Recipe
Never tried it tbh.
- Prick the chicken: In Japan, bone-less, skin-on chicken thighs are a preferred choice because they don’t dry out quickly. We almost always use skin-on because the skin provides a safety layer between chicken flesh and a hot pan, and as a result you get moist and juicy meat every time. It’s important to prick the chicken’s skin with fork so that oil will come out easily while cooking and flavors will be absorbed quickly. It’s an extra step, but it makes the difference at the end.
- Pan fry the chicken: Although you may find a lot of baked or grilled chicken teriyaki recipes online, Japanese home cooks prepare this dish by pan frying the chicken. It’s quick, easy, and all you need is a reliable frying pan. When you cook the chicken, remember to start with the skin-side down and let it crisp up and adds nice char flavor.
- Patiently spoon over the teriyaki sauce: Once the teriyaki sauce is poured over the chicken, tilt the frying pan to spoon the sauce and pour over the chicken. Repeat this process till the chicken absorbs delicious glaze and starts to shine.
- Servings: 2
Ingredients
- 1 inch ginger (1 inch = 2.5 cm)
- ¼ onion
- 1 lb boneless chicken thigh with skin (1 lb = 454 g)
- kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1 Tbsp neutral flavor oil (vegetable, canola, etc) (for Step 7)
- 2 Tbsp sake (for cooking)
- 1 tsp neutral flavor oil (vegetable, canola, etc) (for Step 10)
Teriyaki Sauce:
Steps
- Gather all the ingredients.
- Grate ginger (I use this grater) and transfer the grated ginger with juice in a large bowl. Grate the onion in the bowl.
- Add all the ingredients for teriyaki sauce in the bowl.
- Prick both sides of the chicken with fork so it absorbs more flavor.
- Cut the excess skin and fat and lightly season with salt and pepper.
- Optionally, you can marinate the chicken for 30 minutes. In Japan, we don’t usually marinate the chicken prior to pan frying as it can easily burn. I normally go straight to cook the chicken without marinating, yet chicken teriyaki has wonderful flavor. Today I’ll show you this optional method because I want to point out key points in case you decide to marinade.
- Heat 1 Tbsp oil in a non-stick pan over medium heat (I used a cast iron pan today). Remove marinade from the chicken as much as possible. This is important so the chicken gets nice sear mark and won't end up cooking in the sauce. Place the chicken skin side down, RESERVING the sauce. Use a splatter screen if you have one – it’s pretty neat tool to prevent from splatter especially you cook bacon and oily foods.
- When fat renders and skin is golden brown, flip the chicken and add sake. Quickly cover with the lid and steam cook the chicken over medium low heat for 8-10 minutes.
- Open the lid and transfer the chicken to a plate. Wipe off excess grease from the pan.
- Heat 1 tsp oil and put the chicken back in the pan, skin side down.
- Flip the chicken and now skin side is up. Pour the reserved sauce. Cook until the sauce is reduced about half, frequently spooning the sauce over the chicken. Once alcohol from sake and mirin evaporates, sugar crystallizes and the sauce gets thicken. Turn off the heat.
- Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and slice into a bite size pieces.
- Serve on a plate and drizzle the remaining sauce on top.
(https://www.justonecookbook.com/chicken-teriyaki/)