Easy Homemade Teriyaki Chicken Recipe

Bring your favorite Japanese take-out to your own kitchen with this delicious easy to make homemade teriyaki chicken recipe.

Chicken Teriyaki is simple to prepare recipe featuring lightly marinated chicken that is pan-seared and then braised in sweet soy and mirin-based sauce that thickens as it cooks with the chicken. While there are several variations and cultures that make chicken teriyaki, this recipe specifically is Japanese-based.

The typical cut of chicken used in chicken teriyaki is boneless skinless thigh meat due to its ability to stay moist, flavorful, and tender with slightly longer than normal cooking times. I used my homemade teriyaki sauce in this recipe which really helps elevate the flavor.

Ingredients for this recipe:

2 ½ to 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon mirin or sherry wine
1 egg yolk
¼ cup corn starch
3 tablespoons peanut oil
1 cup teriyaki sauce
salt and pepper to taste

Serves 6

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Procedures:

1. Mix the chicken in a large bowl with salt, pepper, soy sauce, mirin, egg yolk, and garlic until well combined.
2. Next, thoroughly mix in the corn starch until combined.
3. Pour the cooking oil into a large frying pan or rondeau pot and heat on medium heat for 3 minutes.
4. Place in the chicken thighs and cook for 3-4 minutes per side, they should be lightly browned.
5. Pour the teriyaki sauce into the pan with the chicken and cook over medium heat for 8-10 minutes or until the sauce becomes thick like a syrup and the chicken is cooked through.
6. Slice the chicken and serve over rice and garnish with optional sesame seeds and sliced green onions.

Chef Notes:

Make-Ahead: This recipe is meant to be eaten as soon as it is done cooking. You can keep the chicken warm in the sauce on very low heat or no heat and covered it for 20-30 minutes before serving.

How to Store: Cover and keep in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Cover and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator for 1 day before reheating.

How to Reheat: Add the desired amount of chicken and sauce to a small pan over low heat and heat until the chicken is warmed. You can also microwave until warm.

You can serve this teriyaki chicken with rice, noodles, or vegetables.

Feel free to use boneless skinless chicken breasts or drums.

I prefer to use peanut oil or sesame oil in this recipe.

If you do not have access to mirin, you can use sherry wine.

You may need to cook the chicken in batches if your pan isn’t big enough. If this is the case add all the chicken back to the pan before pouring in the teriyaki sauce. Occasionally stir the sauce and move the chicken around to ensure it cooks.