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!
I was looking forward to making this and followed the directions exactly. I found it very bland and it seemed to be missing something.
Hi Heather, did you use Chinese dark soy sauce as well as the light soy sauce?
I did use the Pearl River Dark Soy sauce, but my bottle is more than a year old because I don’t use it often. Does it lose flavor over time? Maybe I need a new one.
Hi Heather, a year old bottle of dark soy shouldn’t be too much of an issue. Not sure what else could’ve gone wrong! wish I could’ve been a fly on the wall in your kitchen to be of better help!
This isn’t the ‘mall teriyaki’ recipe. Not even close. That recipe is more involved than this (and is available online).
This is a quick copycat version. Close, delicious, but not precise.
Thanks for sharing your opinion, Jack!
This recipe is so good!! I made this in my Instant Pot for dinner. To save some time, I skipped searing the chicken. Added a cup of chicken broth to prevent burn notice. Cooked on manual high pressure for 8 minutes and natural release. I think could have done quick release but I doing other chores, so the pot eventually went on natural release. Because of the broth, the sauce was runny so I added another tablespoon of cornstarch.
Thanks for sharing your experience, Candace!
Is there a way to make this spicy chicken teriyaki?
Hi JJ, you can add a couple chopped Thai bird chilies to the dish towards the end of cooking if you like!
What can I say, I am a huge fan of this recipe! Let me start by telling you that my two-year-old toddler is an extremely picky eater, and one of the few dishes that she will actually eat, is teriyaki chicken from the mall. I am a fan of teriyaki chicken from the mall and also from fancy Japanese restaurants, so I am OK with eating chicken teriyaki almost any time. So when I discovered that my two-year-old loved teriyaki chicken from the mall, I set off to make it at home. I tried making it so many times! I used maybe four or five recipes that I found online, some complicated some simple, and our toddler refused to eat them all. But then I found this recipe, and it was the winner! It is delicious if you are a fan of fancy Japanese restaurant teriyaki and also a fan of just small style chicken teriyaki. I’ve made it five or six times at home already, and I’m planning on making it tonight. My husband isn’t a big chicken eater, but he too is a fan of this recipe. I will say that the only thing we add is that we sprinkle some green onions on top once it is cooked and ready to serve. Other than that, you really don’t have to change or add anything. It is a perfect recipe. Thank you for your help, woks of life! Your site is such a lifesaver, thanks to you I was able to cook so many of my favorite dishes at home that I was missing during the pandemic.
Thank you so much for sharing, Gabbi! I’m glad you finally cracked the code to your daughter’s palate with this recipe. :)
Excellent recipe, and thank you for such a well thought out and organized blog format. It is much appreciated.
You’re welcome, Dan! Thanks so much for your kind words!
A few thoughts. Firstly, have to have good light soy… Flavor is completely different than dark. Secondly, have to use dark brown sugar. Thirdly, have to use peanut oil to get the real taste. And lastly, added a quarter cup of filtered water till you get the consistency and slighter softer taste. Small tweeks.. but very nice.
What type of soy sauce and dark soy sauce did you use for this recipe (Japanese or Chinese)? Brands? Thanks!
We used a Chinese brand, Pearl River Bridge.
For both the dark soy sauce and regular soy sauce?
Yes!
Thank you for the information on what brand soy sauce you use!
I loved this recipe and the family enjoyed it. How do I get the rich dark color? Mine turned out just a bit light brown. Any suggestions? I would like to try this again!
Hi JoAnna, did you use Chinese dark soy sauce? That’s what gives the dish its color! If you want it darker, you can add a dash more.
Didn’t taste quite like Sarku but was delicious regardless
Glad you enjoyed this, Jacquelyn!