This Teriyaki Chicken is one of my families new favorite things to eat for dinner!  We have been eating it once a week for the past month and are totally addicted.  I don’t know if you have ever eaten from Sarku in the mall, but this tastes a LOT like that.  It’s a fabulous take-out fake-out meal that you can enjoy any night of the week.

I prefer using boneless chicken thighs for this recipe because they are not as dry as chicken breasts – they seem to retain more moisture and flavor, are a lovely texture, and sear beautifully, but you can totally use chicken breast if that is what you have on hand.  Just make sure either way, it’s cooked through properly to 165 degrees!

I love teriyaki because it is pure umami – that perfect combination of meaty, salty, savory with a touch of sweet perfection!  I love that you don’t need to marinate the chicken and it’s still packed with flavor.  You can whip this up so quickly on one of those nights when you just don’t know how you are going to pull dinner together!  Throw some rice in the rice cooker and steam some veggies and you are good to go.

Serving suggestion:  Broccoli goes great with this dish, but I love to serve this with peas, canned mandarin oranges and chunks of pineapple, (drained), sliced almonds and crunchy chow mien noodles for people to add as they like!  Almost a teriyaki haystack!

Ingredients:

• 8-10 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 1-1/2 pounds)
• 2 Tbsp olive oil, more if needed
• 1 cup soy sauce
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon grated or minced ginger
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper  (I prefer fresh ground)
• 2 Tbsp cornstarch mixed with 2 Tbsp water

Instructions: 

1. Pat the boneless chicken dry with paper towels and dice it in to bite sized chunks.  Season with a little salt and pepper.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large dark skillet and brown the chicken chunks in the hot skillet in batches until they have a little sear on them.  
3. In a bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, ginger, garlic and pepper until the sugar has dissolved.
4. Return all the chicken to the skillet and pour the sauce over the top.  Simmer in the sauce about 8-10 minutes until it is cooked through, then stir in the cornstarch mixture a little at a time until the sauce is the consistency you like!  (The more of the mixture you add, the thicker it will become.)
5. Let simmer another minute or two, then remove from heat and serve over rice!