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!
Wish to learn more about Japanese cooking? Sign up for our free newsletter to receive cooking tips & recipe updates! And stay in touch with me on Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, and Instagram.
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.
Is it the best to use thigh and no chicken breast?
Hi El! In Japan, we use thighs as it has more flavors and tender while breasts tend to get dry and are bland than thighs. 🙂
[…] Chicken Teriyaki […]
Can I make this with skinless chicken breast or would it be too dry?
Hi Marie! You can use it, although skin-on chicken thighs are typically used in Japan. 🙂
[…] Chicken Teriyaki […]
Hi. Checking on ratios. Your opening says sauce is easy. 2 parts soy, sake, and mirin to 1 part sugar. Yet the actual recipe for the sauce is 2 parts soy and only 1 part sake, mirin and sugar. Please clarify. Thanks
Hi TJ! That’s my “basic” Teriyaki Sauce recipe (linked to https://www.justonecookbook.com/teriyaki-sauce). As I mentioned in the post, this recipe I’ve added grated onion and ginger to the sauce besides adjusting the ratios. You can use basic teriyaki ratio or follow this chicken teriyaki recipe. Either way works, with slight flavor difference. 🙂
Truly authentic, anything replacing these ingredients makes me cringe in many “easy” recipes I see. This is the real deal and it makes a difference. Bravo!
Hi Dale! Thank you so much for trying this recipe! I’m glad to hear you enjoyed it! 🙂
I’m the text you say it’s 2 part soy 2 part sake 2 part mirin, and 1 part sugar. But in the recipe the ratios are completely different. Can you explain which is right?
Hi Taylor! Thanks for asking! In the post, I mentioned as following:
“The ratio of my basic HOMEMADE TERIYAKI SAUCE (https://www.justonecookbook.com/teriyaki-sauce/ – the recipe is different from this recipe) is 2 parts soy sauce, 2 parts sake, 2 parts mirin, and 1 part sugar. Each time I make teriyaki recipes, I would change things up slightly based on the ingredients. In today’s recipe (Chicken Teriyaki), I added grated onion and ginger to the sauce for additional depth and zing. The homemade sauce is about adjusting the ratio of the four ingredients to suit your tastebud and the main ingredients that you’re cooking with.” Hope that helps! 🙂
[…] inspirada en el blog Just One Book, mi preferido de comida […]
Hi,
I can’t find boneless chicken thighs in Switzerland. I bought the thigh anyway. Would it turn not right if I don’t use boneless chicken?
Hi Ann! Do you know how to remove the bone? Check out this video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BRC6tdJL_c) or maybe you can find other videos on YouTube. Usually, meat with the bone takes a bit longer time, so I recommend removing it yourself. I will try to make a video or tutorial one day… 🙂
Hi Nami,
Thanks! I managed to debone the chicken myself. It was a success!
Your recipe is just a success!
Hi Ann! I’m so happy to hear that. 🙂 xo
[…] According to my friend Nami at Just One Cookbook, teriyaki refers to a specific cooking method in Japan. If you’re curious about the authentic way to cook the dish, I highly recommend reading her recipe. […]
What kind brand of sake do you use?
Hi Kathleen! Here is what I use: https://www.justonecookbook.com/sake/
Thank you for getting back to me can’t wait to make them
This recipe was fantastic! I will never buy teriyaki sauce again. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Hi Stacey! Thank you so much for trying this recipe! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed it! 🙂
Here’s an oops experience. I should have known better but let me tell you and perhaps you can help as I am not sure about what to do.
So, I was craving teriyaki chix; so it made our dinner menu last nite, but I was puzzled as it wasn’t like previous successes, bcs of the grated onion in the sauce. It did not get meshed into the sauce. I was spooning pieces of (small) onions onto the chicken, and they stayed there. My son doesn’t care for onions and was grossed out, did not eat it. I don’t remember where the onions went last time I made it, but this time they were too visible and too much. Should I have removed (with a sieve) the onion before spooning over the sauce? It was difficult to get them off the chicken so I just left them and it was not a good result. There was no ‘luster’. Just a coating of graininess (onions).
What normally happens to the grated onions in the sauce after you pour it over the chicken?
Hi Jill! I would love to recommend this grater (https://amzn.to/2mrvenp) for grating onion, daikon, garlic, ginger, etc. It’s great to capture juices too. The grated vegetables are very fine, so there will be no big pieces. However, if your son doesn’t like onion, you can totally omit it. Onion adds complex sweet flavor after being cooked, so it’s often included in Japanese sauces (Yakiniku sauce, dressings etc). However, it’s subtle, so don’t worry about missing it out. 🙂
[…] to learn how to make chicken teriyaki using the authentic Japanese method, I have the recipe here. But you’re up for something with an extra touch, give these Orange Teriyaki Wings a try. […]
This was a terrific teriyaki chicken! I had given up on making teri chicken like the restaurants, it was always a mystery to me. But now I know how to make it at home and I am thrilled because I love it and my whole family does too. Thanks so much.
Hi Jill! Thank you so much for trying my recipe! I’m so happy you could make this dish at home because it’s really easy to make. Thank you for your kind feedback, Jill!