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Teriyaki Chicken

Teriyaki chicken with a homemade teriyaki glaze: caramelized chicken thighs blister at the edges and get coated in a thick, glossy dark amber sauce. Marinated for 20 minutes and finished with cornstarch to create that sticky takeout-style coating over white rice.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
marinating 20 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Course: Main Dish
Cuisine: Japanese-American
Calories: 540
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

chicken thighs
  • 1.5 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs Use even thickness for consistent browning.
teriyaki marinade and sauce
  • 0.3333333333 cup soy sauce
  • 0.25 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 2 tbsp honey
  • 2 tbsp mirin or rice vinegar
  • 2 tbsp sake or dry sherry (optional)
  • 3 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
  • 1 tbsp cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons water This slurry thickens the sauce to a glossy finish.
  • 1 tbsp vegetable oil
serving
  • 1 sesame seeds
  • 1 sliced green onions
  • 1 steamed rice
  • 1 steamed broccoli Optional accent alongside the rice.

Equipment

  • 1 cast iron skillet

Method
 

Marinate and prep the sauce
  1. Whisk together soy sauce, brown sugar, honey, mirin (or rice vinegar), sake (or dry sherry), garlic, and ginger until the sugar dissolves and the mixture looks uniform. Reserve half of the marinade for the sauce and pour the other half over the chicken thighs.
  2. Marinate the chicken for 20 minutes, turning once so the surface stays coated and ready to brown. You should see the chicken darken slightly as it absorbs the teriyaki flavors.
Caramelize the chicken
  1. Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Add the marinated chicken and cook 5-6 minutes per side until caramelized with dark amber blistered edges.
  2. Check doneness by measuring the internal temperature; cook until it reaches 165°F, then remove the chicken to a plate. The surface should look glossy and sticky even before saucing.
Thicken and glaze with teriyaki sauce
  1. Pour the reserved marinade into the pan and bring it to a simmer, scraping up any browned bits. Stir in the cornstarch slurry and cook 2-3 minutes until the sauce becomes thick and glossy.
  2. Return the chicken to the pan and turn to coat in the teriyaki sauce, letting the glaze cling to the caramelized surface. If it looks too tight, simmer briefly just to loosen and re-coat.
Serve
  1. Serve the teriyaki chicken over steamed rice and drizzle with any extra sauce from the skillet. Sprinkle sesame seeds and add sliced green onions so they embed in the sticky coating.
  2. For a bright accent, serve with steamed broccoli. The finished plate should show dark amber sauce sheen, sesame texture, and fresh green onion color over the rice.

Notes

Pro tip: reserve half the marinade before it touches raw chicken, then simmer it to thicken so it turns into a safe, glossy glaze. Refrigerate leftovers in a sealed container for up to 3 days; reheat gently in a skillet or microwave until hot through. Freezing is not recommended because the sauce thickens and can separate after thawing. For a lower-sugar option, replace brown sugar with a comparable brown sugar substitute or reduce the sweetness slightly while simmering the sauce to reach the same glossy thickness.