This teriyaki chicken thigh recipe is made with a marinade of soy sauce, mirin, brown sugar, ginger, and a wee bit of vinegar. Sliced teriyaki chicken thighs are garnished with green onions.
Serve teriyaki chicken thighs over rice, ramen, or favorite noodles.
Chicken Teriyaki Background
I'm no teriyaki chicken expert (although I worked for years in Chinese and Japanese restaurants), but here's a wee bit of background.
Chicken teriyaki comes from Japan. Teri means shiny or glaze and yaki refers to the cooking method of broiling or grilling.
Teriyaki marinade can be served with chicken, fish, pork, tofu, vegetables, grains...
Teriyaki chicken thigh is traditionally served with rice. Sometimes I serve it over rice. Sometimes, I serve it over ramen noodles, rice noodles, quinoa, or angel hair pasta. It's your life - serve it over what you want to eat!
Substitutions For Chicken Thigh Teriyaki Marinade
This teriyaki marinade recipe is with chicken thighs. But the marinade can go on anything: chicken breasts, fish, pork, tofu, or vegetables.
Teriyaki marinade is traditionally made with a little bit of sake. Sake is sold at the liquor store and not at the grocery store. This makes it not just inaccessible but also a second run to the store, so I leave it out and substitute a wee bit of vinegar instead.
Here's a list of substitutions ideas for the teriyaki marinade:
- Mirin - Half Sake, White Wine, or Rice Vinegar and Half Sugar
- Soy Sauce - Coconut Aminos, Tamari / Gluten Free Soy Sauce
- Brown Sugar - sub white sugar, agave nectar, honey
- Ginger - Buy premade ginger paste or skip it or add a dash of ground ginger.
- Vinegar - sub black, white, apple cider, red wine, or whatever vinegar you have.
Double the Teriyaki Marinade and Freeze
Teriyaki marinade is just a couple condiments mixed together. The only perishable ingredient is the ginger, so it will easily last a week in the refrigerator.
Make extra marinade if you like super saucy food.
Teriyaki chicken marinade freezes so make double and defrost when ready to use.
Uses For Teriyaki Marinade
Teriyaki marinade / sauce can be used for basting, marinating, or dipping for any kind of dish. It is really a "catch all" Asian marinade with universally available ingredients that we all love.
- Simple vegetarian Dishes like green beans, broccoli, mushrooms, cold cucumber salad, etc.
- A sauce for grains like rice, quinoa, noodles
- Use for favorite proteins like meat or tofu or vegetarian meat substitutes.
- Dip for appetizers like potstickers, eggrolls, crab wontons..
Teriyaki Chicken Thighs With Green Onions
This easy teriyaki chicken is made with a marinade of soy sauce, mirin, brown sugar, ginger, and a wee bit of vinegar. This chicken teriyaki recipe uses chicken thighs and is garnished with green onions.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 5
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Asian
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ lb chicken thighs, diced
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- ¼ cup mirin
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 2 tablespoon brown sugar
- 2 teaspoon ginger
- 2 tablespoon vinegar (rice, black, white, or apple cider)
- 3 green onions, sliced as garnish - optional
Instructions
Marinade the diced chicken in a dish:
- Dice chicken thighs and put into a shallow dish.
- Add toasted sesame oil, mirin, soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger, and vinegar to a jar and stir or shake.
- Dump marinade on chicken and let sit for 20 minutes, stirring once.
Cook the chicken
- STRAIN chicken (reserve all the marinade for later)
- Bring a 12" skillet to medium high heat and add vegetable oil to lightly coat the bottom of the pan.
- When hot - add STRAINED chicken and cook for 5 minutes uncovered and undisturbed for the most part.
- Stir at 5 minutes and cook the chicken for 5 more minutes (10 minutes total) or until cooked through.
- Remove the chicken to a plate with a slotted spoon.
- Add the marinade and any juices from the chicken on the plate back to pan and cook down for 3-5 minutes or until the sauce is thick and shiny.
- Add chicken back in and stir to coat and cook for another 2 minutes or until hot.
- Serve over your favorite carb - rice, ramen, or rice noodles.
Notes
- Teriyaki chicken marinade freezes well - make double
- Serve chicken teriyaki over rice, rice noodles, or ramen noodles.
Things In My Kitchen:
- 12″ Nonstick Pan – Nonstick skillet, PFOA free, and has a lid.
- Slotted spoon - Strain the marinade from the chicken before cooking.
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Serving Suggestions
Serve this chicken thigh teriyaki recipe with any - or maybe several - of these side dishes to add some pizzazz and more bursts of flavor and color:
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