What's the secret to great teriyaki chicken?

[tuftears]

I tried making teriyaki chicken last night - for the sauce, I mixed black vinegar, OJ concentrate, some lemon juice, soy sauce, honey, powdered ginger, some chili garlic paste - but then I pan-fried it and it just wasn't as flavorful as I was hoping.

What I want to do is to make a really good teriyaki chicken, the kind they serve in restaurants. Not breaded chicken, per se. Could be baked, could be pan-seared, whatever! Do you have a good recipe for it? If so, share it with me, please!

Comments

[tugrik.livejournal.com]

If you're making your own teriyaki sauce, I *do* have a recipe for that! I've just not done in since I lived in Michigan. It's just easier to buy your own sauce these days. :) But if you want to try:

1 cup soy
1 tsp sesame oil
lots of garlic (6-7 cloves)
fresh ground black pepper (about 1tsp)

2/3 cup sweet rice wine
4 tsp. rice vinegar
1/3 cup brown sugar
(if you don't like/can't get rice wine: leave it, add a little more vinegar, water and sugar instead)

optional: red (hot) pepper flakes, a pinch
optional: 1tbsp ginger (minced or pulped)

Bring the ricewine to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat and simmer for a few minutes. Add soy, vinegar, sesame oil and sugar, stir it all in. Now add the seasonings (garlic, ginger, red pepper and blck pepper) and simmer 5-10 mins. Let cool, then put in a bottle and keep in the fridge.

---

As far as a good chicken recipe, I just cook it teppan-style on a flat griddle and then sauce it about one minute before I pull it from the heat; not much of a recipe, but teriyaki chicken isn't something I've tried to expand on. Revar loves it far more than me. :) (I'm more into tonkatsu w/katsu sauce!)

[tuftears.livejournal.com]

Hmm, can you elaborate on teppan style cooking and application of sauce? Do you marinade it beforehand as well?

[tugrik.livejournal.com]

I rarely marinade things; sometimes for BBQ, but not often of late.

Teppan is just cooking on a flat grill (or in my case, a flat griddle or usually a wok if I'm lazy; I'd love to have a real teppan but my kitchen has no room for that). Veryvery hot, using a little olive oil, a little rice-wine vinegar. Much like stir-fry. Let it sear, pry it free quickly, flip/stir/flip. Add some minced garlic and mushrooms if I'm in the mood for that.

Just before it's done, drench in teriyaki, stir/flip a few more times, serve over rice and aside veggies. Nothing really special or fancy at all, sorrysorry...

[tuftears.livejournal.com]

How do you make sure it's cooked through? Just really small or thin pieces, or...?

Non-intuitive, but....

[traveller-blues.livejournal.com]

Cooking the chicken through is the vital part. I'd go with a two-phase approach--

1) cube and marinade chicken with garlic and soy in a container overnight. You stir fry this until it's nearly done.

2) -then-, as Tug says, add sauce and toss at the last minute. If you overcook the sauce, it kinda denatures. Think about the frozen kits you get at Price Club -- they make you toss in the sauce at the last minute, too!

-Trav

Re: Non-intuitive, but....

[tuftears.livejournal.com]

Huh! Okay. I haven't used the frozen kits, but I guess that could be the 'why isn't it working' bit.

[haikujaguar.livejournal.com]

I would suggest marinading. It makes a huge difference in flavor. :)

[tuftears.livejournal.com]

Marinade in the same teriyaki sauce or...?

[chefmongoose.livejournal.com]

Marinating and/or brining your chicken makes a huge difference in flavor. (If it's already pre-brined, just marinate. If it needs brining, you can flavor the brine.)

At work our Teriyaki chicken is marinated in oil, ginger, garlic, soy, and salt. We grill it, then glaze it with a standard Teriyaki sauce.

[tuftears.livejournal.com]

Useful to know! ... Marinaded in what kind of oil? That doesn't sound terribly healthy. };)

[chefmongoose.livejournal.com]

80% canola 20% olive oil.

[tuftears.livejournal.com]

Hmm. Apparently the purpose of the oil in the marinade is to hold in the moisture and provide a bit of flavor. I guess I should try adding some!

[haikujaguar.livejournal.com]

You can, yes. :)

[jordangreywolf.livejournal.com]

One "shortcut" I've used when I don't actually have teriyaki sauce is to add a bit of maple syrup to soy sauce. (Actual maple syrup, that is, not the "maple-flavored" stuff.)

[tuftears.livejournal.com]

That'll give it some real sticking power. };)

[jordangreywolf.livejournal.com]

I suppose I should emphasize that you shouldn't add that much syrup!