Teriyaki Chicken Recipe
An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott
Recipe Overview
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour 25 minutes
Serves: 4-6 people with sides
Start this recipe 1 day ahead
Ingredients Needed
- 1 large chicken (around 1.8kg/3.9lbs)
- 90ml/3floz light soy sauce
- 90ml/3floz mirin
- 75ml/2.6floz sake
- 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
- 75g/2.6oz brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon fine salt
- 1/2 cup water
Step-By-Step Instructions
Step 1 MARINATE - Whisk the soy sauce (90ml/3floz light soy sauce), mirin (90ml/3floz mirin), sake (75ml/2.6floz sake), dark soy sauce (1 teaspoon dark soy sauce), brown sugar (75g/2.6oz brown sugar) and salt (1 teaspoon fine salt) together until the sugar and salt have dissolved. Place the chicken (1 large chicken) in a large ziplock bag or freezer bag and add the teriyaki sauce. Zip the bag shut and massage the sauce and marinate for anything from 1 hour to overnight in the teriyaki sauce.
Step 2 SAUCE - Take chicken out of the fridge and drain the teriyaki sauce. Allow the chicken to come to temperature for 1 hour in the bag. While it is doing that, simmer the teriyaki chicken sauce for 10-15 minutes until it becomes slightly more concentrated (not too thick though, a smidge thicker than soy sauce will do). Strain any bits out of the sauce.
Step 3 PREP - Preheat oven to 180C/350F fan forced or 200C/400F conventional. Double line a tray with foil and stand the chicken on a beer can trivet if you have one. You can also use an empty can to prop it up or just roast the chicken flat on a rack breast side up (the rack is to prop the chicken above the water). Brush the chicken with the teriyaki sauce and cover the wings with an oiled square of foil to prevent them burning.
Step 4 ROAST - Add water (1/2 cup water) to the tray so that the sauce doesn't burn. Roast for 80 minutes and every 20 minutes brush more teriyaki sauce on the chicken until the time is up and the chicken is done and juices run clear (adding more water if needed). If you are using chicken pieces roast for 35-40 minutes. To check if the chicken is done, insert a digital meat thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh (avoid the bone). It is ready when it reaches 75C/165F.
Step 5 GLAZE - Allow the chicken to rest for 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile drain the liquid at the base of the tray (it shouldn't be burnt) and any leftover sauce and place in a saucepan and simmer for 5-8 minutes until thick and glossy like a glaze. Place chicken on a serving plate breast side up and remove foil and using a new brush, brush this glaze over the chicken getting into all of the corners.
Adaptation notes:
To make a Westernised version of teriyaki chicken, add 2 teaspoons of crushed ginger and 3 crushed garlic cloves to the soy sauce mixture and marinate.
Personal Note
Teddy absolutely loved trying some of this teriyaki chicken especially the tenderloins now that he has his appetite back. However poor Milo can't eat chicken because he is allergic. I think he knows this in a way because he doesn't even turn up when I'm cooking chicken whereas Teddy always does.
I recently bought a big bag of peanuts because I'm still trying to befriend the crows. Mr NQN saw the bag of peanuts and asked if he could have some peanuts to snack on. "Fine, take them, it's not like I am going to come across any crows," I said dejectedly.
It was a Sunday and I was upstairs watching TV with Milo on the bed and Mr NQN was in his office with Teddy. Our house is long and quite narrow and it's a long distance from both so you can't really call to each other and hear each other. But somehow Milo sat up. He had heard Mr NQN opening the bag of peanuts and ran downstairs!
Milo does this funny thing where he keeps his ears flipped back. I think it's because little Milo has a bad case of FOMO so he literally keeps his ears peeled so he can hear everything. And this really must work because he can hear around two flights of stairs and up the front of the house!
So tell me Dear Reader, do you like teriyaki chicken? Do you prefer cooking a whole chicken or chicken pieces?