Chicken Teriyaki Rice Bowl With Glossy Sauce and Bright Broccoli
Jump to recipe ↓
It is 6:45, you have the takeout app open, and you are one thumb-tap from the same order you tend to get. Put it down. This chicken teriyaki rice bowl takes about 34 minutes and ends in a glaze glossy enough to take its own photo. We will not tell the app.
Sweet, salty and sticky, with broccoli that still has a snap.
The plan is simple. The rice goes on first, with its water and a pinch of salt, because it needs the longest: a boil, then a cover and an 18-minute simmer. You cut 1 lb of chicken thighs into bite-size pieces and season them with salt and black pepper. The sauce is soy sauce, mirin and sugar whisked with a tablespoon of cornstarch in a small saucepan, simmered 4 minutes until it thickens. The chicken browns in a skillet over medium-high heat for about 8 minutes, then gets tossed in the sauce. Broccoli steams for 4 minutes, and the bowls get rice, chicken, broccoli and sesame seeds.
What you need
- 1 lb chicken thighs, bite size pieces
- 1½ cups rice
- 2 microwavable white rice pouch
- 2 cups broccoli florets
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp mirin
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
How to make it
- Rinse the 1.5 cups rice and place it in a pot with 3 cups water and a pinch of salt.
- Bring the rice to a boil, then cover and simmer for 18 minutes until tender.
- Cut the 1 lb chicken thighs into bite size pieces and season them with salt and black pepper.
- Whisk together 3 tbsp soy sauce, 2 tbsp mirin, 2 tbsp sugar, and 1 tbsp cornstarch in a small saucepan.
- Simmer the sauce over medium heat for 4 minutes until it thickens.
- Heat a skillet over medium high heat and cook the chicken pieces for 8 minutes until browned and cooked through.
- Toss the cooked chicken with the thickened sauce.
- Steam the 2 cups broccoli florets for 4 minutes until bright green, then divide the rice among bowls and top with chicken, broccoli, and 1 tbsp sesame seeds.
Notes
Cooked leftovers keep three to four days refrigerated, per USDA FSIS. A chicken teriyaki rice bowl keeps well in the fridge, and the glaze clings to the meat. Store the rice and broccoli separately if you can, because the broccoli loses its color and the rice picks up moisture from everything around it.
The chicken is done when it reaches 165°F inside, the USDA safe minimum for poultry. Bite-size thigh pieces brown fast, so check one at the thickest point if you are unsure. Thighs tolerate the heat better than breast, so they tend to stay juicy when tossed in the glaze.
It does improve a little on day two, since the chicken drinks in the sauce, and a leftover bowl at noon feels like you planned your own surprise. Warm it in a skillet with a splash of water to loosen the glaze.
SwipeCart angle: this is the swipe-right dinner that replaces the thumb-tap. Add it to the week and the agent drops the thighs, mirin, soy sauce and broccoli in your cart, so the one ingredient you are missing is not the one that sends you back to the app.
One practical point about the order of operations: the rice takes longest, so it goes on first, and the sauce and chicken fit inside that simmer. While the lid is on, you cut the chicken, whisk the sauce, and start the skillet. By the time the rice has rested, everything else is ready to meet it. This is a bowl that rewards a little sequencing.
Swaps that actually work
Leave the sauce ratio alone. Three tablespoons of soy sauce, 2 tablespoons of mirin and 2 tablespoons of sugar is the glaze, and the cornstarch is what makes it cling. Change the balance, and it either runs off the chicken or sets like candy.
Everything else in a chicken teriyaki rice bowl can move. Chicken breast works if you cut it into even pieces, though it dries faster, so pull it the moment it reaches 165°F. Mirin can be replaced with a splash of rice vinegar and an extra pinch of sugar, which will give a sharper glaze.
Broccoli can become green beans, snap peas or bok choy, as long as you steam them until bright. Sesame seeds can be skipped, but the bowl loses a little crunch and a little polish. Low-sodium soy sauce works too, and lets you season to taste.
Rice can be swapped for cooked quinoa, noodles or cauliflower rice. Any of them will carry the glaze, though they will each change the bowl.
The recipe serves 3, so a bowl each leaves a little glaze behind. Spoon the extra over the rice rather than letting it go to waste. Rice is the right place for it.
If you have a little fresh ginger or a clove of garlic, add it to the saucepan. The method does not call for it, so treat it as a bonus, not a rule.
A word on mirin: it is a sweet rice wine, and it gives the glaze its shine and a mellow sweetness on top of the sugar. If your store keeps it near the soy sauce, grab a small bottle, since it will turn up in other dishes too.
If it goes wrong
The sauce is lumpy. The cornstarch went into hot liquid, or it settled to the bottom. Whisk it cold, as the tip above says, and for tonight, pour the sauce through a small sieve.
The sauce is too thin. It has not simmered long enough. Keep it over medium heat a minute or two more, stirring, until it coats the back of a spoon.
The chicken is rubbery or dry. It stayed on the heat too long. Pull the pieces as soon as they are browned and cooked through, then toss them in the sauce off the heat.
The sauce is too salty or too sweet. Add a splash of water or a squeeze of citrus if you have it to balance it, and stir in a bit more rice to absorb the extra.
What to serve with it
The default for a chicken teriyaki rice bowl is the bowl as written: rice, chicken, broccoli, and sesame seeds. A better version adds a soft-boiled egg or a small side of cucumber slices with a pinch of salt. If there is a scallion or a bit of kimchi in the fridge, add it on top for crunch and tang.
As lunch the next day, the chicken and rice reheat well in the microwave, though the broccoli is better added cold or lightly warmed. Spoon extra sauce over the rice.
Why this one earns its place
Takeout teriyaki is a habit, and habits are hard to break up with. This bowl is a better match: you control the sweetness, the broccoli, the glaze and the rice. It shows up in about the time delivery would take, and it does not leave you with a sticky bag of plastic containers.
Swipe this chicken teriyaki rice bowl in, then pair it with Chicken Teriyaki, Korean Beef Bulgogi Bowls, and Swipe Meal Planner for a closer look at how the swiping works.
More like this: all Asian recipes in Crave Corner.