Chicken Teriyaki And Sorry That Took So Long... :/

No matter how sophisticated we are about food, it's often the simplest things that make us collectively drool.

Browned and crisped chicken skin is one of those things.

And when that browned and crisped chicken skin is complemented by a delicate glaze of soy, ginger, onion, rice wine, and a touch of sweet, it's all the more irresistible, isn't it? And that is the magic of teriyaki chicken. Simply delicious and widely appealing, when it's done well, it takes a pretty picky omnivore to turn it down.

My preference is to grill it over a low flame, but on the day these pics were taken, some serious brewing was going down in the yard, and I didn't want to add to the mayhem. On days like that, or when I just don't feel like dealing with coals, I find the broiler an excellent workaround.

TERIYAKI CHICKEN
Serves 4

For the chicken:

- 2 pounds boneless, skin-on chicken thigh meat
- 1/4 cup lite soy sauce
- 2 or 3 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 1 Tablespoon rice wine, sake, or white wine
- 1 Tablespoon brown sugar
- 3 or 4 slices of fresh ginger (or if you don't have fresh, use 1/8 teaspoon powdered)

For the glaze:

- 1/4 cup lite soy sauce
- 2 or 3 slices fresh ginger
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 1/6 of an onion
- 1/4 cup rice wine, sake, or white wine
- 1 Tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 Tablespoons white sugar

- 1 teaspoon corn starch slurried (dissolved) in 1 Tablespoon cold water
- 1/4 cup unsalted chicken stock

1) Season the chicken with the marinade ingredients and mix gently but thoroughly to evenly incorporate. If you're planning to cook the chicken shortly, leave it out while you make your glaze. Otherwise, refrigerate until 30 minutes before you plan to cook it. I say it all the time, and I'll say it again that for the most part, most things cook better at room temp.

2) While the chicken is marinating, put all the glaze ingredients except the corn starch slurry and unsalted chicken stock in a small saucepan and bring to a very gentle boil over medium heat.

3) Once the glaze has come to a gentle boil (you should see gentle, infrequent bubbles rising to the surface and popping), add the cornstarch slurry and unsalted chicken stock, and bring back up to a very gentle boil over medium heat.

 

Once the glaze comes back up to a gentle boil, reduce the heat to low and let simmer for another 5 to 7 minutes, and cut the heat.

4) While the glaze is cooling, preheat the oven to 400F and place the chicken meat side down on a foil lined pan.

5) Roast the chicken for about 15 minutes in the 400F oven, then turn on the broiler, and place the chicken about 4 inches under the broiler to crisp up the skin another 2 minutes or so. After 1 minute, check the chicken every 15 seconds or so and take it out when it looks like this.

When you put anything sweet and fatty under the broiler, it can go from perfectly charred to burnt beyond recognition in a matter of seconds. Best to be vigilant! :)

Slice skin side down - and do it decisively so you cut through the skin - and serve with a little glaze spooned over.

On this particular day, we ate it with a little steamed white rice, some garden salad dressed with homemade Thousand Island, and a ham tamagoyaki (rolled omelette).

All together now...

Hope you rike. ^^

shinae