Certain Asian dishes are especially popular with Asians and non-Asians alike. What comes to mind immediately: Chinese pan-fried dumplings, Indian Roti Canai, Pad Thai, Korean Bulgogi/Kalbi (grilled beef) and Japanese Teriyaki....there are many more. When we go to Asian restaurants here in US, we notice these are the dishes many people (native or non-native eater) will typically order and enjoy. I group these well-liked foods under the following categories: sweet well-marinated meats, crispy tasty flour products, salty/sweet/sour/spicy combination.....makes sense?
Fortunately delicious Japanese Teriyaki is something we can easily make at home. And best of all the sauce is a very versatile item which goes with fish, chicken, beef, pork and even tofu. Every time I make Teriyaki, my family is happy. And I am happy too, as it is quick and simple to cook, and makes washing-up easy.
How do we make Teriyaki Chicken? The same way we make Teriyaki Salmon. Pan-fry the meat, mix & cook the sauce and put the two together. We need some basic kitchen ingredients and 2 Japanese condiments - sake and mirin. Sake is a Japanese alcoholic beverage made from fermented rice, and also used for drinking. Mirin is a type of rice wine similar to sake but with a lower alcohol content and higher sugar content. This sugar in mirin is formed naturally via the fermentation process and not refined sugar.
I always keep sake and mirin on hand as we use them frequently for making Teriyaki. While I will recommend including both, I know not everyone has sake and mirin in their kitchen. If you do not have mirin, replace it with sake + sugar. And if you do not have sake, you can replace it with mirin and reduce sugar in the recipe.
Personally I prefer chicken thigh for this recipe as it is more tender, though I notice many restaurants here serve Chicken Teriyaki using chicken breast. Feel free to use your favorite cut of meat. To keep the chicken tender, we first sear it using higher heat then lower the heat to slowly cook it. Just remember not to over-cook or it will become tough.
Teriyaki tonight anyone?
RECIPE FOR TERIYAKI CHICKEN
Serves 2
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Ingredients
2 chicken thighs (deboned, about 300-350g)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 Tbsp plain flour
1 Tbsp butter
1/2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp sake
Sauce
1.5 Tbsp soy sauce
1.5 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp mirin (a)
1 Tbsp sake (b)
Steps:
1) Mix the ingredients for sauce in a bowl and stir well till sugar dissolves.
2) Rinse chicken, pat dry and season with salt and pepper. Coat chicken with flour on both sides and remove excess flour.
3) Over medium-high heat, add olive oil and butter to pan. When butter has melted, place chicken in pan. Cook till chicken is nicely browned on one side. Flip chicken over and brown other side.
4) Reduce heat to medium-low. Add 1 tbsp sake and cover pan with lid to steam chicken. The amount of time needed to cook will depend on thickness of chicken. I usually stick a knife into the thickest part of the meat and pry it open a little bit. Once the juices run clear, it is cooked. Turn the heat down a bit if the sides are getting too browned.
5) When chicken is cooked, transfer to a plate.
6) Using medium-low heat, add sauce and cook till slightly thickened. Add chicken back to pan and spoon sauce over chicken. Once sauce thickens, transfer chicken with sauce to plate and serve hot with rice.
Notes:
(a) if you do not have mirin, replace with 1 Tbsp of sake + 1 Tbsp sugar
(b) if you do not have sake, replace with 1 Tbsp mirin and reduce sugar in recipe to 1/2 Tbsp
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