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
Natalie says
Looking forward to trying this out! Is there a good substitute for mirin? None of my local stores seem to carry it! :)
Sarah says
Hi Natalie, you could substitute sake and sugar, or Chinese rice wine.
Wynn says
I love this dish! So at Sarku they usually serve this with rice and a side of what looks like either steamed/boiled veggies. Those veggies with the chicken and sauce is the best! Any advice/tips on how to make the veggies or what veggies to use?
Sarah says
Hi Wynn, it’s usually cabbage in my experience, with some carrot. I think they taste better stir-fried with garlic and a touch of soy sauce! Heat your wok over high heat, add a couple tablespoons of vegetable oil, and throw in chopped cabbage and julienned carrot along with a couple cloves of chopped garlic. Stir-fry for a minute, and add a splash of water. Cover to allow the vegetables to steam for a couple minutes. Remove the cover and add a dash of soy sauce, stir-frying the vegetables until they’re tender.
Wynn says
Awesome, I will try that. Love this blog, thanks so much!
Chris says
Excited to make this dish! Would it be ok to marinate overnight?
Sarah says
Hi Chris, marinating overnight should be ok, though the dish may turn out a little saltier.
Amy Z says
Can’t wait to make this! Planning on using Kikkoman Naturally Brewed for the 1.5 t dark soy but not sure about the other 3.5 T soy called for. What type/brand? Thank you for such a fantastic site and all of these great recipes and insights!
Sarah says
Hi Amy, you’re better off using the Kikkoman in place of the “regular” soy sauce. The dark soy sauce called for in the recipe is actually a type of Chinese soy sauce that gives dishes that dark amber color. If you don’t have it, you can omit it, but the color of the dish will be lighter. More on different types of soy sauce in this article: https://thewoksoflife.com/soy-sauce/.
For more info on Chinese dark soy sauce in particular, we have an article on that too: https://thewoksoflife.com/dark-soy-sauce/
Jacquie Atkinson says
Third time making this, it always comes out awesome!!! This is the best site on the web! I’ve tried so many of your recipes and they always work. Keep up the great work !
Sarah says
Thank you so much, Jacquie!
Kris says
Made this last night, raved about it so much that several of my friends who live an 8 hour time difference from me went and bought the ingredients and also made it. This will go into normal rotation at my house. I gave my twins, who are two, a bite, and even they loved it. I did double the ginger, as I love ginger. I may add pineapple next time
Sarah says
Yay, so glad you enjoyed it! I also love how you spread the word and your friends acted on your advice so quickly! :)
Kris says
I shared a picture of it, and everyone thought it looked wonderful. Then they shared pictures of theirs with me. Even my mil wanted the recipe. This recipe is going into the family cookbook so it never gets lost.
Sarah says
That’s so awesome! Love it!
Joe says
I was kind of disappointed with this recipe…I found it to be a bit bland and not at all like mall teriyaki chicken.
Also, how did you get the chicken in the pictures to be red? I followed this recipe word-for-word and it was dark brown when finished.
I’ve tried a few other recipes from this website and really enjoyed them! Thanks for sharing.
Sarah says
Hi Joe, it might just be my dark soy sauce is a bit different than yours, plus the effects of camera lighting. Sorry you found this recipe disappointing. Are you sure the sauce reduced down enough?
Kris says
I’m trying this recipe tonight. I seriously miss that mall style teriyaki chicken since moving to England. I haven’t had a decent chicken teriyaki since leaving Seattle. To be honest, the only decent “Asian” foods I get here I have to make myself. Part of that is living in a small village, the other part is just the particulars, like the favourite Asian food here is Indian. The Chinese food here is more Hong Kong style. You aren’t getting egg Foo young. Or general tso, or almond chicken, all dishes my kids are missing. You don’t get proper char Sui here, instead you get roast pork, in a super thin sauce, with bean sprouts, that kind of tastes like char Sui. No Chinese mustard. Can’t find it in stores. Or restaurants. Got it in from the states. Love that you left a recipe for it. So I’ve been making my own for 4 years now. We use it in our bahn mi too, though I use pork belly and pork tenderloin for that. No baked hum bao. No dim sum. I found a couple of Asian markets a few towns away, where I can get ingredients and frozen dumplings, but the kids and I are going to learn to do it ourselves. Your website has been a huge help. Though I made up my own version of one of the most popular dishes here, which is crispy chili beef, which to me is twiglettes in a sweet/spicy sauce with no hint of meat in existence. My family loves that I cut a thicker cut of meat, you can tell there is beef in it, and yeah. Look up twiglettes. I also do my own 5 spice slow roasted duck for duck pancakes. I’m a big fan of Asian flavours, except for Indian, it’s my favourite to cook with. Tonight we are doing the teriyaki chicken, Tuesday we are making char Sui, then turning that into baked hum bao, then making Shui Mai, pork and cabbage gyoza, and hot and sour soup. Or and a side of white rice. Wednesday will be beef chow fun.
Anyhow, just blathering on now. I’m so glad I found your page thougg
Sarah says
We’re glad you found us too, Kris! So awesome that you can recreate so many of your favorites at home. :)