Few-Ingredient Teriyaki Chicken
Chicken + 1 pan + a glossy sauce. Dinner is basically decided.
When you need dinner fast and your brain is done making choices, this teriyaki chicken is a good default. It gives you the familiar sweet-salty takeout flavor without a long ingredient list or a complicated sauce. You can make it with chicken breasts or thighs, and it works with rice, noodles, or a bag of steam-in-bag vegetables if that’s what you’ve got. Expect a simple weeknight skillet meal, not a restaurant glaze, but it still tastes satisfying and warm. If you can chop chicken and stir a sauce, you can make this tonight.
Ingredients
- 1.5 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs — Cut into bite-size pieces
- 1 tbsp neutral oil
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 0.5 tsp black pepper
- 0.25 cup soy sauce
- 0.25 cup water
- 3 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 2 tbsp cold water — For the slurry
- 2 unit scallions — Thinly sliced
Method
- 1 Mix the soy sauce, water, brown sugar, rice vinegar, and cornstarch in a small bowl until smooth.
- 2 Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken, garlic powder, and black pepper, then cook for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until browned and cooked through.
- 3 Pour the sauce into the skillet and simmer for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring, until glossy and lightly thickened.
- 4 Stir in the scallions and serve right away over rice, noodles, or vegetables if you like.
Variations
- Vegetarian swap — Use extra-firm tofu instead of chicken; pat it dry, cube it, and brown it before adding the sauce.
- Faster swap — Use thin-sliced chicken cutlets or pre-cut chicken stir-fry pieces to shave a few minutes off the cook time.
- Substitutions — No rice vinegar? Use apple cider vinegar. No scallions? Skip them or top with sesame seeds if you have them.
Notes
For the fastest version, use chicken thighs cut small so they cook quickly and stay juicy. If the sauce thickens too much, splash in 1 tbsp water. If you want extra sweetness, add 1 more tsp brown sugar. Internal temperature for chicken should reach 165°F.
Equipment that helps
- Large skillet — Gives the chicken enough surface area to brown instead of steam.
- Small bowl — Makes it easy to stir the sauce together before it hits the pan.
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