Long before sushi became the ambassador of Japanese cuisine to the rest of the world, chicken teriyaki invaded the west, and for better or worse it came to represent the whole of the Japanese culinary repertoire. Perhaps it was the short list of approachable ingredients or the allure of food from the far east. Whatever the reason, it’s become so ingrained in American food culture that even Paula Deen has a teriyaki recipe. So what makes for an authentic teriyaki sauce? It’s simple… equal parts soy sauce, mirin, sake, and sugar. It’s not that I have anything against those fancy sweet soy marinades with ginger, garlic, chili, green onions, sesame seeds, and or fruit puree in them, but sauces with these ingredients aren’t teriyaki sauce, since they cloud the teri. Ginger, sesame seeds, green onions, and chili are garnishes that are occasionally added after the chicken has been cooked. Traditionally, the unseasoned chicken is grilled over coals, then basted with teriyaki sauce. To tenderize and season the chicken all the way through, I brine it first in soy sauce and sugar, grill it, then shellac a few coats of teriyaki sauce on to finish. This seems to get the best balance of color, texture and flavor. I’ve written the directions for a broiler, but just reverse the cooking order (skin up, then down) if you are using a grill. By using maltose or honey in the teriyaki sauce, the sauce gets thick without having to add any cornstarch. If you do use honey, make sure you use one without a strong flavor of its own. Serve this chicken teriyaki whole, or chopped up on a bowl of steaming hot rice with some extra sauce. The leftovers make great oyako donburi which will be a topic for another post. Note: I also have an easy pan-fried chicken teriyaki recipe
📖 Recipe
