Teriyaki Chicken & Rice

Helga Glaesel de BlandingAugust 1, 2025

This post is also available in ESPAÑOL (SPANISH)

You don’t need store-bought teriyaki sauce when you can whip up a fresh, flavorful version in minutes? This recipe proves that making your own teriyaki is not only easy but also more delicious than anything from a bottle. With just a handful of pantry staples—soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, and ginger—you get a sauce that’s perfectly balanced between savory, sweet, and slightly tangy. Plus, since it doubles as both a marinade and a sauce, you’re infusing the chicken with layers of flavor from start to finish.

What’s even better is how quickly this recipe comes together. While the chicken sears to golden perfection, the sauce simmers on the stove, thickening into a glossy glaze with just a touch of cornstarch. A splash of white vinegar at the end brightens everything up, giving the dish that restaurant-worthy taste. Serve it over a bed of fluffy white rice, sprinkle on some fresh green onions, and you’ve got a weeknight meal that feels like a treat—ready in less time than it would take to order takeout!

Helga

Teriyaki Chicken & Rice

Yields: 4 servings

Ingredients, for the Sauce & Marinade:
3 cloves of garlic, minced
3 tsp fresh ginger, minced
1 ¼ cup water
⅓ cup soy sauce
¼ cup brown sugar

Ingredients, for the Chicken:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 ½ – 2 lbs)
salt and pepper
1 tbs vegetable oil
1 tbs cornstarch
1 tbs water
1 tsp white vinegar
Green onions, thinly sliced as garnish
white rice, for serving

Directions:

Slice each chicken breast lengthwise in half, to get thinner and even sized pieces. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Just a little salt will do, since we will be using soy sauce.
Mix the ingredients for the sauce and marinade. Reserve 1 cup for the sauce and pour the rest in a bowl with the chicken. Stir to coat the chicken evenly and let it marinate for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours.
Preheat a pan over medium-high heat and add the oil. Drip the excess marinade off the chicken and sear for 4-5 minutes on each side or until the temperature reaches 165F with a meat thermometer. Set cooked chicken aside to work in batches.
In a small bowl, add the reserved marinade and sauce mixture and add the vinegar, cornstarch and water. Mix well until fully combined.
Return all the chicken to the pan along with any juices that accumulated and pour the prepared sauce. Let it bubble to thicken about 1-2 minutes. Turn the chicken pieces to coat in the sauce.
Serve over a bed of white rice with steamed broccoli. Drizzle with sauce and garnish with green onion slices.

Have you made this recipe?

Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and share a picture with the hashtag #thefoodieskitchen!

Want more?

You can subscribe to our newsletter and we’ll send you the monthly recipes! You can also keep up to date on Facebook, Threads, Instagram, Pinterest or Tumblr.