Juicy chicken cooked in a sweet, sticky, delicious teriyaki sauce. This quick and easy teriyaki chicken is made with minimal and simple ingredients in just one pan! Perfect as a main dish with rice. This is better-than-takeout and great for the family.
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What is Teriyaki Chicken?
Teriyaki Chicken features tender chicken thighs pan-fried and glazed with a sweet savory soy sauce with hints of garlic and ginger. It's a very popular chicken dish in Japan.
Japanese restaurants serve it with white rice and veggies as an entree or in a bento box but there are many other ways to enjoy this dish, like over noodles and more!
This is a super easy dinner recipe using minimal ingredients making it great for busy weeknights or meal prep too!
This homemade chicken teriyaki sauce is so much better than store-bought sauce and it's incredibly easy to make from scratch.
Ingredients & Substitutes
Please scroll down to below recipe card for exact measurements.
- Boneless skinless chicken thighs: dark meat is recommended or substitute with chicken breasts but please reduce the cooking time by a couple minutes.
- Corn starch: or substitute with potato starch
- Neutral oil: any flavorless oil like avocado oil, peanut oil, grapeseed oil, vegetable oil or canola oil with a higher smoke point. Avoid olive oil.
Chicken Teriyaki Sauce
- Japanese Cooking Sake: or substitute with rice vinegar
- Regular soy sauce: or substitute with low sodium soy sauce or light soy sauce. If you’re gluten-free, substitute with tamari sauce, coconut aminos or a gluten-free soy sauce.
- White Granulated Sugar: Or substitute with brown sugar or honey.
- Mirin: a popular sweet rice cooking wine used in Japanese cuisine. It’s sweeter than cooking sake and has a very low alcoholic taste. You can find this at most Asian or Japanese grocers. For a non-alcoholic version: substitute with non-alcoholic mirin or 4 tablespoon cold water + 3 drops of rice vinegar + ⅛ teaspoon white sugar.
- Garlic
- Fresh Ginger
Note: Most Asian grocery stores will carry most of the Asian specific ingredients or check Amazon.
Expert Tips
- Use chicken thighs for best taste. This is more tender and juicier than chicken breast.
- Cornstarch helps the sauce stick to the chicken. Do not skip!
- Careful not to overcook the sauce as it contains a high amount of sugar.
- Brown the chicken until it’s golden on each side. This gives the chicken more flavour and creates more texture as the exterior is slightest bit crispy.
- Do not overcook the sauce in the chicken. Remember we’ve already boiled the sauce, so allow it to simmer in the chicken until it’s reduced and thickened.
Instructions
Below are step-by-step instructions on how to make teriyaki chicken:
Prepare Chicken & Teriyaki Sauce
First you'll slice your boneless chicken thighs into equal thirds. If you're using skin on boneless thighs, keep the skin on and slice into thirds.
Combine sauce ingredients in a small saucepan and mix well with a whisk until the sugar has fully dissolved. Bring sauce mixture to a boil so it's bubbling and let it bubble for 2 minutes to evaporate the alcohol. Remove off heat and set aside.
Starch and Fry Chicken
Using a brush, lightly dust sliced chicken with cornstarch on both sides with dabbing motion. Do not heavily coat in cornstarch or you'll develop a thick crust on the chicken. We only want to add a bit of cornstarch so it helps absorb some of the sauce.
Over medium-high heat, add cooking oil into large skillet. Fry chicken thighs on both sides until golden brown. About 3-5 minutes each side. Do not overcook the chicken.
Cook Chicken in Sauce
Pour sauce over chicken. Let it bubble to thicken and reduce, about 1-3 minutes.
Flip chicken over to simmer on the other side for 30 seconds. The internal temperature of cooked chicken is 165 F with a digital cooking thermometer.
Garnish
Garnish with sesame seeds and green onions (both optional) and enjoy!
Storage
- Leftovers will last up to 4 days stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. To reheat: microwave for 2-3 minutes until hot or reheat in a pan on medium heat.
- Freezer friendly? This can be stored in a freezer friendly bag and frozen up to 3 months or until you see freezer burn. To reheat, defrost it and reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop in a pan.
Pairing Suggestions
Teriyaki chicken serves well:
- white rice, brown rice or cauliflower rice
- with miso soup, Japanese crab corn salad, Spicy Asian cucumber salad, salad with Japanese ginger salad dressing, or korokke Japanese potato croquettes
- shrimp tempura, or panko shrimp
FAQ
Yes, this works for beef, pork, tofu or shrimp.
This can be made in advance and stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. To enjoy, reheat it in the microwave or in a pan on the stovetop on medium heat.
This is because it was over boiled. It's important not to overcook the sauce due to the high sugar content.
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📖 Recipe
Quick & Easy Teriyaki Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 lb skinless boneless chicken thighs or with skin on
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch or sub with potato starch or tapioca starch
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil or any neutral tasting oil
- ½ green onion finely sliced (optional garnish)
- ½ teaspoon sesame seeds (optional garnish)
Chicken Teriyaki Sauce:
- ¼ cup sake
- 3 tablespoon regular soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon white granulated sugar (or sub with honey)
- ¼ cup mirin
- 2 teaspoon garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon ginger grated
Instructions
- Horizontally slice chicken thighs into equal thirds.
- Combine sauce ingredients in a small saucepan and mix well. Bring to a boil so it's bubbling and let it bubble for 2 minutes to evaporate the alcohol. Remove off heat and set aside.
- Using a brush, lightly dust sliced chicken with cornstarch on both sides with dabbing motion. Do not heavily coat in cornstarch.
- Over medium high heat, add cooking oil into hot pan. Fry chicken thighs on both sides until browned. About 3-5 minutes each side.
- Pour sauce over top. Let it bubble to thicken and reduce, about 1-3 minutes. Flip chicken over to simmer on the other side for 30 seconds. Optional: garnish with sesame seeds and green onions. Enjoy!
Susie
This was a delicious recipe and so easy to follow and make! Teryiaki chicken is my go to when I'm out, so I'm so happy I can make it as good myself at home!
I doubled the sugar, because I must like mine sweeter, but otherwise everything else is the same
Christie Lai
Thank you so much for making my recipe and so glad you liked it with the extra sugar!
Jeremy
Great recipe. Wonderful instructions. Tasty meal. And, I learned a new cooking technique (brushing chicken with cornstarch). And, my wife loves it.
Awesome!
Christie Lai
Thank you so much for making my recipe, Jeremy! So glad it turned out well and that your wife loves it too!
Jada
Hi Christie, If I make extra sauce for future use, how long can I keep in refrigerator? Hopefully for more than a week. I don't like to freeze sauces. thx much !!
Christie Lai
Hi Jada! If you make extra teriyaki sauce for the future, it'll last up to 2 weeks stored in an airtight container in the fridge as long as you use a clean spoon to scoop out what you need. Hope this helps!
Taryn
So so so good! Thank you!!! Will be making again and again.
christieathome
Thank you so much for making my recipe, Taryn! Happy you enjoyed it 🙂