Chicken Teriyaki

Chicken Teriyaki (鳥照り焼き) is a lunchtime staple in Japan, filling bento boxes being carted off to offices and schools alike. Teri refers to the lacquered sheen that teriyaki sauce develops on the surface of the chicken, while yaki means grilled. Almost any cut of chicken can be used, but chicken teriyaki is most commonly prepared with the leg meat (thighs or drumsticks) which is filleted to ensure it cooks evenly. The skin is left on the chicken to keep the meat moist and it takes on a wonderful caramelized hue while getting slightly crispy as it grills.
So what makes for an authentic teriyaki sauce?
It’s simple… equal parts soy sauce, mirin, sake, and sugar.

Chicken Teriyaki

for brine
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons Japanese soy sauce
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons mirin

4-6 skin-on filleted (boneless) chicken thighs

for teriyaki sauce
2 tablespoons mild flavored honey (or maltose)
2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
2 tablespoons mirin
2 tablespoons sake

Combine the water, soy sauce, brown sugar and mirin in large ziploc bag and add the chicken thighs. Press out as much air as you can and seal the bag. Let this sit in the fridge for at least an hour.

To make the teriyaki sauce, just add the honey, soy sauce, mirin and sake to a small sauce pan and boil over medium heat until the sauce is glossy and slightly viscous (it won’t get quite as thick as the jarred types). It should take on a caramelized taste but be careful not to burn it.

When you’re ready to grill the chicken, turn the broiler on and move the oven rack up to the upper position. Put a wire rack on a baking sheet (I use the rack out of my toaster oven), and put the chicken thighs skin side down onto the rack (the idea is to keep the meat elevated off the pan).

Grill until brown then flip so the skin side faces up. Baste the skin side with teriyaki sauce and continue to broil until the skin is golden brown with just a few charred spots. Give the chicken one final baste with the teriyaki sauce and serve.

1. substitute for mirin ......Sake can be used ....

2. Substitutes: 1 tablespoon dry sherry + � teaspoon sugar OR sherry OR heat two parts sake and one part sugar OR white wine + sugar to taste OR white wine 

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