Teriyaki Chicken

Woot! I love teriyaki chicken. Lots. I used to meet up with a friend on his lunch break quite often, and most of the time we'd hit up the local teriyaki joints. Living in Western Washington, you don't have to go far to find one. There's one on every corner, right next to the Starbucks (Zing!) But, like my issues finding a decent plate of phad thai in CA, I also can't find anywhere to get some teriyaki chicken. Just as a point of interest, I don't like my food options here. It's either fine French Cuisine at $40 a plate or McDonald's. Blech.

So, I decided to make my own. I found a recipe I thought would work, but I'm not even going to attribute it to anyone. It was that awful. I don't want to shame them. I did my best to try and rescue it, and though I ended up with about double the amount I'd intended, it was pretty friggin' delicious in the end.

I marinated some boneless, skinless chicken thighs in about a cup of the sauce and then after grilling, I drizzled some more sauce over the chicken and some steamed rice.

Heck yes!



Teriyaki Sauce

Makes about 3 1/2 cups

1 cup soy sauce
3/4 cup mirin (rice wine)
2 cups water
2 tablespoons cornstarch
4 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1 large, or 2 small, garlic cloves, minced
1/2 inch piece ginger root, peeled and minced

1. In a medium sauce pan over medium heat combine soy sauce and mirin. Dissolve the cornstarch in the water and add to saucepan. Add the rest of ingredients and bring to a boil.

2. Reduce heat to keep at a steady simmer and cook, uncovered, for 10-15 minutes stirring occasionally.

3. Sauce is done when thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.