Update: Picture is updated in March 2012.
Happy Valentine’s Day! I wished I had a special recipe prepared to post for Valentine’s Day. Now that I have a blog, I should think and plan ahead! I’ll try next year. My husband is actually making a lobster dinner for us tonight. Not sure how he’s going to prepare the lobster but the kids and I are looking forward to it.
I was thinking what would readers be most interested in when you look for Japanese recipes. Since I call my blog “Quick & Easy Japanese recipes,” I should have recipes that represent Japanese culture, but at the same time interest the readers and entice you to try making the same dish at home as well.
Japanese food you typically see/eat at the Japanese restaurants in the US are not usually home cooking. There are a few that do serve home style food but the majority of Japanese restaurants cater to popular dishes such as tempura, chicken teriyaki, and sushi. In Japan, sushi and rolls are not “typical” home cooking dishes, and we usually go eat Sushi at Sushi restaurants once in a while. Teriyaki chicken is widely known as well, but it’s not something we eat very often either.
If you like Teriyaki Chicken, however, here’s my recipe. It’s very good, and please don’t buy Teriyaki sauce because they don’t t taste authentic at all. It’s so easy to cook that you can cook tonight for your Valentine, too. I hope you all have a nice Valentine’s with the loved one.
Ingredients:
- 2-5 chicken thighs, rinsed and patted dry (I prefer to use boneless chicken thighs with skin - the skin will be crispy and adds another flavor and texture)
- Sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 Tbsp. oil
- 3 Tbsp. sake
- 1 Tbsp. butter
- 2 ½ Tbsp. soy sauce
- 2 Tbsp. sake
- 1 Tbsp. Mirin
- 1 Tbsp. sugar
Instructions:
- Sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides of the chicken.
- In a large skillet, heat oil on high heat. If the chicken has skin, cook from the skin side first.
- When the bottom side is nicely browned, flip over and reduce heat to medium.
- Add sake and cook covered until liquid is almost gone.
- Remove the cover and cook until the chicken is almost cooked. Then wipe off excess on the skillet with paper towel.
- Add the sauce and coat the chicken well with sauce using a spoon.
- When the sauce starts to get thicken and see bubbles on surface, add the butter. When it is melted, serve onto a plate. Pour some sauce on top.
Difficulty: Easy
Cooking Time: <30 minutes
Makes 2-4 servings
Ingredients:
2-5chicken thighs, rinsed and patted dry
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2Tbsp. oil
3Tbsp. cooking sake
Sauce
2 ½Tbsp. soy sauce
2Tbsp. cooking sake
1Tbsp. Mirin
1Tbsp. sugar
1Tbsp. butter
Directions:
1. Sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides of the chicken.
2. In a large skillet, heat oil on high heat.If the chicken has skin, cook from the skin side first.
3. When the bottom side is nicely browned, flip over and reduce heat to medium.
4. Add cooking sake and cook covered until liquid is almost gone.
5. Remove the cover and cook until the chicken is almost cooked.Then wipe off excess on the skillet with paper towel.
6. Add the sauce and coat the chicken well with sauce using a spoon.
7. When the sauce starts to get thicken and see bubbles on surface, add the butter.When it is melted, serve onto a plate.Pour some sauce on top.
Hi, I'm Nami. Thanks for stopping by Just One Cookbook. You can read little bit more about me 
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You certainly don’t need St Valentine’s to cook this one. Your dish looks divine. Interesting about making your own teriyaki rather than the bought stuff. I’ve recently good hooked on making a mirin sauce with salmon and it’s so easy. I must try your dish here with the chicken. Look like it will be a hit in our house! So glad to find your blog and learn about Japanese cuisine.
Mirin is one of the 3 important condiments for cooking Japanese food (along with soy sauce and sake). Therefore you will find lots of recipes in my website using mirin. Hope you enjoy the teriyaki chicken!
I am living in Okinawa and trying to cook Asian, so your site is very helpful. I would prefer using chicken breast instead of thighs. What do you think?
Hi Lexi! I’m happy to hear you like my blog.
Chicken breast works too, but it is more dry so we don’t usually eat that much. I think cooking in a frying pan is quicker than oven, and it keeps moist in the meat. Hope it will work!
Oohh!! I am totally going to try your teriyaki sauce recipe! I’ve been trying to find a good teriyaki recipe and they always ended up too salty or what not. Bookmarked!
I hope you enjoy this recipe. I really need to retake this photography…. but I’m glad it was tempting enough for you to decide.
Is cooking sake the same as “kikkoman Manjo Aji-morin sweet cooking rice seasoning”?
It does contain 8% alcohol. Thanks
Hi Julie, that’s Mirin, not sake. You can buy either cooking sake, or buy a cheep bottle of (drinking) sake and use for cooking. If you can’t find sake, then you can substitute with Chinese rice cooking wine.
Hi Nami,
Just stumbled onto your site and want to make everything on here!! My bottle of mirin says it’s a cooking sake, but they are not the same thing, are they?
Thanks!
I’m glad you found my blog, welcome! Mirin and cooking sake is different. I’ve noticed that some level says cooking sake. You can use regular sake or cooking sake, or chinese rice wine. Mirin is sweet, and we use it to substitute sugar or gives some nice luster in the sauce, but it contains some alcohol in it.
Hope this helps. Just in case you don’t know, I have a pantry page (which I need to update…) you might think it’s helpful too…
I made this today for dinner,I must say it was amazing and very delicious! I will be making this again!
Hi Lena! Ohhh I’m glad you liked it! It’s easy to prepare right? Thanks for letting me know!
I’m making this version of teriyaki for dinner. It sounds perfect. I cannot think what to cook tonight and have rice started but nothing else. Thank you for the idea!
I think I’ll try this one today actually. Sounds so good!
Nami, we tried this and it was gooooooood!
Posted it on my blog because when I posted my picture on both facebook and instagram — they asked for the recipe 
Thanks Lorely! I’m going to check it out now.
Hi Nami. I,m very pleased to find your blog. I visited Japan many years ago and of course I was eating in restaurants. However, I always wanted to know more about japanese cuisine. I only have one question to you. you said you do not often eat Teryaki at home. Why ? and I’m interested in Tempura.
I will follow you and happy to try your suggested japanese recipes .
Hi Mona! Welcome to my blog and I’m glad you stopped by!
We have many other ways to make seasoning besides Teriyaki style sauce. Unfortunately, most of Japanese dishes in Japanese restaurants have “Teriyaki” sauce only. But we have different kinds of sauce or marinade we use. So that’s why we don’t eat “teriyaki” often.
Many of Japanese dishes uses same condiments – soy sauce, mirin, sake, but we simmer or braise food and it’s no longer Teri “yaki” (grilled).
I have a shrimp tempura recipe here and plan to share vegetable tempura soon.
Hope you enjoy my recipes!
making a crockpot teriyaki chicken and using your teriyaki recipe!! Thanks alot!
Hi Vicki! Nice… I want a crockpot one day too!
Hope you enjoy this recipe!
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