Homemade Teriyaki Sauce

OISHI NE!!!

This is one to definitely add to your list of quick go-to sauces. Easy-to-remember ratios, and only 30 minutes of your time. It’s minimal effort and MAXIMUM TASTE.

For those of you who wrote to me asking for a chop-chop dinner recipe or even something hassle-free to pack for a work lunch, here’s one perfect for that!

FUN FACT: ‘teri’ means shine, and ‘yaki’ means grilled!

The Recipe serves 2

Ingredients

¼ cup sake (see notes)

¼ cup mirin

¼ cup soy sauce

2 tbsp sugar

Chicken

3 chicken thighs, deboned and deskinned

1 tbsp cooking oil

Salt and pepper

1 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)

Spring onion, for garnish

Sesame seeds, for garnish

Directions

Teriyaki sauce

To make the homemade teriyaki sauce, boil all the ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir continuously until the sugar is dissolved.
Once it boils, lower the heat and leave to simmer for 2-3 minutes for it to thicken slightly.
Leave to cool and this magical sauce can be kept in the fridge for up to 3 weeks.

Teriyaki chicken

Season the chicken with salt and pepper.
In an oiled and heated pan, cook the chicken for on one side to get a nice sear (3-4 minutes), before flipping it and cooking on the other side. At this point you may put on a lid to let it cook with the steam. If your pan is too dry, you can add a dash of sake/water.
Once the chicken is cooked, add in the homemade teriyaki sauce (about 2-3 tbsp per thigh) and red pepper flakes, if using. The sauce will bubble and thicken rather quickly - this is normal!
Continuously spoon the sauce over the chicken to coat them evenly.
Once well coated, remove from the pan and rest the chicken for 3 mins before cutting through it. Meanwhile, reserve the remaining sauce from the pan to later drizzle over your final dish.
If you need more teriyaki sauce, simply heat some of the homemade teriyaki sauce earlier in a small pan for 2-3 minutes for it to thicken up.
Before serving, garnish with some sliced spring onion and white sesame seeds.

Notes:

Use cooking sake – it’s more affordable, and works perfectly! If you don’t have sake, you may use Chinese rice wine, or water for a non-alcoholic recipe.
This recipe can be made ahead and packed as a work lunch along with some soba noodles and shredded cucumber, or better still, make a one-pan chicken fried rice with kalian, tofu and extra sauce!
The homemade teriyaki sauce can also be used for tofu, mushrooms, salmon, beef, or your favourite vegetable stir fry.