Here’s a flavorful, easy recipe for Chicken Thighs in Teriyaki Sauce — juicy, tender, and perfect over rice or noodles.
🍗 Chicken Thighs in Teriyaki Sauce
Ingredients (Serves 4)
For the chicken:
- 6–8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 2 lbs / 900 g)
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 1–2 tablespoons vegetable oil
For the teriyaki sauce:
- ½ cup soy sauce (or low-sodium soy sauce)
- ¼ cup mirin (or substitute with rice vinegar + 1 tsp sugar)
- ¼ cup sake (optional)
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar or honey
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons water (for thickening)
Optional garnish:
- Sesame seeds
- Chopped green onions
Instructions
- Prep the chicken
- Pat chicken thighs dry and season lightly with salt and pepper.
- Cook the chicken
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Sear chicken thighs 4–5 minutes per side until golden brown and nearly cooked through. Remove from skillet and set aside.
- Make the teriyaki sauce
- In the same skillet, add garlic and ginger. Sauté 30 seconds until fragrant.
- Stir in soy sauce, mirin, sake (if using), and sugar. Bring to a simmer.
- Mix cornstarch with water and slowly add to the sauce, stirring until thickened.
- Combine chicken and sauce
- Return chicken to the skillet. Coat with sauce and simmer 2–3 minutes until fully cooked and glazed.
- Serve
- Plate the chicken with sauce over steamed rice or noodles.
- Garnish with sesame seeds and green onions if desired.
Tips
- For extra flavor, marinate chicken in teriyaki sauce for 30–60 minutes before cooking.
- Chicken thighs stay juicier than breasts, but you can use breasts if you prefer.
- Leftovers reheat well — just warm gently to avoid drying out the chicken.
If you want, I can also give a quick oven-baked version that uses the same teriyaki sauce but cooks the chicken hands-off in 25–30 minutes — perfect for busy nights.
Do you want me to share that version?
