Easy Teriyaki Chicken Recipe
Growing up, whenever I ate at a Japanese sushi restaurant, one of the most common items I would order aside from sushi on the menu is a Bento Box with Teriyaki Chicken. It’s like the signature dish at most Japanese restaurants in North America and a great alternative for those that do not like raw fish or seafood! Well we got good news for you because today, we’re going to share with you how to make this Easy Teriyaki Chicken recipe 🙂
How to Cook Teriyaki Chicken
De-bone Chicken Thighs
Using a chef’s knife (or any sharp kitchen knife), carefully remove the bones from the chicken thigh. This ensures even cooking (as the thigh meat can lay flat to the pan), reduces cooking time, and makes it much easier to eat and cut later on. To remove the bone from the chicken thigh, turn the chicken thigh over so that the flesh side is facing up, and feel for where the bone is. Then, use your knife to trace along and under the bone to remove it. It should look something like the photo below after the bones have been removed.
Season Chicken Thighs Generously
Once the bones have been removed, lightly pat the chicken thighs with a paper towel to remove any excess moisture. This will ensure the chicken will cook up extra crispy. Then, season the skins generously with salt and pepper – refer to photo below.
Cook Chicken Thigh Skin Side Down
On a large non-stick skillet over medium high heat, add 1 tsp of oil and when the pan is hot enough, add the chicken thighs, skin side down. What you’re doing during this process is rendering the fat from the chicken skin which will help fry/crisp up the chicken skin, giving it that dark golden brown color.
Cook Chicken Thighs
Take a peek occasionally at the bottom of the chicken thighs to see if the skin has developed that dark golden brown crust. Once it has, flip it over so that it is skin side up. Then, add your 2 tbsp of sake and cover the pan with a lid. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for approximately 8 minutes or until sake has evaporated. You are essentially steaming the chicken thighs during this process to help it cook thoroughly. After the 8 minute mark, take an instant read thermometer and check the thickest part of the thigh to see if it is fully cooked. It should be at least 165F.
Thicken Teriyaki Glaze
When the chicken thighs are fully cooked, remove it from the pan onto a wired cooling rack. Take a paper towel and using a pair of tongs or chopsticks (so you don’t burn your hand!), remove the excess liquid/fat from the pan. Add your Teriyaki sauce mixture into the pan and cook over medium high heat. Add your chicken thighs back into the pan (skin side up) and spoon the sauce over the chicken thighs regularly to baste it. Once the sauce starts to boil, the sugar will cause the sauce to thicken into a glaze. Once the thighs are evenly coated in the thickened teriyaki sauce, you can remove it from the pan and cut it into smaller pieces on a cutting board for easy serving. Feel free to scoop any extra teriyaki sauce and pour it over your chicken or rice.
Serve over a bed of rice with veggies
Once your teriyaki chicken is cooked, you can choose to serve it along with the sides of your choice. We recommend serving it over a bed of white rice (Japanese rice if you have it) along with some cooked veggies of your choice. This makes for a delicious and simple meal, and it was done in under 30 minutes!!
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Easy Teriyaki Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lbs boneless chicken thighs with skin on (~ 4 pieces)
- salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 2 tbsp sake
- 1 tsp oil
Teriyaki Sauce
- 1 tbsp sake
- 1 tbsp mirin
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp water
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Instructions
- 1. Using a chef’s knife, carefully remove the bone from the chicken thighs. You can keep these bones in a ziplock bag and toss it in the freezer so you can use it to make a chicken stock once you’ve collected enough chicken bones/carcasses. Remove any excess skin and fat hanging off the thigh and keep the remainder of the skin intact on the thigh meat.
- 2. Pat your chicken thighs dry with a paper towel to remove excess moisture. Then, season both sides generously with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- 3. Prepare your Teriyaki sauce mixture by combining the sake, mirin, sugar, soy sauce, and water in a bowl. Set aside.
- 4. In a large skillet over medium high heat, add your 1 tsp of oil to the pan. Then, add your chicken thighs to the pan, skin side down. Cook for several minutes until the chicken skins are a nice golden brown. If your chicken thighs can’t all fit into your pan, cook it in batches as to not overcrowd the pan as this will significantly reduce the browning of your chicken as it is reducing the overall heat of your pan. Meanwhile, get your 2 tbsp of sake ready.
- 5. Once your chicken skin is nicely browned, flip it over so that it is skin side up and add your 2 tbsp of sake. Close the lid immediately and reduce to medium-low heat until it reaches a gentle simmer. Cook for approximately 8 minutes or until sake has fully evaporated and chicken thigh is fully cooked (internal temperature is 165F).
- 6. Using a pair of tongs or chopsticks, remove the excess oil from the pan with a paper towel. Your chicken thighs should still be skin side up. Increase the temperature back to medium high and add your teriyaki sauce mixture. Make sure to stir the sauce a bit before adding it into the pan to ensure you get all the sugar that may have sank to the bottom of the bowl as the sugar is what will caramelize the sauce.
- 7. Continue to cook the sauce down, spooning/basting the chicken thighs regularly with the teriyaki sauce. Your teriyaki sauce should be slowly thickening at this point.
- 8. Once the thicken thighs are evenly coated in a thickened teriyaki sauce, you can remove it from the heat and slice it on a cutting board. Serve it on top of a bed of rice along with some veggies.
