This recipe for chicken teriyaki uses a homemade sauce that’s as easy as it is tasty. The chicken portion couldn’t be easier, either; just covering in flour and frying.
A strong base
Full disclosure: the chicken I used this time around was pre-breaded and just needed heating. However, I’ve used this flouring method quite a lot, and it’s given me consistent results. As long as you follow the recipe, your chicken should turn out great.
The main event
While I recommend dicing the chicken, keep in mind that size consistency is what’s important. As long as your pieces are fairly even, you can make these nearly as big or small as you want. Also keep in mind that large pieces will take longer to cook, and vice versa.
A nice addition
This recipe only makes as much sauce as necessary. If you think you’d like things more “saucy”, I would add a bit more of everything to your sauce. Also be sure not to heat the sauce for too long; the corn starch thickens very quickly when heated. You don’t want to end up with sauce that’s too thick on some chicken, and no sauce on the rest.
If you like this recipe for chicken teriyaki, consider checking out my recipe for easy deviled eggs.
Ingredients
For the chicken:
1 lb boneless skinless chicken, diced, 454 grams
flour, as needed
Vegetable oil, as needed
For the sauce:
1/2 cup water, 116 grams
2 Tbsps soy sauce, 30 grams
1 Tbsp packed brown sugar, 15 grams
1 Tbsp corn starch, 11 grams
2 tsps rice vinegar, 8 grams
1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1 gram
pinch of ground ginger (about 1/4 tsp)
Makes 4 moderate portions with rice
Preparation
Cover your chicken* in flour and preheat a pan over medium-high heat. Add enough oil to shallow fry your chicken, then fry until cooked through**, about 1-2 minutes per side. Place cooked chicken on a plate lined with paper towels to drain.
Once all your chicken is cooked, add it to a clean*** pan set over medium-low and heat until warm. Once warm, stir your sauce and add it to the pan while stirring constantly. Turn off the heat once the sauce starts to thicken and stir until the chicken is coated with sauce. Serve over rice.
Notes
* Your method for coating the chicken is up to you. You could put the flour on a plate and toss the chicken around until coated, throw it in a bag and shake it around, or throw it in a bowl with a lid and shake it around.
I usually go with the third option. The chicken does tend to stick together and there are occasionally uncoated spots. However, it’s much easier and less messy than the first option, and less wasteful than the second.
** Cooked through depends on the size of your chicken. For very small pieces like the ones in the post, 1-2 minutes per side should be enough. Keep in mind that chicken thighs can be cooked longer without over-cooking. If you’re worried about under-cooking, I recommend using thighs for this.
An instant-read thermometer is also a nice option. Unfortunately, It wouldn’t work so well for diced chicken. For larger pieces, however, I would say that it is the best option. For this recipe, I’d say 155 f (68.4 c) is a good target temperature. 160 f (71.2 c) is usual, but carry-over cooking (and heating with the sauce) should take care of the rest.
*** You could also clean out the original pan by draining the oil, washing, etc. That’s a pain though, and probably not an attractive option while dinner is waiting.
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