The Weeknight Kitchen · Asian

Teriyaki Chicken

Name: Teriyaki Chicken
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Japanese
Ingredients: 680 g boneless skinless chicken thighs; 60 ml soy sauce or tamari; 60 ml mirin; 30 ml sake or dry sherry; 30 g sugar; 15 ml neutral oil; Sesame seeds and sliced scallions to serve; Steamed rice to serve

Stovetop teriyaki with a 4-ingredient sauce — glossy, sticky, better than takeout.

25 min total

Spoon cost

Time ●○○○○ Anytime

Gluten-Free

Servingsamounts scale to match

Units

Ingredients

Let the glaze reduce until it coats the back of a spoon — that's when it's thick enough to lacquer the chicken.

Method

Cook's notes

Thighs, not breasts — chicken thighs stay juicy at high heat. Breasts dry out fast and are harder to control here.

Don't skip resting — the juices need a few minutes to settle back into the meat.

Mirin is sweetened sake — it gives teriyaki its distinctive glossy lacquer. Find it in the Asian foods aisle or at any Japanese grocery.

Make extra sauce (double the amounts) and store it in the fridge — it keeps for weeks and works on salmon, tofu, or pork.

Easier, if you like

Kikkoman Teriyaki Marinade & Sauce (in the Asian foods aisle, ~$4) — use as the sauce directly. Still sear the chicken the same way.

Gluten-free as written with tamari

Gluten-free: tamari in place of soy sauce (already GF as written).

Salmon: same sauce, same method — sear skin side down first, 4 minutes, then flip and glaze.

Beef strips: flank or sirloin sliced thin works beautifully with this sauce.