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Chicken Teriyaki チキン照り焼き

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Here’s a classic chicken teriyaki recipe prepared in the authentic Japanese cooking method. Glazed in a flavorful homemade sauce, this recipe will be on your dinner routine. No bottled sauce needed!

Chicken Teriyaki Recipe | Easy Japanese Recipes at JustOneCookbook.com

When I first came to the US as a foreign student, I didn’t have a car for the first few months because I lived in a dormitory. My parents assumed that I would eat at the cafeteria at school everyday, which I did for a few months.

It didn’t take me long to get bored with the cafeteria’s menus. Luckily I got my first driver’s license and a car, and I moved into an apartment right away.  I started to cook on my own mainly because I missed my mom’s food terribly.  The closest Japanese supermarket was miles away and as a fairly new driver I was scared of driving on the high speed American freeways.  Luckily, American supermarkets in the area carried some Asian products so I could get some basic ingredients there. That saved the cost of flying home to Japan to ease my craving for my mom’s home cooked meals. One of the dishes I have been making since then was Chicken Teriyaki as it reminds me the taste and comfort of home.

Chicken Teriyaki Recipe | Easy Japanese Recipes at JustOneCookbook.com

When my friend Jen at  The Three Little Piglets asked if I can make a Japanese dish with a few easy-to-find but essential ingredients to share on her blog, I thought authentic Chicken Teriyaki would be a great first introductory dish for cooking Japanese food.

If you are not aware, the “teriyaki sauce” in a bottle does not taste like real teriyaki sauce in Japan.  Like I mentioned in my Beef Teriyaki post, teriyaki actually refers a cooking technique in Japanese: teri means “luster” given by the sweet soy sauce marinade and yaki means “cooking/grilling” and it’s not really the name of the sauce.

Cooking authentic Chicken Teriyaki Japanese method

Although Chicken Teriyaki may originated from a grilled dish, but Japanese home cooks prefer to prepare the dish by pan frying the chicken. Since not many households are equipped with a grill, pan frying is a simple and convenient method to make this favorite Japanese dish at home. Chicken thighs are preferred because they don’t dry out quickly. Allow the chicken to marinade with the sauce for a few hours will ensure they come out moist and tender.  In a hot frying pan, brown the chicken until the skin is nicely crisp. The sauce is then added in the same pan until thickens. With the remaining sauce, you want to spoon it over to glaze the chicken. 

What’s in the sauce for Chicken Teriyaki?

The basic Teriyaki sauce is made of 4 simple ingredients: soy sauce, sake, mirin and sugar. Sometimes aromatics can be added for extra flavors. In this recipe, I added grated onion and ginger for additional depth and zing. The homemade version is about adjusting the ratio of these ingredients to suit your tastebud. That is why we don’t use bottled sauce in Japan. It is not overly sweet and free of addictive. Corn starch is also not needed for teriyaki sauce because soy sauce and sugar will caramelize during the simmering process, which thickens the sauce. 

Simple and bursting with flavor, I believe anyone can cook up this classic Japanese dish at home. Serve the Chicken Teriyaki with steamed rice with a salad or steamed vegetables on a side, you will have a delicious weeknight meal for the whole family. 

Are you ready to cook authentic Chicken Teriyaki at home? You can get the recipe below or click HERE to check the recipe on Jen’s blog.  If you enjoy baking, you will love following her blog.  I personally can’t wait to try her Just Like Doubletree Cookies and Orange Cardamom Madeleines.  Hmmmmm!  It makes me drool by just talking about them!

Chicken Teriyaki Recipe | Easy Japanese Recipes at JustOneCookbook.com

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Chicken Teriyaki
Chicken Teriyaki | Easy Japanese Recipes at JustOneCookbook.com
Print
Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
20 mins
Total Time
2 hr 30 mins
 
Course: Main Course
Servings: 2
Ingredients
  • 1 lb boneless chicken thigh with skin (1 lb = 454 g)
  • 1 Tbsp neutral flavor oil (vegetable, canola, etc) (for Step 4)
  • 2 Tbsp sake (for cooking)
  • 1 tsp neutral flavor oil (vegetable, canola, etc) (for Step 7)
Teriyaki Sauce:
  • 2 Tbsp soy sauce
  • 2 Tbsp water
  • 1 Tbsp sake
  • 1 Tbsp mirin
  • 1 Tbsp granulated sugar
  • ¼ onion (grated, including juice)
  • 1 ginger (1 ginger = 2.5 cm) (grated, including juice)
Instructions
  1. Cut each chicken thigh into 4 pieces. Prick the chicken with a fork so it absorbs more flavor.
    Chicken Teriyaki 1
  2. Combine the teriyaki sauce ingredients in a medium bowl or Ziploc bag.
    Chicken Teriyaki 2
  3. Add the chicken into the bowl and marinate for at least 2-3 hours in the refrigerator.
    Chicken Teriyaki 3
  4. Heat the oil in a non-stick pan over medium high heat and place the chicken pieces skin side down, RESERVING the sauce (Do not add any liquid so that chicken will brown nicely).
    Chicken Teriyaki 4
  5. When skin side is nicely browned, flip the chicken and add sake. Quickly cover the pan and cook over medium heat for 8-10 minutes.
    Chicken Teriyaki 5
  6. Remove the chicken to a plate and wipe off excess grease from the pan.
    Chicken Teriyaki 6
  7. Heat the oil and put the chicken back in the pan, skin side down, and cook until the skin becomes crispy.
    Chicken Teriyaki 7
  8. Flip the chicken and pour the reserved sauce and cook until the sauce is reduced. Use a spoon to pour the sauce on top of the chicken while cooking.
    Chicken Teriyaki 8
  9. Transfer the chicken to a plate and drizzle the remaining sauce on top.
Recipe Notes

For those of you who're interested in my grater, here's the grater I use.

Recipe by Namiko Chen of Just One Cookbook. All images and content on this site are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without my permission. If you’d like to share this recipe on your site, please re-write the recipe in your own words and link to this post as the original source. Thank you.

 

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  1. Katsu chicken! 🙂

    We love salmon baked in teriyaki store bought sauce ;)… Whenever I bake teriyaki salmon, I must make sure that it’s overload with sauce, otherwise all I could hear is whining n complains …
    Heading over to the 3 little piglets 🙂

    1
    Reply to Lisa H'> Reply

  3. Alyssa

    I still remember your post on beef teriyaki and learning that it’s a method, not a sauce. This chicken looks great, I’m sure my kids would love it! I love that your need to make your own food was the catalyst for you to get a car and your own apartment!

    3
    Reply to Alyssa'> Reply

  8. Nami, this 1st Japanese dish com to my mind is Teriyaki chicken, hehehe! we just enjoy and love Teriyaki chicken!! I also prefer chicken more than any other meat..Earlier, i know nothing about how to cook Japanese food at home, bought a Teriyaki sauce, and the taste was way difference from those serve in Japanese restaurant..after I learnt Teriyaki salmon from a Taiwanese cooking show, no more buying ready Teriyaki sauce. I will check out your recipe in Jen after this..

    8
    Reply to Sonia aka Nasi Lemak Lover'> Reply

  9. Very lovely presentation! I love Teriyaki chicken and it is my must order in the Japanese restaurant. Will check your post over Jen’s site.

    9
    Reply to [email protected] Journal'> Reply

  11. I love Chicken teriyaki! But sadly the only teriyaki sauce I have ever tasted is from a bottle.. As you mentioned “authentic” teriyaki recipe, I am anxiously looking forward to try this recipe on the weekend! 🙂

    11
    Reply to Zee'> Reply

  13. This looked so good, had to pop over there and comment first! Well done Nami.

    13
    Reply to [email protected]'> Reply

  18. Nami, what a wonderful idea to choose this dish for your guest post! It is such an easy and delicious representative of the Japanese cuisine. I think everyone likes beef or chicken (or anything else!) prepared this way. There is something universal in the teriyaki sweetish glaze…
    Now I’m really craving it looking at your perfect chicken chunks!
    Thank you for sharing with us some of your student days’ memories.

    18
    Reply to Sissi'> Reply

  22. I love anything with teriyaki sauce! Beef, fish, chicken..you name it and I’ll like it!

    22
    Reply to [email protected] and Donuts'> Reply

  27. I learn something new each day, thanks for explaining the translation of teriyaki! For me, when I think of Japanese food, my first thought is of sushi. But if you had asked me as a child, I would have said gyoza and ramen!

    27
    Reply to Liren'> Reply

  30. Yay, I’m excited for this one, think I could make it, although no flour, baking soda, yeast hmm I don’t know :). I just bought some chicken thighs for some teriyaki so I must try your recipe out. I didn’t know teriyaki is not a sauce but a cooking method huh, learn something everyday. The first thing that comes to mind in Japanese food is tempura.

    30
    Reply to Suzanne'> Reply

  31. Annapet

    Hello, Nami! So happy to see your live tweet about this post! The Daily Palette has been very quiet and I think I have to clean the cobwebs ;-). For sure this recipe will become a regular item on my menu just like your Chicken Karaage!

    Heading over to Jen’s!

    31
    Reply to Annapet'> Reply

  37. Yes, I am drooling just looking at the photo of your chicken teriyaki! It’s difficult to pick out one type of food I associate with Japanese cooking, I guess going to a sushi bar and eating very fresh little pieces of fish;-)

    37
    Reply to patty'> Reply

  39. I would love to taste authentic Chicken Teriyaki! This dish really makes me hungry. A must try. I love the photos. =)

    39
    Reply to [email protected]'> Reply

  40. Hi Nami,
    So glad you posted this recipe. A friend of mine asked me if I had a recipe for chicken teriyaki just today, I know where to direct her now.
    It looks so amazing , just like all your food. I would love to try this out for my family. We love chicken teriyaki.
    Driving on highways for me too was scary when I first moved. But later realized if you can drive in Mumbai you can drive anywhere in the world. I used to drive a lot back in India. The traffic is so much more organized here.

    40
    Reply to Asmita'> Reply

  46. Hi Nami, your chicken looks perfectly glazed and cooked, beautiful! And I love homemade teriyaki, so flavorful, juicy, and tasty! I just wanted to share that when I came to the US for college, I didn’t know how to cook at all either. And, I missed mom’s food so much that I decided to start. How funny huh? Totally know what you mean 🙂

    46
    Reply to Jessica'> Reply

  52. Nami I will definitely make this in the near future. I made some teriyaki wings a few nights ago and it was a hit, though I am sure it was the “Americanized” version. I cooked the wings in a slowcooker for most of the day then broiled them in the oven for a 5-10 minutes to crisp the skins, yummm!

    It’s almost Spring Break time for you, I am battling a bad cold (probably from hanging out with too many children during my Spring break last week). Hope you have a good weekend!

    52
    Reply to Jeno @ Week Nite Meals'> Reply

  55. I know the feeling of cooking something to remind you of home, although mine is only three hours away. It must be tough sometimes, and for that I feel bad for you. I hope that these recipes still bring you home!

    PS. I imagine you handle those highways like a champ now!

    55
    Reply to Jeff'> Reply

  57. Ah, I remember your beef teriyaki post, and of course how glossy and delicious it looked. It’s lovely to see this version too, and it looks soe great, and, apart from the marinade, SO fast to make too?! Looks great – I might try the beef version on the weekend I think… looking forward to it 🙂

    57
    Reply to Charles'> Reply

  59. Ira Rodrigues

    I normally make the teriyaki chicken by adding with store bought teriyaki sauce. Im very happy that you have share your homemade teriyaki recipe for me to be more confident in my kitchen, thank you nami!

    59
    Reply to Ira Rodrigues'> Reply

  64. love that story about learnign to cook because you missed your mum’s food. that was exactly how I started cooking, and I also only really learnt when I went to uni! the teriyaki chicken looks amazing,I love that char on it!

    second vicky’s question. I always wondered, is it possible to use chinese shaoxing wine as a substitute for sake? I know it definitely wont be the same, but seeing as they;re both brewed from rice..?

    64
    Reply to Shu Han'> Reply

  67. Your chicken teriyaki looks perfect, Nami!
    I very seldom use ready made teriyaki sauce since the time I learned from Ryan’s Japanese officemate that I can make a better one by combining soy sauce, mirin, sake & sugar.
    When I think of Japanese food, I automatically think of sashimi and sushi. They’re my fave. 🙂

    69
    Reply to Tina (PinayInTexas)'> Reply

  78. Mmm… my favourite, love it. Thanks Nami for the wonderful dish, from now on I’ll do my self and skip the restuarants, hahaha…

    80
    Reply to [email protected] Cooks'> Reply

  85. Hey nami,

    Iam so glad that i accidentally happened to land on your heavenly space full of food. I checked out other recipes as well, pics are really beautiful and your family is cute. Teriyaki chicken is super glossy and inviting. It’s one of my fav chicken dish. Presentation is catchy.

    87
    Reply to San'> Reply

  86. I love teriyaki chicken and beef as well, they are indeed easy but I must admit I am always lazy to cook when I was in college unless I am cooking for someone so my dinners are a choice of takeaways or instant noodles

    88
    Reply to Raymund'> Reply

  88. I loved reading more stories about your Nami. Sounds very interesting about your college days here in the states.
    Well, at least there is one authentic Japanese recipe, which is the Teriyaki dishes that I have made for such a long time, since the eighties. Had great results with the chicken. I happen to like the bone-in, and bake them first w/out the sauce for 30 minutes, and then brush them for the last 20 minutes with the sauce. I use the same sauce method…can’t go wrong with that.
    Great guest post, and yummylicious Teriyaki boneless chicken, Nami!

    90
    Reply to [email protected]'> Reply

  94. Hi Nami
    I never make chicken teriyaki at home and usually get them from supermarket. How lazy I am! This looks so easy to make. The chicken is nicely charred and covered with caramelizing sauce. Perfect for anytime of the day. Thanks for the recipe.

    96
    Reply to Tataya Kudo'> Reply

  98. junelb

    Nami, I love all the recipes here. I never though Japanese cooking can be so easy. One thing I learnt, there are 4 essential ingredients that can do up many beautiful and easy Jap dishes. Soya, Dashi, Mirin and Sake. Once I equip myself with these 4, I can whip up anything I want.

    I got a question in mind. I don’t like to pan fry chicken as the oil splatters everywhere. Can I just dump this marinated teriyaki chicken into the oven to grill it?

    100
    Reply to junelb'> Reply

    • Hi junelb! Thank you for following my blog. 🙂 You will be using those 4 items a lot, so don’t worry about wasting them – it won’t happen. 😉

      As for the oven bake, sure you can use the oven, but I am not sure if you can create the same luster as you make in a frying pan. In Japan, most of the dishes are made in a frying pan instead of oven, so I have never used oven to make chicken teriyaki before.

      The chicken may not be as shiny and glaze may not appear when you use oven. Maybe you can try and let me know. When you use pan fry, you reduce the sauce so the sauce becomes more syrupy, but with oven, I assume it’s very hard to do it. If you don’t care about details, I think it’s okay.

      Another option is to bake the chicken only, and reduce the sauce in a saucepan to make it syrupy and pour over the grilled chicken. What do you think?

      101
      Reply to Nami'> Reply

  100. Thanks for the teriyaki sauce recipe Nami :)Mr Bao and I use it a lot at home and we’re always buying it from the super market but really we should just make our own it’s so much cheaper and we can control the taste of it ~ I have a feeling this is gonna be a weeknight staple in our home ~

    104
    Reply to [email protected]'> Reply

  101. Ꮮуռ (ᶬˠ ᶩᶤᵗᵗᶥᵋ ᵐᵋˢˢᵞ ᴻ ᶜʱᵋᵋᵏᵞ)

    Salmon sashimi for me! I will always order salmon sashimi first whenever at a Japanese restaurant. Mentioning it makes me craving it! LOL

    Actually my very first home-cooked Japanese dish is (stewed) teriyaki chicken wings with those packet sauces. My family loved it very much. I’ve not try cooking any teriyaki dishes from scratch so I will try this recipe. 😉
    Ever since I tried a few of your recipes, mirin, sake and dashi had become must-haves in my kitchen cabinets! I even got so upset when I couldn’t find any mirin selling in the nearest supermarket and any other stores! When I finally saw it at a shopping mall promoting all kinda Japanese F&B last weekend, I hurried grabbed two bottles happily! LOL 😛

    105
    Reply to Ꮮуռ (ᶬˠ ᶩᶤᵗᵗᶥᵋ ᵐᵋˢˢᵞ ᴻ ᶜʱᵋᵋᵏᵞ)'> Reply

  104. What a beautiful glaze. I love the addition of the sake for steaming. I must try this out

    108
    Reply to [email protected]'> Reply

  109. Tina

    This is how I remember my mother (who is Japanese) making her teriyaki chicken and it’s the way she passed it on to me. The dish is definitely a process and not just about the sauce. I’ve never used jarred teriyaki sauce only because it never tasted right to me. Going through the steps you’ve outlined guarantees great color, great taste and great aroma in your kitchen!

    116
    Reply to Tina'> Reply

  111. Fung

    Made your Chicken Teriyaki with skin. Awesome! As soon as I read chicken thigh with skin, I just had to make it. My daughter said she was in Heaven when she tasted it. The skin was crispy and the chicken meat was so juice and tender. The Teriyaki sauce was fantastic. I did add 2 cloves of garlic, grated. This will be my go to Teriyaki sauce.
    Thanks,
    Fung

    122
    Reply to Fung'> Reply

    • Hi Fung! Yay! I’m so glad you and your daughter loved this recipe. It’s my go-to Teriyaki recipe too. I also like to play with the recipe sometimes, adding more ginger, or garlic like you did. No matter how I change, it still tastes really delicious. 🙂 Thank you so much for your feedback Fung!

      123
      Reply to Nami'> Reply

  112. This looks delicious..you got the perfect colour on the chicken. A recipe to try for sure!

    124
    Reply to [email protected]'> Reply

  114. Rhea

    Hi Nami, you’re recipes are fabulous! I just want to ask what’s the difference of this recipe to a previous teriyaki chicken you posted almost a year ago? Is this one the perfected one?

    Thank you

    127
    Reply to Rhea'> Reply

    • Hi Rhea! Thank you for writing and I’m happy to hear you enjoy my blog! We call the dish “Teriyaki Chicken” so my original post was how we say in Japanese. However, I noticed that people in the world search “Chicken Teriyaki” so I created another recipe. Taste wise, it’s pretty similar. The first one has butter in it so it’s more mild (love the combination of soy sauce and butter!). To be honest with you, I like them both. I made the second one with skin on, so the purpose was to make it nice and crispy. In Japan, each family makes the seasonings slightly different and I also change the seasonings every time for fun. So you can play around and find your favorite sauce. As I mentioned in the post, “teriyaki” is the cooking technique and not the sauce name. I hope you try both and adjust to your liking!

      128
      Reply to Nami'> Reply

    • Esther

      Hi Nami

      I have tried this recipe once already and my husband love.

      If i have double the qty of meat, does that mean that I increase the seasoning by 2 times?

      Thanks and best Regards
      Esther

      132
      Reply to Esther'> Reply

      • Hi Esther! If you double the amount of meat, you can get by by the same amount of seasoning, however, it doesn’t hurt to double or maybe just add 1/2 of seasonings for extra sauce, especially if you need to pan fry twice. Hope this helps. I’m happy to hear your husband likes it! 🙂

        133
        Reply to Nami'> Reply

  119. tania

    Hi,

    I would like to make your chicken teriyaki. I am just wondering when you use the sake for steaming? Because I already read through the instruction and I can not find the steaming step. Thanks a lot

    136
    Reply to tania'> Reply

    • Yes you can, however, wings take a longer time to cook over pan fried (and need to cover and cook for a longer time) so I would probably bake the wings instead of cook in the fry pan. I would marinate for a longer time. While baking the wings, I may reduce the marinade in a frying pan till the sauce gets thicker and then brush it on the wings when they are being baked. I hope this helps. 🙂

      139
      Reply to Nami'> Reply

  121. Alexa

    Well, when I think of Japanese food, the 1st things that come to mind are chicken teriyaki (hehe), Japanese style creeps, and okonamiyaki.
    I can’t wait to make this tonight! I am making real teriyaki for the 1st time and not using the mixture that I’d use with the store bought stuff. I’m so excited! I hope there’s leftovers so I can put it in tomorrow’s bento!
    Well, time to put on some Nico-nico and cook! （＾ω＾）

    140
    Reply to Alexa'> Reply

  122. goldinhunnie

    this looks a-mazing!!!! about to head to the asian store to get me some sake and mirin. my mom would be so ashamed to know i don’t have soy in the house… anyway, got rice cooking away. gonna serve with a side of bok choy. can’t wait to try this!!!! thank you so much for your blog ;o) happy holidays!!!

    141
    Reply to goldinhunnie'> Reply

  123. Mae

    Made your chicken teriyaki recipe tonight. I normally broil my chicken in the oven and tried your method of using the fry pan and must say that it was very good. It was my first time that I grated onion and it brought a different flavor to the dish. Grating the onion was a bit of a challenge since it is quite slippery(not like daikon). Any feedback to make the grating process easier?

    Thank you.

    144
    Reply to Mae'> Reply

    • Hi Mae! Thank you so much for trying this recipe! I hope you enjoyed it. Adding grated onion gives nice texture to the sauce and when it’s cooked it gives sweet flavor.

      Agree, it’s a bit challenging to grate onion. Some brand of grater works better than others, as well. I have one grater that has a handle for vegetable so I can grate without worrying about my finger. To avoid onion getting separated, you can also keep the core (don’t chop off) when you grate, so it won’t be separated… I hope you understand what I mean… 🙂

      Hope this helps!

      145
      Reply to Nami'> Reply

  125. Lf

    Hi Nami,
    This is the first time I visit your blog, thanks for your Japanese food recipe and full detail preparation procedure. I loved Japanese food very much, and now I can try myself. Can we use the teriyaki sauce again to cook the chicken? Thanks.

    148
    Reply to Lf'> Reply

    • Hi Lf! Welcome to my blog! I’m happy to hear you like Japanese food, and hope my recipes are useful. 🙂 About re-using the sauce, I don’t recommend re-using the marinade/sauce from cooking the meat. Plus, most of the liquid/marinade should be evaporated while cooking. Hope that helps. 🙂

      149
      Reply to Nami'> Reply

  127. Mary

    I loved this recipe! I could not believe how tasty it was. The chicken came out so juicy and tender on the inside yet crispy on the outside. The flavors and smell of this dish, as well as the visual appearance are wonderful. Thanks so much for sharing! My husband loved it so much! It tastes very good paired with yaki ongiri 🙂 Thanks again! We will be making it often!

    152
    Reply to Mary'> Reply

  128. Pete

    Thanks for another great recipe and super quick! I made this with both lean chicken breast and once using the chicken thighs. Definitely like the thighs best but the breast was good too. For some reason when I used the excess marinade at the end it formed a brown scum in the pan that was kind of gross so I started just mixing up another batch of the marinade separately to use at the end and I just toss marinade I used with my chicken. The family loved it!

    154
    Reply to Pete'> Reply

    • Hi Pete! It’s probably fat and protein from the meat. Great to hear that extra new batch will make good sauce! So happy to hear your family enjoyed it. Thanks so much for your feedback. 🙂

      155
      Reply to Nami'> Reply

  129. Cate Mras

    I am so glad I found your site. I love Japanese cooking! I spent 17 days in and around Saga Prefect in 2006 – LOVED IT! Loved the people I met and the whole experience it was a highlight of my life. I was use to the American style Japanese Stake House in the U.S.A. and not terribly impressed, you can imagine how I was truly delighted by the food I had in Japan. I will be using your JUST ONE COOKBOOK over and over again. Thank you for sharing your recipes and cooking tips.

    156
    Reply to Cate Mras'> Reply

  130. Angie D.

    I cooked this chicken teriyaki last night and it was a big success. I used regular chicken thighs because the skin gives added flavor and texture to the dish. My family enjoyed it tremendously. I used real sake wine bought from the liquor store. Will the
    cooking wine bought at an Asian grocery store be as good? Thanks!

    158
    Reply to Angie D.'> Reply

    • Hi Angie! Yay! So happy to hear you liked the recipe. Cooking wine will work just fine too, especially if it’s small amount. My sake is from Asian market (I use those $5-8 big bottle). It’s for “drinking” but I think it’s lower end sake and I would just use for cooking only. 🙂

      159
      Reply to Nami'> Reply

  131. Alessia

    Thank you for this recipe, Nami!
    This teriyaki chicken was excellent! 🙂
    This is the first time I try your recipes because I just discovered your amazing site!
    I hope to try out other amazing recipes.
    Greets from Italy!

    160
    Reply to Alessia'> Reply

  132. Lotti

    Hello, I was wondering if you thought this would last very long frozen or refrigerated. I’m thinking specifically of cooking it the evening before for bento, or cooking to go in the freezer for a week or so. Thank you for the recipe. 🙂

    -Lotti.

    162
    Reply to Lotti'> Reply

    • Hi Lotti! You can cook this dish for dinner, and bring this for bento next day. I also freeze it for later use too. Make sure to re-heat before putting in bento. Hope I answered to your question. 🙂

      163
      Reply to Nami'> Reply

    • Hi Mamil! You can omit sake AND mirin (which contains alcohol). Since mirin is sweetened sake, you may want to add more sugar/honey instead. If you want to dilute, simply add water to adjust. Thank you very much for your question! Your English is great! 🙂

      167
      Reply to Nami'> Reply

  135. Min Yee

    Thank you so much for this recipe. I made this tonight and I didn’t have time to marinade for 2 hrs, just only 45 mins and yet the chicken is so flavorful. I also ran out of ginger and onion. Regardless, it’s so yummy. Tastes exactly what I had in Japanese restaurant

    168
    Reply to Min Yee'> Reply

  137. Sarah

    Hello. You have another chicken teriyaki recipe that calls for the chicken to be marinated for a few hours. What’s the difference in flavor between the two? This would be my 1st attempt so pls help me out here. Thanks!

    172
    Reply to Sarah'> Reply

      • Hi Sarah! Don’t worry, I know you are comparing with my two recipes “Teriyaki Chicken” and “Chicken Teriyaki” (both names are used in Japanese cooking, and it means the same thing).

        When the meat is marinated, it has more flavor for sure. If you don’t have time however, you can skip the marinating. If you want the chicken to get more flavor, you can use a fork to pluck the chicken fillet so that the flavor will go inside the chicken more, even without marinating.

        Both recipes are slightly different in flavor. There is not set “teriyaki sauce” recipe in Japan, and it’s really up to each family/restaurant. Most ingredients are same, but different ratios. So I cook “teriyaki chicken” differently at home. Hope I answered your question. 🙂 Good luck, and I hope you enjoy the recipe!

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  138. LadyRenacorn

    I just made this recipe and it turned out ahh-mazing. So much better than the stuff you get from restaurants. Thank you for sharing this with us. I look forward to trying more of your recipes 🙂

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    • Hi Lady Renacorn! Aww I’m so happy you enjoyed this recipe! Yes, once you make teriyaki dishes at home, you probably don’t want to pay for the teriyaki dishes in the restaurant. It tastes better and healthier when you make it. 🙂 Hope you enjoy other recipes from my blog. Thanks very much for your kind feedback!

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  140. Darryl

    I used your recipe for my first attempt at teriyaki chicken and it worked fantastic! And of course, tasted delicious! Thank you very much, I’ll be sure to share with friends and family. I can’t wait to try my hand at some of your other dishes!!

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    • Hi Ritsuko! Thank you so much for your kind words! Sure, you can. Or if you see excess oil, use a paper towel to wipe off without transferring the chicken. 🙂 Arigato for checking my recipe and hope you enjoy!

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  143. Amaka

    Hi,
    Very interested in making this dish your way. Thanks for your step by step recipe. I have seen several recipes that include pineapple or any fruit. Unfortunately, I tried mine with pineapple, garlic, ginger,sugar, honey, soy sauce and water. Really didn’t quite like it.

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    • Hi Stacy! This recipe works great with this marinade and the way it’s cooked. Since I’m not sure what type and flavor of teriyaki sauce you have, so it’s hard for me to say if this is the best approach. For example, if your sauce is thick like American teriyaki sauce, you will need to adjust cooking time as you don’t need to wait for the sauce to thicken. Plus thick sauce can burn easily, so you might want to marinade in a thin sauce and use that teriyaki sauce to pour toward the end. I wish I can help you but without knowing or using the product I’m not sure what’s the best way. Hope this helps. 🙂

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  145. Rebecca

    I’ve noticed a lot of your recipes include alcohol such as sake and mirin. I live in the dorms at a school where being caught with alcohol on campus, even if just for cooking, could get me in trouble. Do you have any alternatives?

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    • Hi Rebecca! Ah I see! There’s two ways…

      For sake,

      1) Use “cooking sake” – this is more like condiments as the alcohol content is very low that it’s sold as condiment at a regular Asian store (even stores that don’t have liquor license). So you can purchase it. It has small amount of sake + other seasonings, but you can use it as sake.

      2) Just substitute with water. Now it depends on the recipe. As you can totally skip sake or need to replace with water. Please read my FAQ page for sake.

      https://www.justonecookbook.com/faqs/

      For mirin,

      You can replace with water + sugar.

      https://www.justonecookbook.com/pantry_items/mirin/

      Hope that helps!

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  146. Shirley

    Hi Nami, I made the chicken teriyaki tonight and it was good, but not really what I expected. I am wondering if I used the proper soy sauce. I went to the Japanese market and I bought the light colored lower sodium Kikomon made in Japan. I am wondering if I should have used the dark soy sauce instead and maybe not the lower sodium. If you say I should use the dark, do you recommend the brand Koikuchi Shoya as mentioned somewhere else on your blog.

    I am also doing your Yakisoba noodles with pork tenderloin and not pork belly. I will have to do it the night before. I hope it will be ok and taste good the next day heated. The morning of the shower, I will be making the rice for the CharashiZushi and have everything else ready the night before to add to it. One last question. If you had to recommend a good cookbook just for making sushi, sashimi, etc. what one would you recommend. I am also making your baked korokke and bought the sauce you suggested for it. The people at the Japanese market were very helpful. Thank you for all your help and I will let you know how it all turns out.

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    • Hi Shirley! If you’re used to Americanized teriyaki version, Japanese teriyaki sauce may not be a familiar taste. I use Koikuchi soy sauce, and this is same as Kikkoman Organic soy sauce (I’ve asked the Kikkoman about this, and it’s exactly same content as the one I use shown in the Soy Suace Pantry page. We don’t really say “dark” or “light” soy sauce in Japan.

      Pork tenderloin is fine as long as it’s thinly sliced. Pork tends to be tougher than other type of meat, so thinly slice would help a lot to keep it tender, as it doesn’t have much fat compared to pork belly. Taste should be okay. Of course the noodles are the best when it’s just cooked (like imagine al dente pasta vs. cold pasta). But at this circumstance, I guess it’s the best you can do. 🙂

      Chirashizuki should work okay as long as you mix up in the morning.

      I don’t have a cookbook recommendation for sashimi and sushi… I don’t read English cookbooks so I’m not too familiar with Japanese cookbooks written in English. Sorry….

      And yes, tonkatsu sauce is great! Hope your party will be successful. Your guests are so lucky you’re cooking all these foods! 🙂 Best of luck!

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      • Shirley

        Hi Nami,

        Thanks so much for the info on the soy sauce. I bought the low sodium Kikkoman, but the one made in Japan. I actually had never had Americanized chicken teriyaki. My husband loved it. I found I really didn’t have much sauce and I think that is what I am looking for. Maybe I will just add more sauce. I marinated the meat overnight I won’t have time to go back to the Japanese market for the other soy sauce. I will get it another time.

        I feel very overwhelmed because I can’t fix all of this the morning of. Maybe I should do one or the other charishizushi or Yakisoba the morning of. Maybe I could get everything ready for the yakisoba the night before and then do the noodles the next day. So many decisions to make!!

        Anyhow, thanks for all your help. I don’t like to try new things for a party without trying them ahead of time, but I just ran out of time, lol. I think maybe I took on too much!!

        Shirley

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  148. Steven Gonzalvez

    The dish that comes to my mind first, miso soup, of course. But teriyaki BEEF was the 2nd Japanese dish I ever cooked. I haven’t made it again in decades (mostly because of price considerations) but it was awesome. Incidentally, the recipe I followed called for shichimi togarashi, which I have observed to be relatively unpopular in Japan, but whose flavour together with that of sesame oil became deeply imprinted in my mind as representative of Japan.

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    • Hi Steven! In Japan, we don’t really make a spicy food (with some exceptions, of course). So Shichimi Togarashi is usually located on the table (or pantry) and used for noodles or donburi. We just sprinkle a few (which you know it barely comes out). That’s the typical level of spiciness. 😉 I’m happy to hear you like teriyaki dishes!

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  149. Cine Bean

    I really enjoyed this recipe! I didn’t have chicken thighs or sake but it still came out wonderful with chicken breasts. Paired it with a vegetable stir-fry and a fried egg. Going to try your California roll recipe in a few days and then next week tackle gyoza.

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    • Hi Cine! Wow, you are cooking lots of Japanese food! How wonderful! Thank you so much for your kind feedback. I’m so glad to hear yours came out well. Thank you for writing a kind review! 🙂

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  150. Steven

    I have gotten a lot of use out of your recipes. The ginger pork is a favorite of mine but my wife prefers the honey chicken. I also appreciate how easy most of the recipes are to make.

    That said, I was disappointed tonight because I was planning on making this chicken. I saw that the total cook time was 30 min and gathered my ingredients a few days ago. So about 45 min before I was planning on serving dinner, I sit down to transcribe the directions onto a word document (I have my own format that I like to use) and I notice that 30 minute cook time doesn’t include the three hours of marinating that you’re supposed to do. I guess it’s also my fault for not reading the full recipe, but why does it even say 30 minutes and not “2-3 hours?”

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    • Hi Steven! Thank you for your kind words about my recipes and I’m happy to hear your wife also enjoys them.

      I understand – I got feedback from both sides when this issue came. Some people prefer to see the “ACTIVE” time so they don’t want to see 2-3 hours of “prepping time” when you actually spend like 10 minutes. It is misguiding when you want a quick and easy recipe and don’t read the entire recipe and think that it takes 2-3 hours to prep.

      Same goes to your side. You wanted to know ahead of time about “inactive time”. Therefore, most of my recipes for the past 2-3 years include “inactive time” information in my Note section. I always write “marinating time” is not included in Prep time, etc.

      The current recipe card plugin that I use to write recipe does not support inactive time and “Total Time” is automatically calculated by adding prep and cook time. I wish I can change the total time, but it’s something I can’t change.

      However, I have just started to convert all my recipes (close to 600) into a new recipe plugin. This allows me to manually write total time, so I could add extra marinating time into the total time. It’s really awesome. However, this work is going to take me months to complete. So for now I’m gong to write in Note section that marinate time is not included. Thanks for pointing that out, as this recipe is pretty old in my collection.

      I truly appreciate your feedback!

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  154. tasjaysabel

    When do you actually add the sake? It is in the teriyaki sauce ingredients so I thought it has to be mixed in the sauce.

    In the instructions, you add sake in step 5… is that another tablespoon of sake?

    Thank you!

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    • Hi Heidi! Correct, you HAVE TO cook the sauce before you use the marinades as raw chicken was in there. If you don’t want to cook, you have to reserve some teriyaki sauce before you add raw chicken. 🙂

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  157. Stef

    I am in the UK, can u suggest which type of sake I should use for cooking? Is there a special cooking sake. The sake I’ve seen online seems expensive and doesnt keep once opened so it seems wasteful to use for cooking when only a tablespoon or two is usually required thanks.

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    • Hi Stef! I use a very cheap bottle of real sake (not cooking sake with seasonings in it) for my cooking – usually between $5 to $10. I have been to London this past spring and I went to JapanCentre and I was relieved to see various condiments and foods they carry. However, I didn’t check sake….

      https://www.justonecookbook.com/pantry_items/sake/

      I use one of 3 sake I listed here. They are cheap sake, so I wouldn’t drink (some may drink tho since it’s regular sake)

      Cooking sake is another choice – it’s not considered alcohol so it could be cheaper. It has salt and other things so they can be stocked as “condiment” section of regular Asian/Japanese grocery store.

      If you don’t want to buy, you can use dry sherry or Chinese rice wine (if this is easier to find). Hope this helps!

      Sake is a very important ingredient in Japanese cooking, and you might see me using quite often as soy sauce. 🙂

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