Enjoy this super easy pan-fried Teriyaki Chicken with your favorite noodles, rice, or stir fry. Tender, juicy and smothered with a homemade teriyaki sauce, learn how to make teriyaki chicken in your own kitchen and say good-bye to take-out!
Looking for more easy teriyaki recipes? Try my Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken, 20-Minute Teriyaki Beef Meatballs or my Easy Teriyaki Salmon!
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Quick and Easy Teriyaki Chicken
I love making my favorite take-out dishes at home, like Beef and Broccoli and Kung Pao Shrimp — and now this Teriyaki Chicken bowl. It’s just as flavorful as the restaurant version, but it’s a lot healthier and super easy to make.
For this recipe, I used chicken thighs, which turned out incredibly juicy, tender and crispy on the outside! The chicken is pan-fried, then smothered in homemade teriyaki sauce. I personally love making my own teriyaki sauce at home, too! It’s tangy with just the right amount of sweetness.
A perfect quick and easy weeknight meal, you can serve this teriyaki chicken with steamed veggies, rice, or your favorite noodles. Start to finish, you can have dinner on the table in less than 30 minutes — much quicker than waiting for delivery or take-out.
Ingredients
- Chicken thighs: I like to use boneless skinless chicken thighs for stir fries because they have a bit more fat on them and are harder to dry out.
- Soy sauce: I opt for a low sodium soy sauce to help control the saltiness of the dish. Feel free to substitute some of the soy sauce or all of it for coconut aminos!
- Mirin: Has a sweet and tangy flavor that gives the sauce it’s umami component.
- Brown sugar: Adds a hint of sweetness to the sauce. You could also use regular granulated sugar or honey!
- Sesame oil: Adds a nuttiness to the sauce. A little goes a long way!
- Fresh Ginger and Garlic: Add so much flavor to the sauce and shouldn’t be skipped.
- Fish sauce: Is tangy and salty and adds another depth of flavor to the teriyaki sauce.
- Cornstarch: Is used to thicken up the teriyaki sauce until it’s smooth, thick and glossy.
How to make Teriyaki Chicken
- Sauté chicken: Heat oil in a large skillet. Sauté chicken over medium-high heat until browned on the outside and cooked through. When cooked, remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.
- Make sauce: In the same pan the chicken was cooked in add the soy sauce, mirin, brown sugar, sesame oil, ginger, garlic and fish sauce. Bring to a boil and reduce heat and simmer the sauce for 2-3 minutes. In a small bowl mix together the cornstarch and water. Slowly pour in the cornstarch mixture whisking continuously. Continue to cook until sauce is desired thickness.
- Add chicken: Add chicken back to the pan and toss to coat the chicken with the sauce.
- Serve immediately! Over white rice with steamed broccoli! I like to pour extra teriyaki sauce on top just before serving.
How to make homemade Teriyaki Sauce
Making your own homemade teriyaki sauce is super easy! It’s also a great way to control the sweetness and saltiness of the sauce. To make your own teriyaki sauce at home you’ll need:
- Soy sauce: I always use low-sodium soy sauce. You can use regular soy sauce with a splash of water to combat some of the saltiness.
- Ginger: I prefer to use fresh grated ginger; however, ground ginger can be substituted in a pinch.
- Garlic: Similar to the ginger, I prefer fresh garlic cloves, but you can use jarred minced garlic if needed.
- Brown Sugar: This adds a nice sweetness to the teriyaki sauce! Adjust to taste — more brown sugar for a sweeter sauce.
- Mirin: This has a sweeter flavor, which helps combat the saltiness from the soy sauce.
- Sesame oil: The oil adds a wonderfully nutty flavor to your homemade teriyaki sauce!
- Fish Sauce: Just a couple dashes of fish sauce is all that’s needed to add a nice saltines and umami to the sauce.
- Cornstarch slurry: Thicken the sauce by mixing 1 teaspoon cornstarch with 1 tablespoon cold water.
What to serve with Teriyaki Chicken
- Rice: I love to serve my teriyaki chicken with white, brown or Chinese Fried Rice to soak up all the extra sauce. If you’re looking for a low carb option, you can try Cauliflower Fried Rice. These cute little chicken bites are perfect for a delicious rice bowl, too! Toss everything together for a quick and easy weeknight meal, or save for work-day leftovers.
- Noodles: Teriyaki chicken goes perfectly with noodles — Chow Mein, Lo Mein, Vegetable Noodle Stir-Fry — you choose! You can’t go wrong mixing your favorite noodles with this sweet and sour chicken, and while you’re at it, throw in your favorite vegetables for added color and flavor.
- Veggies: Steamed vegetables are always a great idea, regardless of whether you’re serving the chicken alone or with rice or noodles. Steaming your favorite veggies are an easy way to freshen up the dish and add some extra nutrients.
Here are more delicious recipes to try with your homemade Teriyaki sauce!
- 20 Minute Teriyaki Shrimp
- Easy Teriyaki Salmon
- Baked Teriyaki Chicken
- Beef Teriyaki Noodles
- Orange Teriyaki Salmon
Chicken Teriyaki
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 pound chicken thighs, boneless and skinless, cut into bite size pieces
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1/2 cup mirin
- 4 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1/2 teaspoon ginger, minced
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- a couple of dashes of fish sauce
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon water
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large skillet.
- Saute chicken over medium high heat until browned on the outside and cooked through.
- Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.
- In the same pan the chicken was cooked in add the soy sauce, mirin, brown sugar, sesame oil, ginger, garlic and fish sauce.
- Bring to a boil and reduce heat and simmer the sauce for 2-3 minutes.
- In a small bowl mix together the cornstarch and water.
- Slowly pour in the cornstarch mixture whisking continuously. Continue to cook until your desired thickness.
- Add chicken back to the pan and toss to coat the chicken with the sauce.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Did you make this?
I’d love to hear your feedback! Leave a review and make sure to share your pictures on social media! Don’t forget to follow @thechefsavvy.
Vince
Excellent Meal. The Teriyaki Sauce was perfect.
Kelley
Thank you Vince!
Katherine
Delicious! This teriyaki sauce is WAY better than store-bought and the finished dish could have come from my favorite restaurant. Thank you Kelley!
Wade
I adore this recipe. Though it’s for sure not on the healthy side. The sodium content alone is crazy not to mention the cholesterol. But it’s so good. Once a month treat for me.