Nonsequitur Life

Years ago my mom got this recipe from my aunt for Teriyaki Chicken. My aunt, if memory serves, got the recipe from a friend native to Japan. Mom made it a few times, and then it got stuffed in the cabinet with all of the other unused recipes. My dad would never touch it with a ten-foot pole, so it was eventually forgotten about.

When I was collecting recipes from my mom after we moved, I found this one taped inside a chicken cookbook. Instead of making copies, my mom just sent the whole book home with me, knowing that there wasn’t anything in there that my dad would actually eat. (He’s very meat and potatoes and not at all adventurous with food. Clearly he does not know what he’s missing.)

I’ve made this a few times now and each time I tweak it slightly. I think I found the right mix this go round.

Teriyaki Chicken

Ingredients:
1/2 cup soy sauce
3 Tbsp cooking oil
1 tsp sesame oil
1/4 cup green onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp fresh ginger (or 1 tsp ground)
2 Tbsp sugar
3 Tbsp cider vinegar
2 tsp sesame seeds

2-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Combine ingredients to make sauce. Pour into gallon-sized Ziplock bag with chicken. Marinate for at least 2 hours, the longer the better.

Dump chicken and marinade into a baking dish (9×13 cake pan works well). Cover dish with foil.

Bake at 375 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

Serve over rice with sauteed vegetables.

The sesame seeds and sesame oil are completely optional, but I think the oil adds a little extra something to the flavor.

We always get reduced sodium soy sauce, which is still unbelievably salty and high in sodium, but we don’t use it often, so it’s not going to kill us.

I use olive oil in the sauce because I use olive oil in all my cooking, but I think pretty much any cooking oil will do. You could also reduce the oil to one or two tablespoons as well without adverse effects if you wanted to cut out some fat.

The original recipe called for wine of unspecified variety. I’ve never actually had it made with wine, so I don’t know what that does for the flavor. I don’t remember what my mom used when she made it, but I’ve tried lemon juice, apple juice, and cider vinegar. I think the vinegar makes for the best flavor.

The original also called for a teaspoon of Accent seasoning. Accent is just powdered MSG, so why anyone would actually use this is beyond me. But hey, that’s just my crazy opinion.

I sauteed some sliced vegetables (this time bell peppers, sugar snap peas, and mushrooms) with chopped garlic, some oil, and a splash of sesame oil.

It takes some prep time because of the marinating, but it’s worth it. If you don’t have 2 hours to sit around waiting for that (of if you completely forget that the chicken needed to marinate and remember as you’re about to make dinner…because that’s totally what I did) you can prep the sauce and chicken the day before and leave it marinate overnight in the refrigerator.

This is one of my favorite recipes I’ve made in my kitchen so far. I need to expand upon my Asian flavored recipes to reduce the temptation of ordering Chinese food from the two restaurants a mile from my house.

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