This Weekend Why Don’t You… Make Teriyaki Chicken?
Written by Pip Lincolne
September 30, 2011
Food & Health
3 Comments
If you are anything like me, you like Japanese food. There is nothing better than some sushi or some soba or perhaps even a bowl of something Don. Yum. There is nothing cuter than a bento box with smiley faced rice peering out at you, inviting your chopsticks to come hither. Aww. There is nothing cosier than steamy cups of green tea cupped soothingly between your palms. Ahhhh. Am I making you hungry? Are you feeling cute? Do you seek deliciousness?
Well. I have news for you. You will totally thank me for this. I give you my secret recipe for Teriyaki Chicken. This recipe was developed over many months, after spending way too many lunchtimes in my favourite Japanese restaurant. I had to go to JA (Japanese-enthusiasts Anonymous) because I was forever being lured by the smell of pickled ginger and Kewpie mayonnaise. I considered naming my budgie Panko and insisted on serving everything in teeny tiny bowls (even sausages, which was quite tippy.) Later I developed the habit of rolling the children’s sandwiches in the sushi mat, forming clumsy Vegemite pinwheels for them to later throw in the bin. It was getting out of hand. So I changed. I got serious and learned to cook restaurant style Japanese in my very own kitchen. My bank balance thanked me. My family thanked me. My budgie thanked me too (he is called Heston now.) This is that family’s favourite Japanese recipe. It will serve six people for under $20 (even less if you have the staple ingredients in your pantry.)
Before I go on, I must STRESS that the Potato Starch (sometimes labelled Potato Flour) is super important to this dish. Don’t go substituting Corn Flour or the like. Uh-uh. I might spank you, if you do. Potato Flour has magical properties which turn a humble chicken breast into a mouthful of ‘Please Sir, I Want Some More’. Trust me on this. Potato Flour is in the baking aisle of your supermarket (or look for Potato Starch at your Asian grocer.) Hook yourself up with some.
Please note :: I am only sharing the recipe with you because you are so rad and cute and good looking. Let me know if you try this out! Come back and leave a comment!
Pip’s Teriyaki Chicken for Rad People
Ingredients
1kg skinless chicken breast fillets (free range if you can!) cut into rough 1″ pieces
1/2 cup of potato starch (from Asian grocers and some supermarkets)
1/2 cup of oil (I just used canola oil)
Sauce :: Mix Together
1/4 cup of good quality soy sauce (like Kikkoman)
1/4 cup of mirin
1/4 cup of sake
1/4 cup of raw sugar
1/4 cup of water
2 teaspoons of sesame oil
To serve::
Short grain rice or sushi rice
Chilli sauce if you are into it
Chopped spring onions and any other chopped raw vegies you like
(I like to use cherry tomatoes and I steam some broccoli to the right side of crunchy to have with it too!)
Let’s Make It…
Tip the potato starch into a plastic bag and then pop the chopped up chicken in there too. Twist the bag a few times to seal it and then shake it all up like a cocktail to coat the chicken well. We want the starch all over every piece.
Next, heat your oil in a large frying pan or wok over a medium high heat. Fry the coated chicken in two batches, just until it’s sealed and colouring a tiny bit. We don’t need to cook it right through yet. Drain the sealed chicken on kitchen towel. Now, tip out the oil leaving just a teensy bit in the pan. We don’t want much oil at all. Note that there will be bits of fried stuff stuck to the pan too. That is just fine. Leave that in there for extra flavour.
Put the pan with teensy bit of oil and leftover fried bits back on to a medium heat. Add all of your not quite cooked chicken to the pan. It will be a bit crowded. Stir your sauce mixture to distribute the sugar a bit, then tip it over the chicken and toss well. It will bubble up and start to look pretty impressive and delicious. Give it all a good stir so that the sauce is evenly coating everything.
Put a lid on for a minute or two to allow the chicken through properly. Shake the pan every now and then to prevent things burning. Now take the lid off and toss the chicken for another minute or two, until it’s lovely and glazed and caramelizing a bit. (If you don’t have a lid, just cook for four minutes without the lid, tossing well to keep things cooking evenly.) That’s all you do!
Serve on top of a few spoonfuls of rice. Top with spring onions and the raw vegies. I always put a big dollop of chilli sauce atop mine. I am a bit of a chili hound. I scoop it onto everything with much flourish.
