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Home » Teriyaki Chicken Recipe

Teriyaki Chicken Recipe

by Mike Hultquist · Feb 11, 2022 · 13 Comments

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Sweet and spicy Teriyaki Chicken in a pan

This quick, easy teriyaki chicken recipe builds flavor with a simple 10-minute marinade, then drenched in homemade teriyaki sauce, so sweet and spicy.

Teriyaki Chicken Recipe

Coming at you with another super quick and easy recipe, my friends. I know you have crazy-busy days, and on days like those, you don't want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen.

That doesn't mean you want to just kick it all off and order a pizza, or swing through the fast food drive through. Nope. You want something healthier and homemade, something that satisfies that spicy craving, yet doesn't take long to make.

This is the recipe! It checks all those boxes. I bring to you...

Sweet and Spicy Teriyaki Chicken. I love homemade teriyaki chicken because it cooks up fast, is huge on flavor, and it's completely customizable so you can make it as spicy as you prefer.

The recipe is comprised of 3 simple components: The Marinade, the Teriyaki Sauce, and the Cooking.

So let's get it going, shall we? Let's talk about how to make Teriyaki chicken.

Teriyaki Chicken in a hot pan

The homemade teriyaki marinade is a simple mixture of ingredients you may already have on hand in your kitchen. Here is what you need to make it:

Teriyaki Chicken Ingredients

  • FOR THE TERIYAKI MARINADE & TERIYAKI SAUCE
  • Soy Sauce. Low sodium soy sauce is good if you'd to use it.
  • Sweet Factor. Brown Sugar and honey.
  • Chili Flakes. Optional, for a nice spice factor.
  • Sesame Oil. 
  • White Vinegar. Rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar are great choices, too.
  • Cornstarch. Optional, if you'd like to thicken the teriyaki sauce.
  • FOR THE TERIYAKI CHICKEN
  • Vegetables. Jalapeno, green onion, garlic, ginger.
  • Chicken Breast. Skinless and boneless. You can also use chicken thighs.

How to Make Teriyaki Chicken - the Recipe Method

Make the Teriyaki Marinade. First, whisk together the following in a large bowl - soy sauce, brown sugar, chili flakes, honey, sesame oil, and white vinegar. 

Check out my teriyaki marinade recipe post for further discussion and ways you can vary it up.

Teriyaki Marinade Ingredients

Marinate the Chicken. Chop 1 pound of chicken breast or chicken thighs into bite sized pieces. You can marinate them whole if you'd like, though be sure to adjust your cooking times appropriately.

Submerge the chicken completely in the marinade in a bowl and cover, or seal it with the marinade in a plastic bag. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 10 to 20 minutes until ready to cook. If you want more flavor penetration, marinate for 2 hours, or overnight in the refrigerator.

Sometimes I added fresh chopped peppers, garlic and ginger to the bowl for extra flavor.

Teriyaki Chicken marinating in a bowl

Cook the Peppers. Heat oil in a large pan or wok to medium-high heat. Add the peppers and cook 4-5 minutes to soften. Add the garlic and minced ginger and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.

Cook the Chicken. Add the chicken, reserving the marinade, and stir-fry for 4-5 minutes, stirring a bit, until the chicken is cooked through.

Teriyaki Sauce. Pour the Teriyaki marinade over the cooked teriyaki chicken, which will become your sauce. Simmer for 10 minutes to let the flavors develop.

NOTE: For a thicker sauce, swirl in a slurry of 1 tablespoon corn starch mixed with 2 tablespoons water, then simmer to thicken.

Serve Up Your Teriyaki Chicken! Garnish with fresh herbs and chili flakes. Top with some sesame seeds! Serve over white rice, if desired, or enjoy it on its own. Brown rice is good, too.

Or, make a stir fry with steamed broccoli and other veggies, or make a teriyaki chicken bowl with lots of veggies and rice!

BOOM! Done! Pretty easy, right? Overall, the recipe takes 30 minutes with marinating time. You can probably make it faster than I can if you're quicker on prep.

Nice and fast. I love fast. I'm such a slow cook in the kitchen. I can't help it. I hope your family loves this recipe as much as I do.

Teriyaki Chicken in a hot pan, ready to serve

Recipe Tips & Notes

Heat Factor. If you're concerned about the spice and heat level, skip the spicy chili flakes. You can also core out the jalapeno pepper and remove the innards, or replace it with a milder pepper. Bell pepper is just fine for this recipe.

The Chicken. I've opted to chop the chicken into bite-sized pieces for ease of cooking, and to cut down on the overall cooking time. However, you can marinate the chicken breasts or chicken thighs whole and either bake it over grill it until it is cooked through. Then, pour the finished teriyaki sauce over them.

If you do this, I suggest poking some holes in the chicken with a knife to allow deeper penetration of the marinade into the chicken flesh.

That's it, my friends! I hope you enjoy your quick and easy (and sweet and spicy!) teriyaki chicken. Great recipe here. You might also love my Teriyaki Salmon Recipe!

Cookbook Recommendations

If you enjoy cooking Chinese or other Asian cuisine, I recommend these books for a lot of easy and iconic recipes. I've learning a lot from them and have been inspired to make many spicy dishes.

  • 101 Asian Dishes You Need to Cook Before You Die: Discover a New World of Flavors in Authentic Recipes - by Chef Jet Tila
  • Easy Chinese Cookbook, Restaurant Favorites Made Simple, by Chris Toy
  • Essential Wok Cookbook, by Naomi Imatome-Yum

Try Some of These Popular Chinese Recipes

  • Kung Pao Chicken
  • Dragon Chicken
  • Szechuan Chicken
  • General Tso's Chicken
  • Bourbon Chicken

Try Some of My Other Popular Chicken Dishes

  • Honey-Sriracha Chicken
  • Grilled Harissa Chicken Legs
  • Chicken Vindaloo
  • Chicken Enchiladas Verdes with Cheese
  • Quick and Easy Chipotle Chicken
  • The Juiciest Shredded Chicken
  • Korean Chicken
  • Korean Fried Chicken
  • BBQ Chicken Marinade
  • Chicken Satay
  • Spicy Chicken Fried Rice
  • Chicken Adobo

Sweet and spicy Teriyaki Chicken in a pan

If you enjoy this recipe, I hope you'll leave a comment with some STARS. Also, please share it on social media. Don't forget to tag us at #ChiliPepperMadness. I'll be sure to share! Thanks! -- Mike H.

Teriyaki Chicken Recipe
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Teriyaki Chicken Recipe

This quick, easy teriyaki chicken recipe builds flavor with a simple 10-minute marinade, then drenched in homemade teriyaki sauce, so sweet and spicy.
Save Recipe Saved!
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American, Chinese
Keyword: chicken, recipe, spicy
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Marinating Time: 10 minutes
Calories: 293kcal
Author: Mike Hultquist
Servings: 4
Tap or hover to scale
5 from 4 votes
Leave a Review

Ingredients

  • 1 pound chicken breast chopped into bite-sized pieces (you can use chicken thighs as well)
  • 1 tablespoon sesame oil
  • 1 jalapeno pepper chopped
  • 3 teaspoons minced garlic
  • 2 teaspoon minced fresh ginger

FOR THE TERIYAKI MARINADE & SAUCE

  • 3/4 cup soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 3 tablespoons mirin or use white vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon honey optional for extra sweet
  • 1 tablespoon chili flakes omit if you don't want extra spicy
  • 1 teaspoons sesame oil
  • Fresh chopped herbs, sesame seeds, spicy chili flakes for serving

Instructions

  • Whisk all of the marinade ingredients together in a large bowl.
  • Submerge your chicken completely in the marinade in a bowl and cover, or seal it with the marinade in a plastic bag. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 10 minutes until ready to cook. If you want more flavor penetration, marinate for 2 hours, or overnight in the refrigerator.
  • When you’re ready to cook, heat the oil in a large pan to medium-high heat. Add the peppers and cook for 4-5 minutes.
  • Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 1 minute, stirring.
  • Add the chicken, reserving the marinade, and stir-fry for 4-5 minutes, stirring a bit, until the chicken is cooked through.
  • Pour the sauce over the cooked chicken and simmer for 10 minutes to let the flavors develop.
  • Serve over rice, if desired, or enjoy it on its own. Garnish with fresh herbs, sesame seeds and chili flakes.

Video

Notes

For a Thicker Teriyaki Sauce: Swirl in a slurry of 1 tablespoon corn starch mixed with 2 tablespoons water and simmer for a thicker sauce.
You'll get GREAT flavor with this sauce based on the ingredients combination alone, but the heat factor is adjustable by the inclusion of chili flakes.
Use hotter peppers to really up that heat factor, or sprinkle in a spicy chili powder to your preference. You can lower the heat by skipping the chili flakes altogether.
Calories are estimated without rice.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 293kcal   Carbohydrates: 28g   Protein: 29g   Fat: 8g   Saturated Fat: 1g   Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g   Monounsaturated Fat: 3g   Trans Fat: 1g   Cholesterol: 73mg   Sodium: 2697mg   Potassium: 596mg   Fiber: 1g   Sugar: 22g   Vitamin A: 661IU   Vitamin C: 7mg   Calcium: 37mg   Iron: 2mg
Teriyaki Chicken Recipe
Did You Enjoy This Recipe?I love hearing how you like it and how you made it your own. Leave a comment below and tag @ChiliPepperMadness on social media.

NOTE: This recipe was updated on 2/11/22 to include new information, photos and video. It was originally published on 6/17/2019.

 

Categories: Asian Tags: Chili Pepper Madness, chili pepper recipe, easy/simple/quick recipes, game day and superbowl parties

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    Recipe Rating




  1. Kort says

    February 19, 2022 at 8:45 am

    5 stars
    This one gets a WHOLE LOTTA LOVE from me!

    Reply
    • Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says

      February 19, 2022 at 10:18 am

      Oh yeah!! Thanks, Kort!

      Reply
      • Lashonda says

        June 10, 2022 at 7:35 pm

        5 stars
        It was really really good thanks it felt good trying something new

        Reply
  2. Beth says

    September 29, 2019 at 10:14 am

    5 stars
    We loved this! I had to cut down the chili flakes to 1 tablespoon because not everyone in the house likes it as spicy as I do. I did add a bit of the marinade to pan when cooking the chicken but I think next time I'll drain the marinade so I am left with a thicker sauce in the end.

    Reply
    • Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says

      September 29, 2019 at 10:20 am

      Great, Beth! I appreciate the comments! Glad you enjoyed it!!

      Reply
  3. Debbie Lea says

    July 06, 2019 at 11:32 am

    Hi! I’m making this tonight and want to make sure that when you cook the chicken you throw in the sauce it was marinating in into the pan or do you scoop out the chicken pieces.

    Reply
    • Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says

      July 06, 2019 at 11:45 am

      Hi, Debbie. Yep, pour the whole thing into the pan, chicken and marinade together. If you feel it is too much liquid, you can strain out the chicken and just cook that in the pan. Let me know how it turns out for you! I hope you enjoy it.

      Reply
      • Debbie Lea says

        July 06, 2019 at 12:15 pm

        Thank you! Promise I will! Once again, love your recipes!!

        Reply
        • Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says

          July 06, 2019 at 12:21 pm

          Thanks, Debbie! Awesome!!!

          Reply
          • Debbie Lea says

            July 09, 2019 at 12:32 pm

            5 stars
            Another amazing recipe! So unbelievably delicious and easy to make. I didn’t change a thing. The spices are spot on! I’m having leftovers for lunch as I’m typing this. I can literally drink the sauce.

            Reply
            • Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says

              July 09, 2019 at 12:46 pm

              AWESOME, Debbie! Super happy you love it. I know, I could drink the sauce, too. Haha. Maybe I will!

              Reply
  4. Ellet says

    July 04, 2019 at 12:39 pm

    Uhm, yup. Making this sometime, *bookmarks*

    Reply
    • Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says

      July 04, 2019 at 12:50 pm

      I hope you enjoy it! I love this recipe. Tasty!

      Reply

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