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
Crissy says
This was good, my sauce also came out dark brown and was very thick, I even added water and it was still thick. I would make this again but throw the excess marinade away and make or buy a teriyaki sauce. I love Sarku Japan so much!
Sarah says
Thanks for sharing your experience with us, Crissy!
Nathan says
Love this recipe, tastes almost exactly as the mall style. I used less sodium soy sauce and it turned out great! Currently doing this recipe again for dinner tonight.
Sarah says
So glad to hear you liked it Nathan!
Lauralei says
Very good recreation of the mall teriyaki that my son loves. I made 2x the amount of marinade/sauce and could have made even more to be able to have extra for the rice. The sauce came out a bit too thick so next time I might cut back the cornstarch.
Sarah says
Thanks Lauralei! The use of cornstarch slurry is definitely a bit of an art sometimes. It’s a good rule of thumb to always start with half to 2/3 of the slurry, and then only add more if you need it, to account for the fact that your heat may be a bit higher and you may have a little less liquid in the pan (i.e. more liquid cooked off). However, if the sauce is a bit too thick, you can always add a splash of water or stock to thin it out!
Domenic says
Pretty good, not perfect. I couldn’t find dark soy sauce. Color wasn’t right. But we enjoyed it
Sarah says
Hey Domenic, you really need the dark soy sauce if you’re looking for the deep amber color. Try looking for a Chinese grocery near you! You can also look online at websites like justasianfood.com
BarD says
I found dark soy sauce on Amazon this week for a reasonable price!
Sarah says
Nice!