Learn how to cook classic Chicken Teriyaki at home in less than 20 minutes using authentic Japanese cooking methods. You‘ll love the seared and juicy chicken thighs glazed in an easy and flavorful homemade sauce. No bottled teriyaki sauce needed!
Everybody loves some good, juicy chicken in a sweet sticky glaze. This is why chicken teriyaki, a humble Japanese dish, is so popular everywhere in the world! In this recipe, I’ll show you how to make authentic Chicken Teriyaki at home—how it is done in Japan.
This foolproof Japanese method gives you the most flavorful meat and the crispest skin. It’s so good, easy, and a sure win for a weeknight dinner.
Table of Contents
What is Chicken Teriyaki?
Teriyaki (照り焼き) commonly refers to a style of cooking, but it also refers to the name of a cooked dish or the sauce that is used to brush over the food.
To help you understand better, teri (照り) means “luster,” given by the sweet soy sauce marinade, while yaki (焼き) has a broader definition that can denote “cook or pan-fry or grill.” When translated literally, the dish means “shiny or glossy grilled chicken,” as it describes the lustrous glaze on the chicken created by the teriyaki sauce.
There are a lot of homemade teriyaki chicken recipes online, and to be honest, many of them have been modified or deviated from the original method. Here are a few things you might want to know:
- The Japanese don’t bake the chicken teriyaki in the oven, cook it in an Instant Pot, or cook it in a sheet pan with vegetables.
- We don’t grill the chicken at home either, as most Japanese homes are too small to own a grill.
- There are no bottled teriyaki sauces in Japan. We usually make our sauce with four simple pantry staples.
So, how do we cook chicken teriyaki in Japan? We pan-fry the chicken over the stove until we sear the skin, then simmer it with the sauce until it thickens and caramelizes, leaving the meat with an irresistibly glossy finish.
Ingredients for Chicken Teriyaki
It’s amazing that you only need a few pantry staples to make this classic Japanese recipe!
- Chicken thighs – For the traditional authentic version, choose boneless, skin-on chicken thighs, but you can also use skinless chicken thighs. How about chicken breasts? I’ll discuss about it in the next section.
- Salt and pepper – Just a little bit of these. Most flavors come from the teriyaki sauce.
- Homemade teriyaki sauce – 4 simple ingredients: Soy sauce, sake, mirin, and sugar.
Skinless or Skin-on Chicken
In Japan, boneless, skin-on chicken thighs are always preferred for chicken teriyaki because they don’t dry out quickly. The skin also provides a protective layer between the chicken flesh and the hot pan. Chicken skin yields a delicious flavor and acts like a magnet for the sticky sauce. As a result, you get moist, flavorful, and juicy meat every time. American grocery stores typically carry bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs. You can ask the butcher to remove the bone for you, or you can debone the thighs with a sharp knife.
Here in the U.S., however, most people prefer boneless, skinless chicken thighs. So my teriyaki recipe below focuses on the recipe with skinless thighs. You can see my skin-on version at the end of the recipe instructions.
Chicken Thighs vs. Breast
When cooking chicken, thighs are more forgiving than breasts. Thighs can withstand higher temperatures and longer cooking times. Which is why thighs are ideal for this Chicken Teriyaki recipe.
The fat from chicken thighs keeps the meat moist and tender throughout cooking, resulting in a juicier and more flavorful dish.
You can use chicken breasts if that’s what you prefer. Just remember that chicken breasts have more fiber and tend to turn rubbery sooner than thighs.
Authentic Teriyaki Sauce
The basic teriyaki sauce is made of only four simple ingredients:
- Soy sauce is the most critical and prominent ingredient, giving teriyaki sauce a rich, dark color. It imparts umami and saltiness. You want to use Japanese soy sauce, not other Asian soy sauce.
- Sake is Japanese rice wine, an essential ingredient in Japanese cooking. In addition to tenderizing the meat, the amino acids in sake remove any odor of the chicken. Other key reasons to use sake? It adds subtle sweetness and umami to the dish. See my recommended sake brand and substitution here.
- Mirin is Japanese sweet rice wine. This syrupy condiment adds a nice shine and natural sweetness to the sauce, helping to temper its saltiness. It also helps the flavor sink in and fully develop. Read more about mirin here.
- Sugar plays a vital role in balancing out the saltiness of soy sauce, lending teriyaki sauce its signature sweet and savory flavor. We also need the sugar to thicken the sauce so it will caramelize beautifully and create a glossy sheen that coats the chicken.
My basic teriyaki sauce consists of two parts soy sauce, two parts sake, two parts mirin, and one part sugar (2:2:2:1). You can adjust the ratio to suit your taste.
You can even make a big batch of Homemade Teriyaki Sauce ahead of time and store it in a bottle in the refrigerator.
Optional Sauce Ingredients:
Sometimes, you can add optional ingredients such as grated ginger, grated onion, and minced garlic for additional depth and zing. You can change things slightly based on the ingredients (meat, poultry, seafood, vegetables, and tofu).
Many teriyaki sauce recipes I’ve seen online call for rice vinegar, honey, brown sugar, sesame oil, or apple cider vinegar in the sauce mixture. I would not recommend them if you wish to follow the authentic Japanese cooking method.
Some people even use cornstarch to thicken the sauce, but it is unnecessary. As the alcohol from sake and mirin evaporates, the sauce will naturally reduce and thicken with the sugar caramelizing during the simmering process.
Should we marinate the chicken in the teriyaki sauce?
In Japan, we don’t typically marinate chicken to make chicken teriyaki because we use a pan-frying method. When you cook the marinated chicken in the frying pan, it steams in a pool of the remaining marinade, making it more difficult to get a nice searing mark.
If you plan to cook the chicken on your BBQ grill, you can marinate it. Since you cook it over an open frame, the chicken will not stay in a pool of marinade and can get a nice char on it.
How to Make Chicken Teriyaki
Chicken teriyaki is so easy and quick to make. You will need a sharp knife, a cutting board, a large frying pan, and a small mixing bowl. In less than 20 minutes, you will be enjoying delicious chicken teriyaki!
- Mix the homemade teriyaki sauce. Heat it in the microwave and stir to dissolve the sugar.
- Prepare the chicken. Score and flatten the thighs to create an even thickness. This step is really important, so please don‘t skip it!
- Pan-fry the chicken. Cook the chicken for 5 minutes, pressing down hard with a spatula to give the presentation side a nice sear. Flip over, sear the other side, and cover and steam it for another 3 minutes.
- Add the teriyaki sauce to the pan. Spoon the sauce over the thighs until well coated. When the chicken is cooked through, remove from the pan. Slice and drizzle with the sauce.
Chicken Teriyaki Cooking Tips
- Score and flatten the thighs for an even thickness. Cut slits across the meat every ½ inch (1.3 cm) without slicing all the way through. Make deeper slits on the chicken‘s thick parts and skip scoring the thin parts. After each cut, press open and flatten the meat with your fingers. Scoring and flattening the meat will help distribute the heat evenly and prevent overcooking for dramatically juicier chicken! It is an extra step, but it ultimately makes a difference.
- Pan-fry and sear the chicken (5 minutes): You only need a reliable frying pan or large skillet to pan-fry the chicken. The pan and oil must be hot before adding the chicken so it gets a nice brown sear quickly. When you cook the chicken, remember to place the smoother side (or the skin side) down first. Press the chicken down with a spatula and let it sear undisturbed until the skin crisps up and browned.
- Steam the chicken (3 minutes): Flip and cook covered on low heat once the chicken is browned. Steaming helps cook thoroughly until no longer pink inside. It’s best not to overcook the chicken as it will continue to cook with the sauce.
- Patiently spoon over the teriyaki sauce: Once the teriyaki sauce is poured over the chicken, tilt the frying pan to pour the sauce over the chicken. Repeat this process until the chicken absorbs the delicious glaze and starts to shine. Remove the chicken and reduce the sauce in the pan if the sauce is too thin.
What to Serve With Chicken Teriyaki
Simple and bursting with sweet yet savory flavor, I believe anyone can cook this classic Japanese dish at home. Serve the Chicken Teriyaki with rice with a salad or steamed vegetables like broccoli. Here are some side dish ideas that pair well with chicken teriyaki:
- Quick Blanched Broccoli with Sesame Oil
- Green Bean with Sesame Dressing
- Salad with Carrot Ginger Dressing
- Japanese Kani Salad
- Wafu Salad
- Vegetable Miso Soup
Other Teriyaki Recipes You’ll Enjoy
Love teriyaki dishes? Find salmon, tofu, chicken meatballs, and beef in 17 Best Authentic Teriyaki Recipes to Make At Home!
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Chicken Teriyaki
Ingredients
For the Chicken
- ¾–1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs (I highly recommend using skin-on, boneless chicken thighs if you can find them)
- ⅛ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- ⅛ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1 Tbsp neutral oil (for cooking the chicken)
Instructions
- In Japan, we use boneless, skin-on chicken thighs for this dish because the flavorful skin provides a protective layer, keeps the meat juicy, and helps the delicious glaze adhere to the chicken. Thighs are more forgiving to cook than chicken breasts, too. Read more about it in the blog post above.For this recipe, I focus on skinless and boneless thighs since that‘s how they‘re commonly sold in the US. However, if you have the chance, I encourage you to try my skin-on recipe at the end of the instructions below.
- Now, gather all the ingredients.
To Mix the Teriyaki Sauce
- In a small microwave-safe bowl, combine the sauce ingredients: 2 Tbsp soy sauce, 2 Tbsp mirin, 2 Tbsp sake, and 1 Tbsp sugar.
- Microwave the sauce until hot. Mix well to dissolve the sugar and set aside.
To Prepare the Chicken
- Place ¾–1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs smooth side down on a cutting board. Now, use the scoring method to create an even thickness so the thighs cook evenly. First, cut slits across the meat every ½ inch (1.3 cm) without slicing all the way through. Note: Do not use a meat mallet/tenderizer for this important step, as you may damage the thighs.
- Make deeper slits on the chicken‘s thick parts and skip scoring the thin parts. After each cut, press open and flatten the meat with your fingers. In the below images, you can see how I scored (left) and flattened (right) one piece. Once you finish scoring, check again to make sure the thigh has an even thickness. Repeat with the rest of the thighs.
- Lightly season the chicken pieces with ⅛ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt and ⅛ tsp freshly ground black pepper.
To Sear the Chicken
- Heat a large frying pan over medium to medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add 1 Tbsp neutral oil. When the oil is hot, place the chicken smooth side down in the pan. Note: The bottom side will be the presentation side.
- Cook the chicken for 5 minutes (set a timer). Immediately, press down hard on the chicken with a spatula for 5–10 seconds to give the presentation side a nice sear. The right image below shows what the chicken looks like after 5 minutes of cooking; please adjust the time based on your stove and cookware.
- Flip over the chicken. Immediately press it down again with the spatula for 5–10 seconds.
- Switch to low heat, then cover with a lid and steam the chicken for 3 minutes.
- Open the lid. Use a paper towel to wipe the excess grease and protein from the pan. This helps create a more transparent sauce.
To Add the Teriyaki Sauce
- Now, increase the stove‘s heat to medium and add the teriyaki sauce to the pan. Tilt the pan and frequently spoon the sauce over the chicken.
- When the chicken is well coated with the sauce and cooked through, transfer it to a cutting board.
- When the sauce is thick enough, transfer it to a bowl. Remember to stop cooking while the sauce is slightly thin because the residual heat will continue to thicken the sauce. If you‘d like it thicker, reduce the sauce for 2–3 more minutes.
- Slice the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Transfer them to a ceramic plate. Sear with a kitchen butane torch to enhance the flavor. You can also use a broiler in the oven.
To Serve
- Serve on a plate with the sauce drizzled on top. You can also serve it over steamed rice with the sauce drizzled on top, as I did here. I also served green salad and tomato wedges on the side.
To Store
- You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for 3 days or in the freezer for a month.
To Cook Skin-on Chicken Thighs
- If your ¾–1 lb skin-on chicken thighs are bone-in, ask your butcher to remove the bone or you can debone them yourself. Place the thigh meat skin side down on a cutting board. To even the thickness, make slits on the meat every ½ inch (1.3 cm) without cutting all the way through. Cut deeper slits on the thick parts and skip scoring the thin parts. As you score, press open the meat to flatten it. Once you finish scoring, check again to make sure the meat has an even thickness. Repeat with the rest of the thighs.
- Place the thighs skin side down in a hot frying pan and cook using the same method as the recipe above.
- Slice the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Transfer them to a ceramic plate. Sear with a kitchen butane torch to enhance the flavor. You can also use a broiler in the oven. Serve on a plate and drizzle the sauce on top.
Nutrition
Editor’s Note: The post was originally published on Mar 22, 2012. It was updated with a revised recipe, new images, and more helpful information on April 14, 2024.
Looks so mouth-watering! Thanks for sharing 🙂 If I use skinless chicken, can I skip step 6 & 7? Arigatou!
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!
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!!
Hi Darryl! I’m sorry for my late response. I’m really happy to hear you enjoyed my Chicken Teriyaki recipe! Thank you for sharing my site with your friends and family. 🙂 xo
Simply delicious!
Thank you Lyn! 🙂
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 🙂
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!
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!
Oops. I posted on the wrong page. But the question’s still the same. What’s the diff between the one marinated and the one that isn’t? Thanks.
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!
thanks so much,i’m retired and i try to keep it interesting for all the family by having new recipes.:)
i’ll let you know how i get on .
Hi Mick! I hope your family enjoy this dish. Thank you so much for writing!
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
Hi Min! I’m so happy to hear you liked this recipe! Thank you for trying this recipe and writing your feedback. 🙂 xo
Since i’m a moslem. Can you suggest me other ingredients to substitute SAKE?
Ps: my English wasn’t good enough. Please excuse my language
Thanks mam
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! 🙂
This looks really delicious!
Just a question though, would it be possible to substitute the sake and mirin with something that’s non-alcoholic?
Hi Fati! You can omit sake and mirin but use sugar (and water if necessary) instead. 🙂 Hope you enjoy!
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.
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. 🙂
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!
Ciao Alessia! Thank you for trying this recipe! I’m so happy you liked it. Yay! Hope you enjoy other recipes, and thank you very much for following my blog! 🙂
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!
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. 🙂
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.
Hi Cate! Welcome to my blog and I’m happy to hear you like my site. Hope you find some recipes that you enjoyed during your visit in Japan. Thank you for your kind feedback! 🙂
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!
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. 🙂
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!
Hi Mary! Yay! So happy to hear you liked this recipe. Steaming with sake makes it really juicy inside. Glad to hear you and your husband liked it! Thank you for your feedback. 🙂