This delicious, healthy teriyaki chicken recipe offers a healthy twist on a Japanese classic. Traditionally made with soy sauce, mirin and sugar, this better for you version is based on tamari, honey and rice wine vinegar. And let’s not forget the delicious kick from the ginger and chilli.
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How to Make Teriyaki Sauce
Teriyaki is a classic Japanese dish. Unfortunately, while it is delicious, teriyaki sauce is loaded with sugar. I have made a healthier version using honey instead of brown sugar and tamari instead of soy sauce (tamari is basically soy sauce but gluten free).
Making the teriyaki sauce is simple and uses the following ingredients:
- raw honey
- tamari
- rice wine vinegar
- grated ginger
- finely chopped chilli
Traditionally, Teriyaki Sauce is a mix of 1 part soy sauce + 1 part mirin + 1 part brown sugar. I find this ratio to be far too sweet and instead have used 2 tablespoons of raw honey, 1/3 cup tamari and 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar.
For an extra kick of flavour I have also added the ginger and chilli, though these ingredients are optional.
Dinner in 35 minutes!
There are a few very simple steps to making this easy teriyaki dinner recipe. They are:
- place the brown rice onto boil (the brown rice takes the longest time to cook so it is best to do this first)
- trim the chicken thigh fillets and cut into 2 cm pieces
- mix together the teriyaki sauce
- add the shallots and then chicken to an oiled frypan and top with the teriyaki
- saute until the chicken is cooked through
- while the chicken is sautéing, place the green veg into a steamer and place on top of rice saucepan to steam
- move the chicken to the side of the pan and whisk in 1 tablespoon of tapioca starch (stir this back through the chicken mixture)
- divide rice among bowls, top with green veg and then chicken
- eat! yum!
See? Simples!
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Serving Chicken Teriyaki
In this recipe I have used broccoli and snow peas as the green vegetables, however you can choose any vegetables you like to serve this with. Some examples are below:
- carrots
- broccolini
- green beans
- zucchini
- squash
- bok choy or pak choi
There are so many options so feel free to use whatever vegetables you have on hand. I recommend to serve this dish with brown rice but if you only have white rice on hand then feel free to use that. Healthy Teriyaki Chicken would also work well served with rice noodles.
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Health Benefits
This quick teriyaki chicken dinner recipe is so healthy for a number of reasons.
- It contains fresh and vibrant vegetables, loaded with vitamins and minerals.
- This dish is high in fibre thanks to the brown rice and vegetables – fibre is essential for a healthy digestive system!
- Ginger is anti-inflammatory and antioxidant.
- Chilli reduces inflammation, promotes a healthy immune system and clears congestion.
- Chicken thigh fillets are high in protein and iron.
Looking for more easy dinner recipes? Try these…
Dairy Free Pesto with Crispy Chickpeas
Healthy Ginger Teriyaki Chicken Recipe
Equipment
- Saucepan
- Steamer
- Frypan
- Chopping Board
Ingredients
- 1 kg Free range chicken thigh fillets, trimmed and diced
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/3 cup tamari, gluten free soya sauce
- 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 knob knob ginger, finely grated
- 1 tbsp tapioca starch
- 5 shallots, chopped finely, seperate white stalks from green
- 1-2 chillis, finely chopped (optional)
- 2 cups brown rice
- 1 head broccoli, cut into florets
- 400 g snow peas, topped & tailed, cut into 4cm lengths
Instructions
- First, place rice in a medium sized saucepan. Fill with water so that the water comes up to the first knuckle when fingertip is resting on top of rice. Turn the heat to high and bring to a boil. Allow to boil for 10 minutes and turn to low for a further 15 minutes or until rice is tender and cooked through.
- While the rice is cooking, in a small bowl whisk together tamari, rice wine vinegar, honey, chilli, ginger and sesame oil.
- Bring olive oil to a medium heat in a large frypan. Add white stalks of shallots and fry for a few minutes before adding chicken thigh pieces. Next, stir through teriyaki sauce, stirring occasionally to cook chicken evenly.
- While chicken is cooking, place the broccoli into a steamer and place atop the saucepan with rice. Cover with a lid and allow to steam until broccoli is vibrant green. Add snow peas, return lid and steam until tender but still vibrant green. Once cooked, remove steamer from saucepan and place lid from steamer back onto rice.
- Once chicken is cooked, move the bulk of the chicken to one side of the pan allowing the liquid to pool. Add the tapioca starch to the liquid and whisk straight away to avoid lumps. Continue to stir liquid until it begins to thicken slightly. Stir back through chicken and allow to cook for a further 5 minutes to reduce and thicken.
- To serve, place a serve of rice, snow peas, broccoli and chicken in each bowl. Top with remaining shallots.
Notes
Storage
This recipe freezes well in an airtight container. Freeze for 2-3 months or refrigerate for 2-3 days.Prep Ahead
To save time on the weekend, cut the chicken thigh fillets and prepare the teriyaki sauce. Place the diced chicken thigh into a glass dish and pour teriyaki sauce over the top. Stir through, cover and refrigerate for no more than 2 days. Marinated chicken can be frozen raw if the chicken hasn’t previously been frozen.Nutrition
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