Chicken Teriyaki on Rice

Making homemade Chicken Teriyaki on Rice is so much easier than you think. All you need is a handful of classic Japanese ingredients, and you can make the most amazing Teriyaki Sauce to drizzle over some simply cooked Chicken. For the best (and most authentic tasting) result, we recommend making homemade Sushi Rice. Another super-simple dish that is just as easy as making regular Rice. All you need to do is add a little bit of Sugar and Vinegar once it’s cooked. This dish couldn’t be easier, and tastes just as good as your favorite Japanese take out place. For a fraction of the cost too!

How to make a simple and delicious Homemade Teriyaki Sauce

It’s surprisingly easy to make a delicious Teriyaki Sauce at home. This famous Japanese Sauce is what gives this dish its unique sweet and salty flavor. It’s such a popular sauce all over the world, yet it is revered as being the kind of sauce you need to go to a restaurant for

Well, the good news is this is not the case! Our amazing Teriyaki Sauce can be made at home in under 10 minutes using a handful of easily available ingredients. The key to a great Teriyaki Sauce is the combination of Sweet and Salty flavors. The sweetness in this sauce comes from the addition of Brown Sugar, Honey, and Mirin

The saltiness is brought into the dish through the use of Soy Sauce, which is the most plentifully used ingredient in the dish (about 6 tbsp. or so). The remaining ingredients that make up this simple Teriyaki Sauce is Cooking Sake, and Corn Starch (which is used to help thicken the sauce)

All you need to do is combine all these ingredients into a saucepan and cook it through for about 8 – 10 minutes. Cook it over a relatively low heat, as there are sugary ingredients in the dish which tend to burn if cooked over a high heat

How to tell when the Teriyaki Sauce is done

Once the sauce starts to thicken slightly, remove it from the heat. The Sauce will continue to thicken even more once it cools, so it’s important that you take it off the heat at the right time. The best way to tell when the sauce is ready is by looking at the bubbles

The bubbles in the sauce will start to become bigger and burst at a slower rate than you’d expect from a liquid. It’s almost like the sauce is starting to turn into toffee (it isn’t really), it’s that kind of visual effect! The Sauce won’t really feel a lot thicker when stirring, so it’s best to look at the bubbles

Remove the sauce from the heat and then set it aside while you cook the Chicken. When the sauce cools, it will continue to thicken. Once the Chicken is cooked we finish off the dish by adding the Sauce back into the pan with the Chicken. So, if your sauce needs a few more minutes to thicken up in the pan you can always give it a few minutes in the pan before adding the Chicken

We recommend using Chicken Thighs for our Chicken Teriyaki on Rice recipe

Chicken Thighs are almost always the preferred choice of Chicken for us at Dinnertime Somewhere. Thighs have a richer, sweeter flavor than Chicken Breasts and are a lot easier to cook. They tend to not dry out, meaning they’re a lot more forgiving when cooking if you accidentally overcook them

Thighs are a great choice for Chicken Teriyaki because the Chicken typically gets cooked twice. We first pan-fry the Chicken Thighs until they’re cooked, then set them aside to rest. They are re-introduced into the pan along with the Teriyaki Sauce for a few minutes. This final step is important to get a nice coating on the Chicken, and allows them to char up with all that wonderful sugary sauce

You can absolutely cook this dish with Chicken Breast if you prefer, I’d just suggest that you take the Chicken off the heat for the first run when it’s slightly under temperature (eg: 145F). Then, once it goes back into the pan with the sauce you can cook it through to that sweet spot of 160 – 165F)

Sourcing the ingredients to make Chicken Teriyaki on Rice

10 years ago, finding some of these ingredients may have been difficult, but not now. Almost all grocery stores have an international section these days, with the booming prevalence of home cooks creating dishes inspired from cuisines all over the world

Japanese home cooking is perhaps not as common as Mexican or Indian, but it is growing in popularity, and the grocery stores are capitalizing on this demand. The Japanese specific ingredients for this dish are Mirin, Cooking Sake, and Rice Wine Vinegar. They should all be readily available in your local grocery store. The good news is the recipe doesn’t require a lot of it, so you’ll have them in the pantry to make the sauce many times!

If you can’t locate these ingredients at your grocery store we recommend trying a specialty Asian grocery store. They are guaranteed to stock it, so just shop around a little bit. Hey, you can even buy them online as another option. They’re amazing ingredients, and you’ll be able to make loads of tasty Japanese recipes

The final element of this dish is making your own Sushi Rice

We’ve published a few recipes on Sushi Rice on this website, including an in-depth guide on how to make perfect Sushi Rice at home here. The reality is, you don’t need to be a 20+ year Sushi master to make Sushi Rice at home. In fact, it’s very easy to do

Sushi Rice is its own specific type of Rice. It is easily found in grocery stores, so just pick up a bag and it’ll store in the pantry forever. You then simply cook Sushi Rice the way you would regular rice (we use the classic stovetop method). Once it’s cooked, simply mix in some Rice Wine Vinegar, Salt, and White Sugar

These ingredients are what gives the Sushi Rice its unique and distinct flavor. That’s all you’ve got to do! I like to start the Sushi Rice once you’ve finished the Teriyaki Sauce and have begun cooking the Chicken. This way the Rice will be done about the same time as the Chicken, so everything is nice and hot for serving!

Finish the Chicken Teriyaki on Rice with Scallions and Sesame Seeds

Garnishing the dish is an optional step, but I find it adds so much to the dish. Not only does the garnish make the dish look amazing and restaurant quality, but it adds some nice textural components to the dish. Green Onions / Scallions have a wonderful flavor when served raw, and they pair perfectly with the dish

Adding the toppings is optional, and the dish will taste amazing with or without them. As long as you’ve got that Sauce cooked perfectly, the dish is going to taste so good!

Chicken Teriyaki on Rice Recipe

Ingredients

• 5 Chicken Thighs
• 6 tbsp. Soy Sauce
• 4 tbsp. Mirin
• 4 tbsp. Cooking Sake
• 2 tbsp. Brown Sugar
• 1 tbsp. Honey
• 2 Scallions, finely diced
• 1 tsp. Sesame Seeds
• 1 tsp. Corn Starch
• 1 tsp. Vegetable Oil
• Salt and Pepper
  
  

Sushi Rice Ingredients

• 1 cup of Sushi Rice
• 1 ½ cups of Boiling Water
• 1 tsp. Rice Wine Vinegar
• 1 tsp. White Sugar
• ½ tsp. Salt
  
  

Instructions

1. Heat the Soy Sauce, Mirin, Cooking Sake, Brown Sugar, and Honey in a saucepan over medium low heat for 2 minutes, stirring constantly
2. Mix the Corn Starch with 1 tsp. of warm water in a small bowl to make a slurry, then add to the Sauce. Cook for 8 minutes until the sauce starts to slightly thicken. Remove from heat and set aside
3. Season the Chicken Thighs with Salt and Pepper. Heat Vegetable Oil in a large frying pan over medium heat
4. Once the pan is hot, add the Chicken and cook for 4 minutes on each side until cooked (internal temperature of 160F). Set aside to allow the Chicken to rest
   
   

To make the Sushi Rice

5. Combine the Sushi Rice and Boiling Water in a saucepan over low heat. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Turn off heat and leave covered for a further 10 minutes
6. Spoon the Rice into a large bowl (eg a Salad Bowl) and mix in the Rice Wine Vinegar, White Sugar, and Salt
   
   

Completing the Chicken Teriyaki on Rice dish

7. Add the Teriyaki Sauce into the frying pan and cook for 2 minutes until thick bubbles form. Add the Chicken and cook for 1 minute on each side to thoroughly coat in Sauce
8. Scoop the Sushi Rice into individual serving bowls. Top with the Chicken and drizzle over the remaining Teriyaki Sauce. Top with Scallions and Sesame Seeds and serve
   
   

Recipe Notes

• Adding the Sesame Seeds and Scallions as a garnish is optional, however does add a nice presentation and new textures to the dish
• If you have excess sauce you can refrigerate it for a few days. It will make for great Chicken Teriyaki Skewers
  
  

We know you’re going to love this delicious Chicken Teriyaki on Rice recipe just as much as we do. No need to get that expensive Japanese takeout delivered to your house anymore. Simply make your own!

The good news about this recipe is that if you have any leftover Teriyaki Sauce you can use it to make some different style Teriyaki dishes. We’ve got a couple of great Teriyaki recipes here at Dinnertime Somewhere, so why not check them out!:

• Beef Teriyaki Tataki
• Teriyaki Chicken Skewers with Scallions
• Teriyaki Salmon on Rice
• Japanese Beef Bowl
  
  

Happy Cooking!