriyaki sauce.

Other recipes using Teriyaki Chicken

Dish ideas for Teriyaki chicken!

Teriyaki chicken don
Teriyaki chicken burger
Teriyaki chicken sandwich

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Teriyaki Chicken

Yuka

Juicy and tender chicken glazed in a flavorful homemade sauce, this classic Chicken Teriyaki prepared in the authentic Japanese cooking method will be on your dinner routine. No bottled teriyaki sauce needed!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Cook Time 15

Total Time 15

Course Main Course

Cuisine Japanese

Servings people

Calories 487.47 kcal

Ingredients

▢ 400 g boneless, skin-on chicken thighs
▢ 1 1/2 Tablespoon Soy sauce HERE to buy soy sauce
▢ 1 1/2 Tablespoon Mirin HERE to buy mirin
▢ 1 1/2 Tablespoon Sake HERE to buy sake
▢ 1/2 Tablespoon Sugar

Instructions

Gather all the ingredients
Cut the excess skin and fat and lightly season with salt and black pepper. Prick both sides of the chicken with a fork so it absorbs more flavor.
Set a pan to medium heat with no oil. Put the chicken into the pan. Place the chicken skin side down.
To cook the chicken evenly, I recommend that you press on the pieces with a spatula.
While you are cooking, oil comes out. Use paper towels to occasionally remove excess oil. This process is important to make crispy chicken.
Once the skin is browned, flip the chicken. After you flip, cook this side about 80% because the chicken will be completely cooked after you add the sauce.
Add the all the teriyaki sauce (soy sauce, sake, mirin, sugar) into the pan.
Right after you add the sauce, there should be tiny bubbles coming up.
After you see there are big bubble, Use spoon to baste the chieck with the sauce. After you see there is less sauce, turn the heat to low. When you see there is no sauce or close to it, turn the heat off.
Covered with teriyaki sauce beautifully and golden brown, cut into about 1 inch pieces.
Serve on a plate and put some remaining sauce on top.