Easy Teriyaki Chicken! How to Make Teriyaki Chicken features skinless chicken breasts poached in homemade teriyaki sauce served with toasted sesame seeds. Quick and easy 30 minute recipe!
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One of the benefits of a well-stocked pantry is that it gives you so much more flexibility when you want to have a meal quickly. A case in point is this teriyaki chicken.
The classic teriyaki sauce is made with soy sauce, mirin (a sweet rice wine), and sake. With these ingredients in your pantry, you can make a simple but perfect teriyaki sauce for teriyaki chicken, steak, or salmon.
For this version of teriyaki chicken, we first poach skinless, boneless chicken breasts in homemade teriyaki sauce. Then we cook the heck out of the sauce to reduce it to a syrupy glaze to pour back over the cooked chicken.
The result? Easy to make, low-fat, perfectly tender teriyaki chicken breasts every time.
Teriyaki Chicken Breast
ingredients
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3/4 cup soy sauce* (or mix equal parts tamari** and water to make 3/4 cup)
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3/4 cup sake
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3/4 cup mirin
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4 tbsp sugar
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A 1-inch piece of ginger, finely grated
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4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pounds total (bring to room temperature for 30 minutes)
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2-3 tbsp sesame seeds
- *Use gluten-free soy sauce for the gluten-free version. **If using tamari instead of soy sauce, use half as much as tamari is more concentrated than soy sauce.
method
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Gently simmer the chicken in a sauce made from sake, mirin, soy sauce, sugar and ginger:
Combine grated ginger, sugar, soy sauce, sake and mirin in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the chicken breasts, bring them back to a simmer, then reduce the heat to the lowest possible setting (warm if you can) on your smallest stovetop and cover.
The idea is to cook the chicken as gently as possible, below boiling point. Boil 20 minutes.
If you’re working with slightly large chicken breasts, you may need to cook them longer or cut them in half before cooking.
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Roast Sesame:
While the chicken is poaching, toast the sesame seeds in a dry skillet until they begin to brown. Pour into a small bowl and set aside.
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Set chicken aside, cover with foil:
Remove the chicken breasts from the teriyaki sauce, place on a plate and wrap in foil.
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Reduce sauce:
Bring the sauce back to a boil and cook vigorously until the sauce has reduced to a syrup, about 8-10 minutes. Keep an eye on the sauce and stir it occasionally.
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Slice the chicken, cover with sauce, sprinkle with sesame and serve:
To serve, slice the chicken breasts, cover with the teriyaki sauce and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Serve with white rice.
