These teriyaki chicken thighs are pan-fried until the skin is browned and crispy and then simmered in a sweet, salty and savoury sauce.

Sliced teriyaki chicken with broccoli on steamed white rice in a white bowl on a marble surface

Teriyaki chicken is very easy to make after work on a weekday, and it tastes so satisfying after a hard day at work, or even as a lunch during work hours.

The word teriyaki has two parts to it. “Teri” refers to the word “shine” in Japanese, while “yaki” refers to the word for “fried”. After we’ve fried these chicken thighs, they’ll look shiny from our yummy teriyaki sauce.

Ingredients

Bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs – We want skin-on chicken thighs since we want to make the skin browned and crispy for this recipe. Debone your chicken thighs before starting.
Sake – This is a key ingredient used in traditional Japanese teriyaki chicken. I use cooking sake, which has a lower alcohol content than drinking sake and is salty.
Mirin – A commonly used ingredient in traditional Japanese teriyaki chicken. It contains alcohol like sake, but it is sweeter.
Soy sauce – I use regular soy sauce, but any type of soy sauce will do.
Sugar – This will be the main ingredient that will make the chicken look shiny in the end as it crystallizes on the skin.
Rice vinegar – This helps to cut the fat in the chicken thighs and is a nice contrast to the richness of this dish.
Ginger – Adds a bit of spiciness
Garlic – Adds umami and roasted notes

How to Make Teriyaki Chicken

The first thing we should do is mix our teriyaki sauce ingredients together in a small bowl.

Next, we’ll prepare our chicken thighs. Carefully remove the bones of the chicken thighs, leaving the skin on.

Flatten the chicken thighs by scoring the thick parts of the chicken thigh. The goal is to make the chicken thighs of even thickness when they lie flat. This step is optional, but your chicken thighs will look nicer in the end.

Scoring a raw chicken thigh with a knife on a wooden cutting board

Then, we’ll fry the chicken thighs skin down first (8 – 11 min) on medium heat to get some nice browning, which will make our chicken taste amazing. Check the chicken thighs after 8 minutes of cooking to see if they’re browned enough to your liking.

Frying chicken thighs with skin side down on a non-stick pan

Once they’ve browned enough, we’ll flip the chicken thighs and fry them until they’re golden brown with the lid covered (2-3 min).

Frying skin-on chicken thighs on a non-stick pan

Wipe off any excess grease from the chicken thighs using chopsticks and a piece of paper towel.

Wiping grease from chicken thighs off a non-stick pan using chopsticks and paper towel

Now, we’ll add the teriyaki sauce and fry for about 1 min with the lid on.

Simmering chicken thighs in teriyaki sauce in a non-stick pan

Then, we’ll flip the chicken with the skin side down and fry for about 2 min with the lid on. Remove lid and fry until sauce is thick and foaming (5-7 min).

Reducing teriyaki sauce while simmering chicken thighs in teriyaki sauce in a non-stick pan

Optional: Reduce the sauce at medium heat until thick like a syrup or to your desired consistency (about 5 min). You may serve it on the side or on top. The syrup is done if it bubbles A LOT and you can draw a line and it stays.

Before serving, carefully slice the hot teriyaki chicken into strips.

Slicing teriyaki chicken with a knife on a wooden cutting board

Neatly lay the strips of teriyaki chicken into each bowl of steamed white rice to serve.