How to make easy and delicious 20-Minute Chicken Teriyaki using only 4 ingredients for the sauce, without using any mirin or sake.
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**Recipe originally published: August 13, 2021, Post updated: February 24, 2024
For Day 12 of my Ramadan 2023 Series, I’m sharing an updated version of one of my earliest recipes on this blog — chicken teriyaki.
This dish would make a great option for your weeknight meals, especially since it can be made within 20 minutes! Though it’s super easy and effortless to make, it definitely does not take away from how tasty this chicken dish is.
I kid you not, there will be periods of time when I crave for this dish every other day. And because it doesn’t take long to prepare, I don’t even mind!
what is chicken teriyaki?
Chicken Teriyaki is a popular Japanese dish of pan fried chicken that’s simmered in and coated with a savory and sweet sauce. For an authentic teriyaki sauce, the ingredients would normally include soy sauce, sake, mirin, and sugar. However, in order to make this recipe non-alcoholic, I substituted the mirin and sake with a combination of apple cider vinegar and honey.
Teriyaki is actually the term for a Japanese cooking method. Teri means “shiny” and Yaki can mean both “grilled” and “pan fried”. So chicken teriyaki is really just pan fried chicken with a shiny glazed sauce.
Hot Tip: You can also use this sauce and make some delectable chicken wings.
ingredients you’ll need
(For full ingredient measurements, please proceed to the recipe card below.)
- Boneless chicken thighs
- Light soy sauce
- Apple cider vinegar
- Honey
- Sugar
- Salt and pepper
- Sesame seeds (optional – for garnish)
- Green onion (optional – for garnish)
how to make easy 20-Minute chicken teriyaki (without mirin or sake)
- Mix the soy sauce, apple cider vinegar, honey and sugar in a bowl to make the teriyaki sauce. Set aside for later.
- Season chicken thighs on both sides with salt and pepper.
- In a medium sized frying pan, place chicken thighs skin side down and let it cook for 4 minutes on each side or until the chicken is browns.
- Remove the chicken and turn the heat to low. Add the teriyaki sauce into the pan and stir. Bring to a simmer for 1-2 minutes.
- Once it’s simmering, add the chicken back to the pan and coat it with the sauce. Let it cook for a few more minutes on medium low or until the sauce thickens. Serve the chicken over/with rice and your choice of veggies.
- Drizzle remaining sauce on top of the chicken and garnish with sesame seeds and green onion. Enjoy!
notes for easy 20-minute chicken teriyaki (without mirin or sake)
I wanted to make this recipe non-alcoholic, so I substituted the mirin and/or sake with apple cider vinegar and honey.
If you are doubling up the sauce, do not double up on the amount of apple cider vinegar — keep it to 1 tbsp.
More Chicken Recipes
- Cheesy Korean Fried Chicken
- Malaysian Chicken Chop
- Garlic Fried Chicken (Ayam Goreng Bawang Putih)
- Japanese Chicken Katsu Curry
- Karaage Don (Japanese Fried Chicken Rice Bowl) – Without Mirin or Sake
Easy 20-Minute Teriyaki Chicken Video
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Easy 20-Minute Chicken Teriyaki (No Mirin or Sake)
Ingredients
- 4 boneless chicken thighs
- 1/4 cup light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar see notes
- 1 tbsp honey
- 2 tbsp sugar
- salt and pepper
- sesame seeds (optional – for garnish)
- green onion (optional – for garnish)
Instructions
- Mix the soy sauce, apple cider vinegar, honey and sugar in a bowl to make the teriyaki sauce. Set aside for later.
- Season chicken thighs on both sides with salt and pepper.
- In a medium sized frying pan, place chicken thighs skin side down and let it cook for 4 minutes on each side or until the chicken is browns.
- Remove the chicken and turn the heat to low. Add the teriyaki sauce into the pan and stir. Bring to a simmer for 1-2 minutes.
- Once it's simmering, add the chicken back to the pan and coat it with the sauce. Let it cook for a few more minutes on medium low or until the sauce thickens. Serve the chicken over/with rice and your choice of veggies.
- Drizzle remaining sauce on top of the chicken and garnish with sesame seeds and green onion. Enjoy!
I’m a novice to cooking especially with what I’d call cooking “from scratch”. So many people label recipes as “easy” when they’re actually not so simple. This recipe was exactly as described and DELICIOUS! I actually wound up doubling it because I was trying to make a large batch of food for me and my significant other. I had seen other recipes prior to this that included ginger so the only change I made was to add 1/8 tsp of ground ginger. This works so well. It is strong and has a lot of umami flavor without requiring the mirin or sake. It might not be traditional teriyaki but is easy for anyone to make as you only need a few ingredients that can be found in most any household.