June 15, 2020

Easy Japanese Teriyaki Chicken Recipe

Japanese-style teriyaki chicken thighs are juicy and tender. They are easy to make and are an authentic Japanese dish. Japanese often make this dish at home. It is my favorite way to eat chicken legs and tastes amazing. It also does not require bottled teriyaki sauce! The sauce you will learn in this recipe is authentic and will quickly become your go-to sauce. Please try this Japanese teriyaki chicken recipe and let me know what you think.

This recipe is often make in Japanese households because it requires few ingredients. You only need chicken legs, and traditional Japanese seasons. These seasonings include dashi, salt, mirin, and soy sauce. That’s it!

Teriyaki chicken literally means lustrously grilled chicken!

Teriyaki chicken (照り焼きチキン) contains two kanji. The first kanji is “teri” which means lustrous while “yaki” means to grill. Teriyaki chicken literally means lustrously grilled chicken! I posted a picture of our recipe below. Based on the pictures, what do you think? Is it lustrously grilled chicken?

Finished Japanese Style Teriyaki Chicken

Tips for Making this Japanese Teriyaki Chicken Recipe

Japanese-style teriyaki chicken is different than Western style teriyaki chicken. Teriyaki chicken served in American restaurants will have a different flavor. Additionally, teriyaki sauce from the supermarket is quite different. When you try this teriyaki chicken, you might be surprised at the different flavor. However, this is what teriyaki chicken is to Japanese people. And I’m sure you will like the flavor!
You can apply this same cooking method to bite-sized chicken thigh pieces. The sauce is the same. Add the chicken pieces on top of a bowl of rice and you can make chicken don-buri! If you like rice bowl, please also check out our Japanese beef rice bowl recipe.
Ensure that you adequately remove enough liquid from the sauce before finishing. This will increase the viscosity of the sauce. As the viscosity of the sauce increases, it will be easier to apply the sauce to the chicken.

Easy Japanese Teriyaki Chicken Recipe

Japanese-style teriyaki chicken is juicy and tender, easy to make, and an authentic Japanese dish. It is my personal favorite way to eat chicken and does not require bottled teriyaki sauce! The sauce you will learn in this recipe is tastes better than any store bought teriyaki sauce.

Print Recipe

Total Time 45

Course Main Course

Cuisine Japanese

Ingredients

Chicken

1 kg chicken legs (2.2 lbs)
2 tbsp cooking alcohol
1 tbsp vegetable oil

Teriyaki Sauce

1 tsp dashi
0.25 tsp salt
3 tbsp mirin
3 tbsp soy sauce

Instructions

Chicken Preparation

Remove dirty skin and hair from chicken legs
Add 2 tbsp of cooking alcohol directly to the chicken legs in a mixing bowl
Set aside for 10 minutes

Cooking the Chicken and Making the Teriyaki Sauce

Add 1 tbsp of vegetable oil into a pan
Place the chicken into the pan with the skin-side down and sear on medium heat
Fry the chicken while occasional rotating the chicken to sear all sides
Add 1 tsp of dashi, 0.25 tsp of salt, 3 tbsp of mirin, and 3 tbsp of soy sauce into the pan
Cover the pan and cook on low heat for 10 minutes
Cook on low-medium heat until sauce thickens
Occasional turn the chicken to allow the flavors to infuse into all sides
When the sauce finishes thickening, the teriyaki chicken is complete!