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Japan, Asia

Teriyaki Chicken

Japanese home-style chicken thigh, pan-fried until the skin is crisp, then lacquered in a glossy soy, mirin and sake glaze.

ServingsServes 2
Total cooking time22 min
DifficultyEasy

Method

  1. Remove the core from the cabbage, roll up the leaves and slice them as finely as you can. Soak in cold water for 5 minutes so they turn crisp, then drain well, shake dry and keep in the fridge.

    Add in this stepcabbage, to serve 80 g

  2. Pat the chicken thoroughly dry with paper towels and trim off any loose yellow fat. Make shallow cuts into the thickest parts and open them out so the meat is an even 1.5 cm thick, then prick the skin about 10 times with a fork so it doesn't shrink and the sauce can soak in. Dust both sides lightly with flour and tap off the excess. In a small bowl, stir together the soy sauce, mirin, sake and sugar until the sugar dissolves.

    Add in this stepboneless chicken thighs, skin on 300 gplain flour 2 tspsoy sauce 2 tbspmirin 2 tbspsake (cooking sake) 2 tbspsugar 3 tsp

  3. Add the oil to a 24 cm frying pan and lay the chicken in skin side down before turning on the heat. Cook on medium heat for , pressing down now and then with a spatula so all the skin touches the pan. It is ready to turn when the skin is deep golden and crisp and the sides have turned white about two-thirds of the way up.

    Add in this stepneutral oil 1 tsp

    medium heat

  4. Turn the chicken over and wipe the fat out of the pan with a paper towel; left in, it makes the sauce greasy and stops it from clinging. Cover and cook on medium-low heat for . The chicken is done when a skewer pushed into the thickest part releases clear juices (75 °C in the centre).

    medium-low heat

  5. Uncover and pour in the sauce. Let it bubble on medium heat for , spooning it over the skin constantly and turning the chicken once or twice. When the bubbles become large and slow and the sauce turns thick and glossy, take the pan off the heat. Stop while a little sauce is still left in the pan; it burns quickly once it is too thick.

    medium heat

  6. Rest the chicken skin side up on a board for 1 to 2 minutes, then slice it 1.5 cm wide. Plate with the shredded cabbage and spoon the pan sauce over the top. Serve with hot rice.

Cook's tip

Starting the skin in a cold pan renders the fat slowly and gives much crisper skin. No mirin? Use 1 tbsp sake plus 1 tsp sugar per tablespoon of mirin; no sake? Use water. If the glaze starts to catch, loosen it with 1 tbsp water.

Cooking it at camp

With a camping stove and a cast-iron or heavy pan it cooks exactly as at home. Mix the sauce at home and carry it in a small jar; keep the chicken in the cooler and cook it on the first day. Shield the flame from the wind, and if your pan has no lid, cover it with foil.