Easiest Teriyaki Chicken EVER

I hope you don't buy your Teriyaki sauce in a bottle at the grocery store...  ?  It's really not a magical recipe that you are paying for, so don't shell out the extra cash for it.

This might be the easiest recipe ever.  In fact, when my Mom gave me this, I know I questioned her on what else was in it?  I felt she was holding something back and not giving me the real deal!!!  I asked why she didn't use rice wine vinegar in this recipe... well, she said because it's twice as expensive and not necessary. It's not like she had lied to me before, I just could not believe it was that easy! 

I like to make up a batch of this teriyaki sauce and keep it in the fridge.  It's keeps almost indefinitely!   If you have kids, they look for it every time you have rice and dip almost any meat in it too. You can also add a little of the teriyaki sauce to a vegetable stir fry, or even hamburger before you grill them.

The sauce itself is only three ingredients, if you do the chicken recipe... you will need to add the chicken too... duh, right?

Sauce Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup white vinegar
1 1/2 cup soy sauce
1 1/2 cup sugar


Completely not necessary in the recipe, but I will admit to adding some of the following in the past.  The recipe shown is exactly as listed above with three ingredients above only.  But sometimes.... I must admit I do the add-ins...  
1-2 tsp sesame oil
1-2 tsp garlic hot pepper sauce

I will admit that I didn't even measure, I just filled my Pyrex to the top with each of the ingredients and mixed, using an equal three part ratio is easy!  I recommend starting with the sugar, then the liquids so that it doesn't stick and make a big darn, sticky mess.

I used chicken thighs, about 8-10 total. I marinated them in about 1 1/2 cups of the pre-mixed sauce (uncooked) overnight, or at least for 6 hours. 

Meanwhile, I took the rest of the mixture and simmered on medium for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mixture starts to thicken.  Be careful not to taste this while it cooks, it is SO hot, don't burn your tongue.  Ask me how I know...

Preheat the oven to 350.

When I was ready to make the chicken, I nestled the chicken thighs into my baking pan (pre-sprayed with non-stick cooking spray to help with clean up...), skin side up. Add a small amount of the uncooked marinade to cover the bottom 1/2" of the pan.  Baking time is about 90 minutes, but you will need to check on the chicken about every 15 minutes, making sure to baste the tops of the chicken thighs and skin in order to make them beautifully dark and glazed.  If needed, pour out some of the cooking liquid, to retain about 1/2" of liquid in the the bottom of the pan. As the chicken cooks, it releases liquid and fats, and if not poured off, it will poach the chicken and it will never brown properly.

Partially cooked, needing some basting and more cooking time.  The photo shows about the half way cooking time.

It may look a little burnt in the picture below, but it is nicely browned and ready to eat.  Because we've cooked the chicken low and slow, it is so moist and will fall off the bone. 

Here is what it will look like at the end... you can serve it with more of the thickened teriyaki sauce and some white sticky rice. 

If you liked this, you might also like:

Thai Chicken Nachos

Sticky Coconut Chicken



Prawns al Fresco

Ahhhh, I can feel Summer approaching... 


After about the coldest and wettest Winter and Spring in the Northwest, I am thrilled that the sun has been out and at last, we are warming up.  While I may be jumping the gun a bit, this meal just says summertime eating on the deck to me!

I had this dish at a funny little "Mom and Pop" restaurant with some friends.  He told me, it's the dish he always orders, so heck, why take a chance and order something else that isn't tested and true!?!  I loved it, the flavors were great, sounded relatively healthy and the ingredients some of my favorites.  I also knew it would be absolutely simple to re-create at home...

Even if you start with frozen prawns, like I usually do, this can come together in under 30 minutes, as the ingredients cook quickly and there is almost no chopping.  This recipe also includes ingredients I almost always have on hand; dried pasta, fresh spinach, sun dried tomatoes, frozen prawns and lemon.  Fresh basil could be the tricky one, but I am feeling confident that the plant I just potted on the deck should keep me in fresh basil all summer!

Serves 4
Ingredients:
1 bag of fresh baby spinach
1/2 lb. angel hair pasta
40-60 prawns, about 1 lb
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp butter, melted
1 Tbsp. garlic, chopped
2 Tbsp. sun dried tomatoes, slivered
1-2 Tbsp. basil
1 lemon, juiced
1/4 cup White Wine
2 Tbsp butter, cold, added to finished sauce

Boil a large pot of salted water for your pasta.  I suggest Angel Hair (Vermincelli or Capellini) as it's nice and delicate and doesn't overpower the other ingredients. Cook the pasta al dente, probably less than 3 minutes!

In a saute pan, heat butter and oil over medium high heat, add the garlic and the prawns. 

Cook until the prawns are almost pink all the way through, add the slivered sun dried tomatoes, juice of one lemon, shredded basil and the white wine.  Add a couple tablespoons of cold butter, and mix in.  If it doesn't look like you have enough sauce, you could add a bit more wine, and/or butter!

This will help thicken the sauce.  Add salt and fresh pepper to taste.

In each serving bowl, add a large handful of fresh baby spinach. 

Top with a portion of angel hair pasta and top with the prawns and sauce

 Top the pasta and spinach with the prawns and the piping hot sauce (which wilts the spinach) and serve.

Other ideas:

• Add fresh tomatoes and saute until softened.
• Make it GREEK- Skip the sun dried tomatoes, add kalamata olives and top with feta cheese.
• You could use chicken, cubed, instead of Shrimp or prawns.

(If you look carefully, you can see a happy face in the dish above...)