Simple Dinner Recipe: Teriyaki Chicken

I love teriyaki chicken.



Alright, I love ALL japanese food!! Haha! It's really hard to choose a favourite! >_< But the other night, I had some chicken breast left in the freezer and I thought to myself, "Teriyaki it is!"


Truth is, chicken thigh (with the skin on, of course!!) is the best cut for teriyaki because of the flavor, texture and the juiciness! But because I only had chicken breast, this recipe is perhaps the "healthier" version of teriyaki chicken you can get. First of all, thank you Marc for your excellent recipe (Link)! I love the fact that he has ginger in his recipe!! I love ginger! (By the way, I can't believe my bf actually managed to taste ginger in this! Can't hide anything from this Masterchef >_<)


This is my first attempt at cooking teriyaki but the guinea pigs were really happy that night. Hehehe..well partly because of the sago pudding too! Lol. Anyways, to me, it tasted really good but I would still prefer it with chicken thigh and more teriyaki sauce. Other than that, it was perfect with rice! Thanks Marc!

My lovely stack of "healthy"teriyaki chicken :)

According to wiki, teriyaki is actually the cooking technique used in Japanese cuisine in which foods are broiled or gilled while basted in marinade based on soy sauce, mirin and sugar.


In this recipe, however, there are 4 ingredients in our teriyaki sauce: soy sauce, mirin, sake and honey. This recipe is really easy and goes so well with hot fluffy rice. Yummmm.


This is my version:

Ingredients
- Chicken Breast (use Chicken thigh if you have!)
- Ginger (size is about half your thumb; grated, we only need the juice)
- Teriyaki Sauce (Combine 1 tablespoon of each: soy sauce, mirin, sake and honey)
- Cooking Oil
- Pinch of salt


Step 1: Marinate chicken with a pinch of salt and ginger juice. Make sure you dry the chicken thoroughly with some kitchen towel to remove excess fluid before marinating. Let sit for at least 30 minutes or more in the fridge.

If you are using chicken breast, make sure you cut them with the same thickness so they cook at the same time.

Step 2: Heat oil in a frying pan (medium heat). Add the chicken and cook both sides. Make sure you do not overcook the chicken! 

Step 3: Add 1 tablespoon of sake and cover the pan with a lid. Let the chicken steam for about 2-3 minutes.

1 large chicken leg skin on, deboned (about 12 ounces)

1 teaspoon ginger grated

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon mirin

1 tablespoon sake

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon sake

- See more at: http://norecipes.com/blog/teriyaki-chicken-recipe/#sthash.UKM9V4YD.dpuf

Step 4: Prepare teriyaki sauce. Marc's recipe is 1 tablespoon of each: soy sauce, mirin, sake and honey. Combine well.

Step 5: Remove lid and any excess liquid from the pan. Turn to high heat and add in the teriyaki sauce. Let the mixture boil, while flipping the chicken to make sure every slice is coated with the yummy sauce. The chicken is done once the sauce is almost evaporated and form a thick glaze.

Note: I suspect because I'm using chicken breast instead of the thigh so there were not enough sauce to glaze the meat after it was cooked. So I made extra sauce with 6 tablespoon of each: sake, mirin and soy sauce; and 3 tablespoon of honey because I didn't want my teriyaki sauce to be too sweet. This is trial and error, so feel free to experiment! :)

Step 6: Serve your teriyaki chicken on a serving plate and drizzle some teriyaki sauce on top.

Dinner's ready!

Simple and Awesome Dinner: Teriyaki Chicken, stir-fry beans, tamago and hot fluffy white rice. I wish I made more of the teriyaki sauce so I can just eat it with the rice. Heh!

So, there you have it, super simple dinner which you can prepare for your loved ones!

My guinea pigs actually prefer the chicken breast because it's deemed "healthier". So my experiment was a success! Hehehe. :P

Hope you love this one. Enjoy! :)