3-Ingredient Chicken Teriyaki

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Ingredients

  • 2.5 lbs boneless, skin-on chicken thighs
  • 1 1/4 cups low-sodium soy sauce
  • 1 1/4 cups clover honey
  • Neutral oil (if needed)

First, Render the Chicken Fat

The best part of using skin-on thighs is that you can make your own chicken fat to cook in. Place the chicken skins in a large, cold non-stick skillet and set it over medium heat.

Let the skins render for ~5-7 minutes. You are looking for a couple of tablespoons of liquid fat in the pan and for the skins to get crispy.

Once they’re crisp, remove the skins with a slotted spoon and set them aside for a snack. If you notice you didn’t get enough fat from the skins, just add a splash of neutral oil to the pan.

Next, Cook the Chicken and Make the Glaze

Turn the heat under the skillet to medium-high. Place the chicken thighs in the hot fat and sear them for ~3-4 minutes per side. You want to get a deep golden-brown crust on both sides. The chicken does not have to be cooked through at this point.

Remove the chicken from the skillet and set it aside on a cutting board. Turn off the heat.

Pour the low-sodium soy sauce and honey into the hot pan and stir them together. Turn the heat to medium-high and bring the sauce to a boil.

Lower the heat to a steady simmer and let the sauce reduce, stirring occasionally. This will take ~10-15 minutes. The sauce is ready when it has become a thick, glossy glaze that can coat the back of a spoon.

While the sauce reduces, cut the seared chicken into bite-sized pieces.

Once the glaze is ready, return the chicken to the skillet. Toss everything together for a final minute or two until the chicken is cooked through and every piece is coated in the thick sauce. Serve immediately over rice.

3-Ingredient Chicken Teriyaki

prep time:5 minutes
cook time:35 minutes
total time:40 minutes
Store-bought teriyaki is always too thin or too sweet, and making it from scratch usually means tracking down mirin and sake and a bunch of other stuff. This version uses just chicken, soy sauce, and honey – you render the fat from the chicken skin for cooking, then reduce everything into a thick glaze that actually sticks to the meat.

Ingredients

  • 2.5 lbs boneless skin-on chicken thighs
  • 1 1/4 cups low-sodium soy sauce
  • 1 1/4 cups clover honey
  • Neutral oil if needed

Instructions

  • Place chicken skins in cold non-stick skillet over medium heat, render 5-7 minutes until crispy.
  • Remove crispy skins, reserve rendered fat in pan. Add neutral oil if needed.
  • Sear chicken thighs in fat over medium-high heat, 3-4 minutes per side until golden brown.
  • Remove chicken from pan and set aside.
  • Add soy sauce and honey to pan, stir to combine.
  • Bring to boil, reduce to simmer for 10-15 minutes until sauce becomes thick and glossy.
  • Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces while sauce reduces.
  • Return chicken to pan, toss with glaze 1-2 minutes until cooked through.
  • Serve over rice.

Notes

Use skin-on chicken thighs for best results. Sauce should coat back of spoon when ready.

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Hi, i'm Hinata!

I'm a recipe developer, food photographer, and the content creator behind Ramen Rater.

Here, you will find 100+ tried & true Asian-inspired recipes that bring restaurant favorites and street food classics into your home kitchen! Itadakimasu!