Teriyaki Chicken Recipe: How to Make Simple Teriyaki Chicken

Teriyaki chicken is a Japanese dish of grilled chicken brushed with a mixture of soy sauce, mirin, and sake. The word teriyaki is a compound that describes both the marinade and cooking technique: “teri” means gloss and “yaki” means to cook, fry, or grill.

At its most basic, teriyaki sauce is a mixture of soy sauce and rice wine. Many recipes, however, add granulated sugar, brown sugar, or honey to cut the saltiness or swap the rice wine for rice vinegar for added sweetness. Optional sauce ingredients include grated garlic, fresh ginger, and sesame seeds. Thicker teriyaki sauce is made by reducing soy sauce and rice wine down to a syrup, or by adding cornstarch. In the United States, teriyaki sauce is typically thicker and sweeter than Japanese-style teriyaki, and bottles of teriyaki sauce are commonly found in grocery stores.

Teriyaki chicken is a popular Asian takeout dish you can make at home using different cuts of chicken and cooking methods:

1. 1. Yakitori style: If you have a barbecue, make chicken skewers and grill them on an oiled grate, brushing the teriyaki sauce over the chicken during the last minute of cooking.
2. 2. In a wok or frying pan: Stir-fry boneless, skin-on chicken thighs—which are nearly impossible to overcook—until cooked through. Pour the teriyaki sauce over the chicken, tossing to coat, until the sauce reduces to a syrupy glaze.
3. 3. American style: Most American recipes for teriyaki chicken involve marinating boneless skinless chicken thighs, skinless chicken breasts, or chicken wings in teriyaki sauce, and then broiling the chicken in the oven.