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This Teriyaki Chicken recipe with a delicious sticky sauce makes a brilliant, quick, healthy, midweek meal. No need to marinate – just stir fry and serve.

Full meal of teriyaki chicken and rice and broccoli laid on a table.

Dinner in 30 minutes that still feels like a mega treat (eg. FAKEAWAY)… yes please! And this sauce is sticky, sweet, salty, savoury and just simply delicious. 

This Teriyaki Chicken is one of my ancient recipes from when I first started blogging many moons ago. I’ve tweaked, tested and improved it over the years, and I am pleased to report it’s still as yummy as ever.

A firm favourite back on our meal plans for that quick, satisfying win, be it midweek or a weekend.


Why you’ll love this Teriyaki Chicken recipe

⭐️ Healthier and cheaper than a takeaway

⭐️ So quick and no need to marinate

⭐️ Perfect for leftovers or meal prepping ahead


An image to go alongside a recipe for teriyaki chicken.

About Teriyaki Chicken

Teriyaki is a Japanese style of cooking using a glaze. The glaze is cooked until thick and then used to marinate the meat before cooking.

You can buy it as a pre-made bottled sauce, but honestly? My recipe is made using relatively low cost supermarket ingredients and it is so quick and simple. No nasties and full of flavour.

If you would like to find out more about traditional Teriyaki sauce made using authentic Japanese methods, you can find out more at Just One Cookbook.


Teriyaki Chicken Ingredients

Ingredients for teriyaki chicken recipe laid on a counter.
  • Chicken breast or thighs
  • Sesame oil
  • Soy sauce – Buying the best quality you can will make a difference. I like Kikkoman (with less salt).
  • Honey – I use runny as it’s easier to handle and pour, but any is fine.
  • White wine vinegar
  • Garlic – As always, you can use fresh, frozen, a jar or paste
  • Ginger – Again, ready-prepared or fresh is fine
  • Cornflour – Always add a little liquid to make up a slurry first (see FAQs)
  • Garlic powder – You can use fresh instead if you don’t have this

How to make Chicken Teriyaki

How to make Teriyaki Chicken. Step 1. Mix the sauce in a bowl.

1. Mix the teriyaki sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Begin with the cornflour and gradually add the soy sauce, whisking so there are no lumps. Add the rest of the sauce ingredients.

A process image of how to make teriyaki chicken. Step 2. Add the sauce to the cooked chicken in the pan.

2. Heat the oil and add the chicken until cooked. Add garlic and ginger for a few minutes and add the teriyaki sauce. Cook for 5 minutes until coated and thickened.


Substitutions

  • Chicken – You can use breasts or thighs for this recipe as both work really well. Thighs are usually cheaper and slightly tastier and juicier in texture, but it’s down to personal preference. 
  • Oil – Sesame oil will add flavour if you have it, but no need to buy especially if you don’t. Vegetable or sunflower oil would be fine. 
  • Vinegar – I use white wine vinegar but you can also use red wine vinegar or Mirin (a Japanese rice wine).

Leftovers

In the fridge You can keep this recipe in the fridge for 3 days. Reheat fully by in the microwave or hob before serving. You might need splash of water.

In the freezer This recipe freezes well. Just wait until it’s totally cold and then put into a freezer proof container and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost thoroughly before reheating in the microwave or hob.

Top tips for making Teriyaki Chicken

What to serve with Teriyaki Chicken 

This goes really well with rice and green vegetables on the side, such as broccoli. Mangetout, green beans or carrots also work. If you like your vegetables coated in sauce, when they’re cooked you can mix them into the teriyaki sauce just before serving.

Teriyaki Chicken FAQs

Is this a very salty dish?


I have thoroughly tested this recipe and my family loves it, and doesn’t find it too salty at all. However, I do appreciate that some people might find that it is as it’s made with a lot of soy sauce, so is by nature quite salty. 

You can buy a soy sauce with less salt in, but if that’s not to your taste, you might be best with a different fakeaway chicken recipe instead, such as my Slow Cooker Sweet and Sour Chicken.

How do you make a cornflour ‘slurry’?

This is a trick to thicken the sauce without ending up with floury lumps.

First you add cornflour to a small bowl, mug or jug, then use a little liquid from the dish (a spoonful or two) to mix the cornflour into a paste consistency.

If you just sprinkle cornflour straight into the dish, it will form lumps that are almost impossible to get rid of. I promise this step is worth the extra dirty bowl!

Let me know how you got on and what you thought of these recipes. Please rate the recipe using the ⭐️ below.

Also I’d LOVE to see your cooking creations. If you’d like to share yours with me, you can tag me on Instagram (@tamingtwins).

4.84 from 114 votes

Easy Teriyaki Chicken {with Sticky Sauce}

This Teriyaki Chicken recipe with a delicious sticky sauce makes a brilliant, quick, healthy, midweek meal. No need to marinate, just stir fry and serve.
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 4

Ingredients 

  • 650 g Chicken breasts, Skinless, boneless, cut into chunks
  • 1 tbsp Oil, Sesame, vegetable or sunflower
  • 2 Cloves of garlic, Peeled and crushed
  • 1 tsp Ginger puree

For the Teriyaki Sauce:

  • 2 tsp Cornflour
  • 100 ml Soy sauce
  • 50 ml Water
  • 3 tbsp Honey
  • 2 tbsp White wine vinegar
  • 0.5 tsp Garlic powder
  • 1 tsp Ginger purée
  • 0.5 tsp Dried chilli flakes, Optional

To garnish:

  • Sesame seeds

Instructions 

  • Mix the teriyaki sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Begin with the cornflour and gradually add the soy sauce, whisking so there are no lumps. Add the rest of the sauce ingredients.
  • Heat the oil in a frying pan until very hot.
  • Add the chicken and cook for about 10-15 minutes until the chicken is almost cooked through.
  • Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 3 or 4 more minutes until softened.
  • Add the teriyaki sauce ingredients and cook for about 5 minutes until everything is well coated and thickened.
  • While the chicken is cooking, I cook some rice in the bottom of a steamer pan and then add some green vegetables to the steamer part on top for the last 5 minutes. (You can mix the cooked broccoli into the sauce and chicken just before serving if you'd like it coated in sauce.)

Notes

  • Nutrition calculated without rice or vegetables.

Nutrition

Calories: 290kcalCarbohydrates: 16gProtein: 37gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0.04gCholesterol: 104mgSodium: 1565mgPotassium: 680mgFiber: 0.4gSugar: 13gVitamin A: 123IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: 19mgIron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Family Food
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Sarah Rossi founder of TamingTwins.com and author of 'What's for Dinner?' books.

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4.84 from 114 votes (90 ratings without comment)

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42 Comments

  1. 4 stars
    I love this dish but went to make it yesterday and the sauce ingredients have changed. I prefer the last one where (I believe) there was less soy sauce and water? Could you let me know the measurements please for the old recipe. Those measurements made the sauce more sticky and less of it. Thank you!!

  2. 3 stars
    What am I doing wrong?! I’ve tried making this several times now and have never achieved a thick and sticky sauce. I’m always left with a fairly light-coloured watery sauce. I’ve tried different soy sauces, less water, no water, more honey. Its never right. It tastes OK, but it’s not teriyaki!

  3. 5 stars
    OH MY GOODNESS!! This one’s going to be used a lot in this household. Easy, delicious & addictive!! Thank you sooooo much for sharing Sarah – it’s very much appreciated 🙂

  4. 5 stars
    I marinated the chicken in sauce for a couple of hours, turned out very very tasty! Very little prepping and quick to cook.

  5. 4 stars
    You can’t use Sesami oil at high temperatures unless it’s refined, and therefore the Sesami taste is absent.