Teriyaki Chicken Rice Bowls
Tender bites of chicken in a glossy homemade teriyaki sauce, served over rice with steamed vegetables. It's a full weeknight dinner in under 30 minutes with seven pantry ingredients doing all the work.
Servings: 4 bowls
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast or thighs cut into bite size pieces
- Salt and pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
For the sauce:
- 1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 1/4 cup chicken broth or water
- 2 tablespoons red wine or rice vinegar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
For the bowls:
- 2 cups cooked white or brown rice
- 2 cups steamed stir-fry vegetables or other cooked vegetables of your choosing
- Sesame seeds and sliced green onions for serving
Instructions
- Cook the rice according to package instructions and steam the vegetables to your preferred crispness. Set both aside until ready to serve.
- Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, chicken broth, vinegar, brown sugar, garlic and ginger. Whisk in the cornstarch until no lumps remain.
- Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. When the oil shimmers, add the chicken in a single layer with space between the pieces. Cook 6 to 8 minutes, turning a few times, until golden on all sides and no longer pink. Work in batches if the pan is crowded.
- Whisk the sauce once more, then pour it into the pan with the chicken. Stir constantly until it thickens into a glaze that coats the chicken, about 1 minute.
- Remove from heat immediately.
- Divide the rice among bowls, top with the teriyaki chicken and add the vegetables alongside. Finish with sesame seeds and sliced green onions.
Notes
- Don't crowd the pan: The chicken pieces should not touch. Space around each one is what lets them brown instead of steam. Work in batches if needed.
- Dissolve the cornstarch fully: Lumps in the cold sauce turn gummy in the hot pan.
- Pull the pan off the heat as soon as the sauce thickens. Cornstarch sauces thin back out if you keep cooking them.
- Rice tip: Cook it slightly firmer than you normally would so it doesn't turn mushy under the sauce.
- Chicken cut: Breasts and thighs both work. Thighs are more forgiving on timing, breasts cook faster.
- Vegetables: Broccoli and carrots are the classic pairing. A steam-in-bag frozen stir fry blend is the fastest option.
- Sauce swaps: Ground ginger keeps this pantry-friendly. Fresh grated ginger gives a brighter, sharper flavor.
- Make extra sauce: It keeps at least a week in the fridge and makes the next teriyaki dinner nearly instant.
- Less sweet: Cut the brown sugar to 3 tablespoons and add an extra splash of vinegar.
- Storage & Freezing: Refrigerate in an airtight container up to 4 days. Reheat in the microwave 60 to 90 seconds with a teaspoon of water sprinkled over the rice. Chicken and rice freeze up to 3 months. Leave out steamed vegetables and cook fresh.
- Meal prep: Portion into four containers with the sauce kept separate, and add it at reheat so the rice stays fluffy.
Nutrition
Calories: 423kcal | Carbohydrates: 56g | Protein: 33g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 73mg | Sodium: 1395mg | Potassium: 844mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 6042IU | Vitamin C: 14mg | Calcium: 69mg | Iron: 2mg
QR code
Scan this QR code with your phone's camera to view this recipe on your mobile device.
