Chicken Teriyaki
Boneless chicken breasts marinated in a quick soy-garlic-ginger teriyaki sauce, then broiled until glazed and golden — a simple weeknight dinner with big flavor.
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 4 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- In a shallow dish, whisk together the chicken broth, soy sauce, sugar, oil, minced garlic, and ground ginger until the sugar has mostly dissolved into the mixture. A shallow dish is worth using here rather than a deep bowl, since it lets the marinade coat more surface area of the chicken at once.
- Add the chicken breasts to the marinade, turning them once or twice to coat both sides evenly. Cover the dish and refrigerate for 1 1/2 hours, giving the soy, garlic, and ginger plenty of time to work their way into the meat.
- When the marinating time is nearly up, preheat your broiler so it's fully hot and ready the moment the chicken comes out of the fridge.
- Arrange the chicken breasts on a broiler-safe baking sheet and broil about 5 inches from the heat source for roughly 15 minutes total. Turn the chicken and baste it with the reserved marinade every few minutes so the surface builds up a glossy, caramelized glaze rather than drying out, and check that the thickest piece is cooked through before pulling it from the broiler.
Chef's Note: This teriyaki leans on the broiler instead of a grill or skillet, which turns out to be one of its best tricks — the direct, close heat caramelizes the soy and sugar in the marinade into a lacquered glaze in about the same time it would take to pan-sear the chicken, with far less babysitting required. Frequent basting while it broils is what really builds that glaze, so don't skip turning and brushing the chicken every few minutes.
The 1 1/2-hour marinating time is where most of the flavor actually happens, so it's worth planning ahead rather than rushing it, though you can stretch it up to several hours in the fridge if it's more convenient. Leftover chicken slices beautifully over rice or into a salad the next day, making this an easy one to double for meal prep.
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