Japanese recipe

Chicken teriyaki

Name: Chicken teriyaki
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 2
Cuisine: Japanese cuisine
Ingredients: 500 g boneless skin-on chicken thighs; 10 ml neutral cooking oil; 45 ml light soy sauce; 45 ml mirin; 30 ml sake; 18 g granulated sugar; 120 g Japanese long onion, cut into 5 cm pieces; 300 g cooked Japanese short-grain rice, for serving

Pan-seared chicken thighs are glazed with a balanced soy, mirin, sake, and sugar sauce.

Japan

Prep: 15 min
Cook: 20 min
Total: 35 min
Servings: 2

Ingredients

500 g
boneless skin-on chicken thighs
10 ml
neutral cooking oil
45 ml
light soy sauce
45 ml
mirin
30 ml
sake
18 g
granulated sugar
120 g
Japanese long onion, cut into 5 cm pieces
300 g
cooked Japanese short-grain rice, for serving

Method

01
Mix the teriyaki sauce
Stir the soy sauce, mirin, sake, and sugar until the sugar is mostly dissolved; keep the sauce refrigerated while preparing the chicken.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
02
Prepare the chicken
Pat the chicken dry, trim loose fat, and pierce the skin several times with a fork so it cooks evenly and lets the glaze cling.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
03
Briefly marinate
Place the chicken skin-side up in a covered dish, pour over 30 ml of the sauce, and refrigerate for 10 minutes; reserve the rest for cooking.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
04
Sear the skin
Preheat a heavy skillet over medium heat, add the oil, and scrape every drop of the 30 ml marinade that touched the raw chicken into the waste bowl; discard it. Place the chicken skin-side down and cook for 6–7 minutes until deeply golden. Sear the long-onion pieces in the open space until lightly browned.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
05
Cook the second side
Turn the chicken and the onion pieces. Cook the chicken for 3–4 minutes, covering briefly if thick, and check the thickest centre with a thermometer; it must reach 74°C. Remove the browned onion when tender.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
06
Reduce the sauce
Transfer the cooked chicken to a clean plate. Pour the reserved sauce into the same skillet and simmer 2–3 minutes until glossy and lightly syrupy.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
07
Glaze the chicken
Return the chicken skin-side up and spoon the reduced sauce over it for 1–2 minutes. Confirm the thickest centre is still at least 74°C.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
08
Rest and serve
Rest the chicken for 3 minutes, slice into 1.5 cm pieces, and serve over or beside the hot short-grain rice with the grilled long onion and remaining glaze.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph

Practical notes

Tips

Preheat a heavy skillet over medium heat before adding oil; this gives the skin an even sear and keeps the onion from steaming.
Keep the reduction gentle; a hard boil can make the sugar scorch before the glaze coats the chicken.

Common mistakes

Leaving a thick layer of marinade on the skin prevents crisp browning and can burn in the pan.
Cutting immediately can release the juices; wait the full 3 minutes before slicing.

Substitutions

Use boneless skinless thighs and add 5 ml oil to the pan; the glaze will still cling, but the skin will not crisp.
For a non-alcohol version, replace the sake with 30 ml water and add 3 g extra sugar.

Storage

Refrigerate cooled chicken and rice separately in airtight containers for up to 3 days. Reheat the chicken covered until steaming hot and the centre reaches 74°C.

Cultural context

Teriyaki describes the Japanese technique of cooking food with a soy-based tare until the surface has a glossy shine; this recipe follows that balance with chicken thighs.

Sources and photo credit

This standardized method was independently rewritten after cross-checking the references below. Recipe Nest Vault does not claim that the credited photographer cooked from this exact version.

Recipe references

Chicken teriyaki — Photograph by Blue Lotus; CC BY 2.0.

Step illustrations: Original illustrations created by Recipe Nest Vault with OpenAI image_gen.

Back to Japanese recipes

Chicken teriyaki

Ingredients

Method

Mix the teriyaki sauce

Prepare the chicken

Briefly marinate

Sear the skin

Cook the second side

Reduce the sauce

Glaze the chicken

Rest and serve

Sources and photo credit

Recipe references

More Chinese recipes

Gyudon (beef rice bowl)

Oyakodon (chicken and egg bowl)

Katsudon (pork cutlet rice bowl)