We’ve all done it, in shopping malls across America. The ride up the escalator to the food court. The slow but purposeful full circle around all the vendors, plucking toothpicked free samples of chicken teriyaki from styrofoam plates proffered on plastic trays. The carefully furrowed brow whilst contemplating each sample, to show the hopeful faces holding those trays that they’re very much in the running.
In all my years of mall-going––from junior high days spent looking for tiny, overpriced, sparkly t-shirts to the obsessive bargain-hunting of today––the sample guy with the most success has always been the chicken teriyaki guy.
This is a recipe for that mall chicken teriyaki that you’ve probably found yourself lining up for once or twice. I know I say this a lot, but you’ll be really surprised at how easy it is to make. You can take what those guys at Sarku Japan (or whatever equivalent chain you probably have at your local mall) do on a giant flat-top griddle, and replicate it in your own kitchen, with just 9 ingredients (10, if you count the steamed rice you’re going to serve it on top of!).
If you’re not in the mood to head to the mall, but you’re craving that plate of “mall” chicken teriyaki, then you’re going to love this.
[UPDATE 6/19/2016: After receiving some comments from readers on this recipe, I recently revisited and retested it. We’ve since made some adjustments!]
You’ll need:
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into small chunks
- 3 1/2 tablespoons mirin
- 3 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dark soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon grated ginger
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons oil
- steamed rice, to serve
Add the chicken to a bowl, along with the mirin, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger, sesame oil, and cornstarch.
Mix together until all the ingredients are well combined. Allow to marinate for 2 hours.
Heat the oil in a wok or large skillet over medium high heat. Transfer the chicken to the pan in one layer (reserving the marinade), and allow it to sear on one side for 1 minute.
Then start stir-frying for another minute.
Add the reserved marinade to the pan, reduce the heat to medium, and simmer to reduce the sauce until it thickens and coats the chicken. Serve over rice!
Mall Chicken Teriyaki
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs (900g, cut into small chunks)
- 3 1/2 tablespoons mirin
- 3 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dark soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon ginger (grated)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons oil
Instructions
- Add the chicken to a bowl, along with the mirin, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger, sesame oil, and cornstarch. Mix together until all the ingredients are well combined. Allow to marinate for 2 hours.
- Heat the oil in a wok or large skillet over medium high heat. Transfer the chicken to the pan in one layer (reserving the marinade), and allow it to sear on one side for 1 minute. Then start stir-frying for another minute.
- Add the reserved marinade to the pan, reduce the heat to medium, and simmer to reduce the sauce until it thickens and coats the chicken. Serve over rice!
Nutrition
Emily says
Hi! I’d love to try out this recipe as it seems quick and simple to do – but I only have wingettes, could I use that in place of the chicken thigh chunks? Thank you!
Sarah says
Hey Emily, wingettes will definitely take longer to cook. You can get an idea of the process from our three cup chicken recipe: https://thewoksoflife.com/three-cup-chicken-san-bei-ji/. (Or just make three cup chicken with those wingettes, because it’s delicious).
Emily says
I just did exactly that, and the San Bei Ji was indeed delicious. Thank you!
Sarah says
You’re welcome, Emily!
Tom Chin says
Holama! I probably misspelled it but I just discovered your site and love it. I have had an incomplete education with Chinese food, which I adore. My father was a chef from Hong Kong and I learned some basic things from him, however he never really learned English and I was not taught Chinese, so my cooking education is a bit hit and miss.your sight seems to be that missing link between cooking and cooking with understanding! Thank you for sharing your vast knowledge with the rest of us, cheers, Tom C
Sarah says
You’re welcome, Tom!
Wiktor Biadasiewicz says
What are doing?! You think 5mins cook time is enough?
Are you trying to give people food poisoning?!
25 mins cook time at least. Make sure to use a probe as well!
This recipe’s instructions are also very inaccurate and ridiculous!
I’m very disappointed!
Sarah says
Hi Wiktor, in Chinese cooking, extremely high heat is used, and the meat is cut up into small pieces so that it cooks very quickly. Many stir-fry dishes take only minutes to cook, and indeed, the high heat and quick cooking is what gives these dishes their signature flavor, known as “wok hei,” or “breath of the wok.” Take a look around our site if you’d like to educate yourself more about our culture’s style of cooking.
Bartek Biadasiewicz says
Hi,
That lad above is my 13yrs old son. I’m really sorry about his comment. He tries hard, probably too hard;)))
His biggest worry is food poisoning – easy to guess.
He is actually going to try and cook with your recipe at school.
He will learn :)
Sarah says
No worries at all, Bartek! Awesome to hear your son is interested in cooking and learning :)
Roni Johns says
Love this site!!! You’re always saving my bacon and satisfying my food cravings – like food food angels ?
Sarah says
Awww, thank you Roni! We’re so glad you’re enjoying our site!
Jennifer says
Delicious! We served it with rice noodles and steamed broccoli. Next time I’m going to double the sauce to have extra for the noodles. (Any idea what the calorie count is and serving size?) Thanks for this recipe!
Sarah says
Hey Jennifer, I don’t have the exact calorie count, but apps like MyFitnessPal can help with that. You can add all the ingredients you used in the recipe, and it’ll tell you how many calories are in a serving, based on how many servings you decide to divide your recipe into.
Amanda says
I fixed this tonite..I was kinda worried on how it smelled while cooking…but omg it was soooo good!! I could have ate the whole pan myself..lol I fixed fried rice w/yum yum sause, corn on cob and bread..diffenly gonna fix again..?
Sarah says
Nice!!
Nikki says
So good. The sugar in the marinade helped to brown the chicken better than any other way I’ve tried. Looked and tasted like the chicken was grilled.
Sarah says
Thanks for the feedback, Nikki. It IS amazing what a little sugar will do to a dish, especially when it involves stir-frying meat!
Nate says
It is definitely good but it doesn’t taste much like Sarku.
Sarah says
Hey Nate, glad you liked it––Sarku definitely has the advantage of the flat top and cooking in mass quantities! Feel free to adjust the recipe to your liking. :)
Tina says
How do I add veggies to this? I like book choy and broccoli and carrots? Should I just steam? Will there be enough sauce for them?
Thank you!!
Sarah says
Hey Tina, I would just stir-fry some veggies separately and serve them on the side. Try our basic bok choy stir-fry recipe: https://thewoksoflife.com/2015/12/stir-fried-bok-choy-recipe/. You can cook any leafy green with this method!
Sarah says
What’s the difference between the dark soy sauce and the soy sauce listed as ingredients? is the regular “soy sauce” light soy sauce? What qualifies as which?
Sarah says
Hey Sarah, yes regular “soy sauce,” unless otherwise specified, refers to light soy sauce.