Chicken Teriyaki is my go-to easy and delicious dinner made with juicy chicken thigh meat, homemade Teriyaki sauce, broccoli, and rice. It’s so fast and delicious, you can make it right at home even if you don’t have much time. It tastes better than any take out and takes less time than delivery.
You can quickly mix Teriyaki sauce ingredients for this chicken dish and cook them together or make the sauce ahead of time and keep it in the fridge. Throw in some more vegetables together and make a simple Chicken Teriyaki Rice Bowl.
CHICKEN TERIYAKI
I have a few recipes that I whip out when I can’t think what to make for dinner. Chicken Teriyaki is one of those recipes. I can make this dish in less than 30 minutes whether I have sauce already prepared in the fridge or not. Making teriyaki sauce ahead of time will ultimately save me just a couple of minutes here.
After you make your own teriyaki, you will never need to call the takeout again. This chicken has all the best flavor components here: a little salty, a little sweet, a little tangy, and a whole lot of delicious. The best part is that you are in control of each ingredient. So it’s not only that you know what goes into your dinner, you can also make it spicy or more or less sweet. Choose your own vegetables and sides too.
This chicken is fantastic on it’s own and it’s light. Chicken in sauce and veggies will make a light dinner so then it comes down to deciding to serve rice or quinoa or even cauliflower rice with it. Or, maybe, you can toss in extra broccoli and leave it without an extra side. Ultimately, you will have a fast and easy dinner that is better than any takeout, made just the way you like it.
HOW TO MAKE CHICKEN TERIYAKI
Teriyaki Sauce:
All you have to do is whisk all ingredients together in a bowl first, making sure you whisk in cornstarch well.
There are two options for the sauce: cook it with chicken or cook it ahead of time.
To prepare sauce ahead of time: pour the sauce mixture into a sauce pot and bring it to simmer over medium heat. Make sure to slowly stir often and it gets hot and as it simmers. Simmer it for just a few minutes and it’s done. Let it cook and store it in a jar with a lid in the refrigerator.
To cook with chicken: whisk ingredients together and set it aside. When chicken is ready, whisk the sauce again and pour it into the pot with the chicken. Finish cooking chicken in sauce as it thickens.
Chicken:
Dice chicken thigh meat into small strips or cubes. Personally, I like to get rid of as much fat as possible but you can leave some if you choose. Dice broccoli into small florets. (Smaller pieces of broccoli will cook faster.)
Preheat a large cooking pan over medium-high heat and add some oil. Add diced chicken to the pan and sear it until golden brown. Add diced broccoli. Stir chicken and broccoli and let it sear on other sides.
When chicken is almost done, pour in the sauce mixture.
WHAT VEGETABLES TO USE
Broccoli is the most common vegetable that you will see with chicken teriyaki. You can also add a mix of vegetables like bell peppers, onions, carrots, snow peas, baby corn, water chestnuts, and mushrooms.
Do I have to use rice?
Nope! You absolutely don’t have to use rice. If you want a lighter but still hearty side, you can go with quinoa. Cauliflower rice would make a healthy substitution for rice. You can even serve teriyaki with noodles. Ramen noodles, lo mein noodles, or rice noodles would all go great here.
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Chicken Teriyaki
Ingredients
- 2 lbs chicken thigh meat
- 1 bunch of broccoli
- 4 cups cooked rice
- 1/4 cup diced scallions
Teriyaki Sauce:
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 2/3 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1/2 tsp grated or shaved fresh ginger
- 1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
Instructions
- Dice chicken thigh meat into small strips or cubes. Personally, I like to get rid of as much fat as possible but you can leave some if you choose.
- Dice broccoli into small florets. (Smaller pieces of broccoli will cook faster.) Set aside.
- Whisk all ingredients for the sauce together in a bowl first, making sure you whisk in cornstarch well. Set aside.
- Preheat a large cooking pan over medium-high heat and add some oil. Add diced chicken to the pan and sear it until golden brown.
- Add diced broccoli. Stir chicken and broccoli and let it sear on other sides. Lower the heat to medium.
- When chicken is almost done, whisk sauce one more time and pour it in the pan. Slowly stir everything together and let it simmer until sauce is thickened and chicken is done.
- Divide rice into plate and top with off with chicken, sauce, and broccoli. Sprinkle each plate with green onions. (Sesame seeds are optional.)
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Originally published on Will Cook For Smiles February 25th, 2011. Updated March 2nd, 2020.
clete g rodocker says
why do you make it so hard to print your recipes
Deborah Steiner says
I made this tonight for dinner. I marinated the chicken in a bit of the sauce about an hour before cooking and added onion to the veggies. Very good. Will definitely make again
LyubaB says
I am so glad you liked it!