Chicken Teriyaki, Japanese Pan-Seared Thighs (48g Protein)

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This chicken teriyaki gives you about 48 grams of protein per serving. Boneless thighs get seared until deeply browned, then finished in a glaze you make from four pantry ingredients in the same pan.

Real Japanese teriyaki is just soy sauce, mirin, sake and a little sugar, reduced until it clings. No cornstarch slurry, no bottled sauce. It takes about 25 minutes, and the rice and broccoli cook while the chicken does.

Why this works

Thighs stay juicy through the reduction step, where breast would dry out while the sauce thickens. Searing the chicken first and adding the sauce only at the end matters: sugar burns fast, so the glaze goes in once the meat is nearly cooked. Reducing it in the same pan picks up the browned bits and gives you a glossy coat in about two minutes.

Pressing the thighs flat with a spatula for the first minute gives even contact, so you get browning across the whole piece instead of in patches. If you like a Japanese-style crisp chicken as well, our air fryer chicken katsu is the crumbed version, and the chicken nanban takes a similar sweet-sour-savory sauce in a different direction.

Ingredient notes

Chicken thighs: Boneless, skinless, trimmed of the big fat pockets. Breast works, but slice it into cutlets about 2 cm thick and cut the cooking time by a minute or two per side.

Mirin and sake: Use hon-mirin (the real, sweet rice wine) if you can find it, not the corn-syrup “seasoning” bottles. If you do not have sake, use an extra tablespoon of mirin plus a tablespoon of water. For an alcohol-free version, swap both for 3 tablespoons of water and an extra teaspoon of sugar.

Soy sauce: Regular Japanese shoyu (Kikkoman is fine). Low-sodium soy sauce works too, and you can add a small pinch of salt at the end if the glaze tastes flat.

Ginger: Grated fresh, about a teaspoon. It is optional but cuts the sweetness, and it is the same logic we use in buta no shogayaki.

Chicken Teriyaki, Japanese Pan-Seared Thighs

Pan-seared boneless chicken thighs finished in a homemade soy, mirin and sake glaze, served with rice and broccoli. About 48 grams of protein per serving.

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 25 minutes mins

Servings: 2 servings

Calories: 700

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

• 500 g boneless skinless chicken thighs about 1.1 lb, trimmed of large fat pockets
• 1 tbsp neutral oil
• 3 tbsp soy sauce Japanese shoyu
• 3 tbsp mirin hon-mirin if possible
• 2 tbsp sake or 1 tbsp more mirin plus 1 tbsp water
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp fresh ginger grated, optional
• 300 g cooked short-grain rice about 1 1/2 cups, warm
• 200 g broccoli florets steamed or blanched
• 1 cup shredded cabbage to serve, optional
• 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds
• 1 scallion sliced thin, to finish

Method

 

1. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Dry meat browns; wet meat steams.
2. Whisk the soy sauce, mirin, sake, sugar and ginger in a small bowl until the sugar dissolves.
3. Heat the oil in a large nonstick or cast iron skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Lay the thighs in the pan, smooth side down, and press flat with a spatula for 20 seconds.
4. Cook 5 minutes without moving, until deep golden. Flip and cook another 4 to 5 minutes, until the center reaches 75 C / 165 F.
5. Meanwhile steam or blanch the broccoli for 3 minutes until bright green and just tender.
6. Turn the heat to medium-low and pour the sauce into the pan. Simmer 2 to 3 minutes, turning the chicken, until the sauce is syrupy and coats the meat.
7. Rest the chicken on a board for 3 minutes, then slice against the grain into strips.
8. Divide the rice, broccoli and cabbage between two plates. Lay the chicken on top, spoon over the pan glaze and finish with sesame seeds and scallion.

Tips and storage

Rest the chicken for 3 minutes before slicing, then slice against the grain into strips about 1.5 cm wide. The juices redistribute and the glaze stays on the meat instead of running off.

If the glaze gets too thick, add a splash of water and stir. If it is too thin, keep reducing for another 30 seconds. It thickens a lot as it cools, so stop slightly before it looks right.

For meal prep, slice the chicken, pack it over rice with the broccoli and spoon over the remaining sauce. It keeps 4 days in the fridge in an airtight container. Reheat in the microwave for 90 seconds with a teaspoon of water over the rice. You can also freeze the cooked, sliced chicken with its sauce for up to 2 months. For a heartier bowl version with minced chicken, see our tsukune don.