First stop – Japan. 

Oh boy, how I fell for this country! Culture, food, people – everything was just perfect and I was lucky enough to visit it before lockdown. My time spent there was amazing with very few tourists and many adventures. During a pandemic I started to miss all the food I tasted there and decided to start my journey with taste buds.

Let’s start this week with a simple dish that is quick and perfect for weeknight dinner. 

Everyone knows chicken teriyaki, but what I found interesting is that not many people are aware that teriyaki is actually a cooking technique used in Japanese cuisine. In this technique, foods are broiled or grilled in a mixture of soy, mirin and sugar. However, my version is not 100% authentic, I did not have mirin in my kitchen (for now 🙂 ), I substituted it with rice vinegar and sugar.  

For 4 portions you will need:

• chicken breast or thighs (600g-700g);
• ~1cm ginger
• 4 garlic cloves
• oil for cooking
• salt and pepper 

Teriyaki sauce ingredients:

• 4 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp sake
• 2 tbsp mirin (substitute-2tbsp rice vinegar+1 tsp sugar)
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 4 tbsp water
• 1-2 tsp roasted sesame seed oil

1. In the bowl mix ingredients for the sauce. Add 1 or 2 teaspoons of sesame oil. It really depends on your taste preferences. Personally, I would go with 2 tsp, it gives a lift to the dish 🙂
2. Dice the chicken into bite-size pieces. 
3. Heat the oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and let it cook for around 2-3 min on one side, until golden. It’s important that chicken pieces have enough space between each other. Season with salt and pepper. After a few minutes flip it over and cook for another 1-2  min.
4. Add ginger and garlic to the pan and stir it. It should cook only around 60 s.
5. When you start feeling garlic aroma, whisk teriyaki sauce and add it to the pan. Stir the sauce with a chicken and let it cook until it gets thicker. 
6. Serve chicken with steamed rice and some veggies.

I would highly recommend eating it with Japanese cucumber (sunomono) salad!

Meshiagare!