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!]
Recipe 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!
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!
Making this again, for supper tonight!
Easy and we love it! Even with all my dietary subs in effect, it still tastes great!
We double the sauce and use it to top stir fried veg.
Hard to beat a great tasting meal, that also tidies up my veggie drawer! :)
That’s wonderful, happy eating :-)
Hello, thank you for posting as this is a tasty recipe although I’m not sure if I used the right oil, is sesame seed oil used for the 2 tablespoons of oil in the wok or a different oil?
Can I freeze the marinade with boneless chicken thighs?
Hi May, I have not done that, but you could certainly try it.
Made this for dinner tonight, it came out great. The only change was using breasts instead of thighs, the meat was still nice & juicy, wonderful flavor.
Thank you so much for posting this recipe!
You’re welcome!
Perfect I think you’re the greatest and the chicken is perfect!!
So happy you enjoyed it, Bobby!
I want to make this with some veggies (thinking broccoli and bok choy?) as I’m trying to add more greens to my meals! Any advice on that? Should I increase the marinade? Thank you!!
Hi Becca, my advice is not to alter the recipe because you want that intense flavor that this dish offers. Cook the vegetables as a separate dish as a side. We have a garlicky broccoli and a stir-fried bok choy that you can try.
Thank you for your response!! The bok choy sounds great :)
Is the sesame oil used toasted or non-toasted?
It is toasted, Dominic! Anytime we call for sesame oil in our recipes, it is toasted sesame oil. Un-toasted sesame oil is more light golden in color, and doesn’t have a strong flavor.
I doubled the sauce and used it as a marinade and glaze for a spatchcocked chicken. It was so tasty! Will be making again, thank you!
You’re welcome, Akayla!
My sauce came out murky, not shiny and gorgeous like in the picture. I followed the instructions exactly- what might have gone wrong? It was tasty but not amazing.
Hi Jackie, did you use the ingredients in the recipe or make substitutions! Did you cook in a wok or regular pan? Did you mix the cornstarch slurry right before adding it?