Easy Teriyaki Chicken Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is chicken teriyaki made of? ›

Teriyaki Chicken Ingredients

Soy sauce– use low-sodium soy sauce. If you need the recipe to be gluten-free, you can use Tamari sauce. Brown sugar– to sweeten the sauce. Rice wine vinegar– it adds some acidity and a touch of mild sweetness.

Teriyaki sauce that is on the thinner side is better for marinating. I like to use this recipe to marinate beef, pork or chicken. And when making a stir-fry, add it to the pan, along with a cornstarch slurry, which will thicken the sauce. What vegetables go well with teriyaki sauce?

Teriyaki Sauce Ingredients

Authentic Japanese teriyaki sauce combines soy sauce, mirin, sugar, and sake to create a distinctively sharp taste, with Westernized versions incorporating honey, garlic, and ginger for added edge. Cornstarch is often added to teriyaki sauce as a thickener.

The main difference is that marinades are used to flavor food before cooking while a sauce is added during the cooking process or after the dish has been cooked. One important thing: don't use premade marinade that's been used to marinate meat, poultry, or fish.

You can marinate chicken anywhere from 2 hours up to 24 hours, though marinating chicken for even 15 to 30 minutes can impart flavor and moisture into smaller pieces of meat. Generally, bone-in cuts of chicken, such as wings, drumsticks and breasts, will require a longer marinade time than their boneless counterparts.

The best options for pairing perfectly with teriyaki chicken are vegetables, roasted, steamed, and stir-fried – both perfect; grains like simple steamed white rice or quinoa; noodles like ramen or udon noodles; breads like Hawaiian sweet rolls or tortillas; and beverages like ginger ale.

Teriyaki Marinade Recipes

It's also often used as a dipping sauce or condiment for pork tenderloin, chicken thighs, chicken breasts, flank steak, or, of course, your meat substitutes of choice.

Adding cornstarch doesn't allow the sauce to caramelize and will result in a flat taste. Instead, allow the soy sauce and sugar to caramelize during cooking. As an added bonus, this will naturally thicken the sauce and transform it into a glaze.

Rice vinegar is sold near other kinds of vinegar, but if you cannot find it, try cider vinegar or white wine vinegar as a substitute. When tasting the sauce after adding the vinegar, it might taste a little strong.

Combine soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, water, garlic powder, onion powder, and ground ginger in a saucepan over medium heat. Add cornstarch and mix thoroughly. Cook until bubbles start to appear, about 3 minutes. Reduce heat to low.

How is teriyaki traditionally made? ›

Traditionally, teriyaki sauce is made by mixing and heating three ingredients: sugar, soy sauce, and sake (or mirin). Mirin is a Japanese rice wine, similar to sake, but with more sugar and a lower alcohol content of 14%.

Soy Sauce and Sweetener:Mix soy sauce with a sweetener such as honey, maple syrup, agave nectar, or brown sugar. Adjust the ratio based on your desired sweetness. This combination provides a savory and sweet profile similar to teriyaki sauce.

You know how the irresistibly sweet-salty teriyaki-slathered grilled meat you get at a Japanese restaurant is infinitely more delicious than the stuff you make at home? Well, the reason is simple: Homemade teriyaki sauce is just always better than the sickly sweet store-bought stuff.

If you're looking for a substitute with a bit more depth and complexity, try combining Worcestershire sauce and honey. Worcestershire sauce adds a tangy, umami flavor, while the honey provides sweetness. Mix equal parts of Worcestershire sauce and honey to create a flavorful alternative to teriyaki sauce.

You should never use the raw marinade from chicken on ANYTHING you're not going to cook thoroughly first. It touched raw chicken - it may now be contaminated with salmonella. If you eat it, you might get extremely sick.

Teriyaki chicken is a good source of lean protein.

Chicken is a lean meat that is low in fat and high in protein. It provides essential amino acids that are important for muscle growth and repair.

Simply made with soy sauce, brown sugar, vinegar, oil, garlic, and onions, this teriyaki marinade is ready to use in under 10 minutes. This marinade works particularly well with pork and poultry. You can make an extra batch, simmer it until thickened, and drizzle on top of sliced grilled meats and vegetables.

What does teriyaki taste like? A traditional teriyaki sauce offers a mix of salty umami coming from the soy sauce and a sweet, tangy flavor from the mirin, a version of sake that is sweet and has low alcohol content. But if it's a non-traditional teriyaki, you'll taste flavors from ginger, citrus, sesame, and garlic.

The delicious flavors and simplicity of the dish appealed to diverse palates, and it wasn't long before teriyaki gained popularity beyond Japan's borders. In the United States, teriyaki became especially popular in Hawaii, where Japanese immigrants introduced the local population to this delightful culinary creation.