Teriyaki Chicken
This Teriyaki Chicken is done in 15 minutes! An easy chicken dinner with a sweet and savory sauce. Serve over rice.
TERIYAKI CHICKEN RECIPE
I’ve committed myself to adding more quick meals to my repertoire because life has gotten crazy. This easy chicken dinner couldn’t be any quicker and is the perfect weeknight dinner.
I’ve tried this with thighs, breasts, brown sugar, honey, apple cider vinegar, rice wine vinegar,…basically all versions of a classic chicken teriyaki stir fry. This is the one that won!
INGREDIENTS IN THE MARINADE
- BONELESS CHICKEN THIGHS OR CHICKEN BREASTS – Traditionally this is made with thighs but boneless skinless chicken breasts an be used.
- RICE VINEGAR – Gives the chicken a little bite.
- LOW-SODIUM SOY SAUCE – We like to control the sodium in the dish. You can also use coconut aminos.
- BROWN SUGAR – I’ve used honey as a substitute and it works great.
- GROUND GINGER – I like using dry ginger here because I always have it on hand but you can also use fresh ginger.
- GARLIC
- WATER
- SALT
- PEPPER
- SESAME OIL – not necessary but adds so much flavor
Save half of the marinade for the sauce. You can marinade this for 15 minutes or up to 24 hours.
We cook the chicken and the chicken cooks in the reserved marinade.
There are also two ways you can cook this. You can cut into bite size pieces before cooking or cook the chicken in whole pieces and slice up into strips after cooking.
If you have really thick chicken it’s easier to cut into cubes before cooking. You can also pound them thin to even out the cooking time.
The sliced whole chicken pieces are pretty for presentation but cubes are easier to cook evenly.
Dinner is done in 30 minutes!
OTHER CHICKEN RECIPES
- Pesto Bruschetta Chicken
- Chicken Parmesan Meatballs
- One-Pan Chicken Enchilada Skillet
- Baked Chicken Chimichangas
- Chicken Pot Pie
- Buffalo Chicken Chili
- Cheesy Salsa Bean Chicken
Teriyaki Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs (or breasts), whole or cut into 1-inch cubes, (see note)
- 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 1/4 cup brown sugar, (honey can be substituted)
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar, (apple cider vinegar can be substituted)
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil, (optional but gives it great flavor)
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- sliced green onions for serving
- cooked rice for serving
Instructions
- Trim the chicken thighs of any visible fat. Keep whole but pounded thin or cut into 1-inch cubes. See note.
- In a medium bowl, add the soy sauce, sugar, water, vinegar, garlic, sesame oil, salt, pepper, and ginger in a bowl. Whisk together. Transfer half of the mixture to a separate bowl for the sauce.
- Add the chicken to the remaining mixture and turn to coat. Marinade in the fridge for 15 minutes or up to 24 hours.
- In a large skillet, add the oil and heat over medium heat. Remove the chicken from the marinade, wiping off as much marinade as you can. Cook for 4-6 minutes per side over medium heat or until chicken has reached 165 degrees F and is no longer pink. If the marinade in the pan starts to get dark, add a little water to deglaze the pan so it does not burn, repeating if necessary.
- Add the reserved marinade to the pan and cook with the chicken for about 30 second to one minute until mixture thickens. Making sure not to heat to high or it will burn. It will get bubbly but should not cook until super thick.
- Add salt and pepper to taste. Slice chicken if left whole on a cutting board. Serve over rice and garnish with green onions. Store leftovers in an airtight container.
Made this the first time today and even though I couldn’t let it marinade long the recipe came out GREAT. Steamed garlic broccoli and jasmine rice f8nished the meal. Thanks for the recipe!
This is my new favorite recipe. I’ve made it once a week the last three weeks, and making it again tonight!!
Bustin
Thank you!