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Quick and Simple 5 Ingredient Teriyaki Chicken

September 30, 2016 by Annie Chesson 9 Comments

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Super Simple 5 Ingredient Chicken Teriyaki - This recipe is impossibly delicious for how quick and easy it is! Done in under 30 minutes, this chicken will be a new family favorite in your house! TheGarlicDiaries.com

Okay, this is officially the easiest recipe that has ever been posted on the internet. Or written in any cookbook. Or put on YouTube. To reiterate…THIS IS THE EASIEST RECIPE EVER. It only takes five ingredients and twenty minutes to make! The supa short time and craycray few ingredients aren’t what make this recipe so awesome, though…

What makes it so awesome is how BOMB it tastes despite the few ingredients and short prep/cook time. This juicy chicken tastes like it has been coated in a sauce that’s been simmering away for hours. It definitely doesn’t taste like it was thrown together on your stove top in twenty minutes while simultaneously throwing your dog’s frisbee around the house, keeping your cat away from the vegetables on the counter, and cleaning up the remaining dishes in your sink.

But, alas, that is the exact situation in its truest form, people.

Super Simple 5 Ingredient Chicken Teriyaki - This recipe is impossibly delicious for how quick and easy it is! Done in under 30 minutes, this chicken will be a new family favorite in your house! TheGarlicDiaries.com

I’ll break this recipe down for ya…

  1. Dice your chicken
  2. Sear briefly in saute pan
  3. Add sauce ingredients (soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger, garlic)
  4. Let cook for a few minutes
  5. Eat

Step five is very important. Don’t skip step five.

It doesn’t sound fancy, it doesn’t sound special, and it doesn’t sound like anything to write home about. I mean, how can a sauce made up of JUST soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger, and garlic be good enough to rant about for half an hour? Honestly, I can’t really tell you why it’s that delicious…it just is. That simple combination of five ingredients simmering together in your pan just creates the most delicious and flavorful dish.

We don’t add any cornstarch to the sauce, we just let it reduce while the chicken simmers in the flavorful goodness. The result is a sauce with deep, concentrated flavors of soy, brown sugar, garlic, and ginger coating your chicken so beautifully.

You’ll be in love…with the flavor AND the simplicity.

Super Simple 5 Ingredient Chicken Teriyaki - This recipe is impossibly delicious for how quick and easy it is! Done in under 30 minutes, this chicken will be a new family favorite in your house! TheGarlicDiaries.com

I will tell you something, though, friends…I will tell you something. Despite how oddly simple it was to make this recipe, it was THE MOST COMPLICATED THING EVER to photograph it. Why?

Well, the story begins with my memory card.

I finish this recipe, try it, swoon over how delicious it is and freak out about how there’s no way it tastes so good for being so quick and simple, grab my photography props, grab the food, head over to the room in my house where the photography happens, get everything set up, the brown sugar sprinkled around the bowl, the green onions perfectly placed just how I want them, go to turn on my camera, aaaannnnddddd there is no memory card.

Which I thought, “Oh, no biggie,” because I am known to leave things in random locations around my house from time to time…cough…every 5 minutes of my life…cough.

So Seth and I start looking around the house. The memory card was NOwhere. At that point, I realize I had to have left it at work. Seth, being the awesome husband that he is, said he would run over to the school and grab it for me while I finished making my second blog recipe of the day. Oh! But guess what else I forgot? The keys to my classroom. I left them inside my classroom (smart, right? I know). I had a really high opinion of myself in that moment.

So Seth drove out to Best Buy to grab another CF card for my camera. Buuut they didn’t have one. At this point, I have two blog recipes finished and ready to photograph, but ZERO way of photographing them. And they are getting cold and not nearly as appetizing in appearance. Which is a bigger deal than it may seem because I can only photograph on the weekends. During the week, it’s too dark by the time I get back from work to do anything.

Seth ended up driving to my sister’s house to grab her camera, and I just used that one instead of mine. BUT, apparently I am incompetent with any other camera than my own, because I could not totally figure out the manual settings, and I ended up absolutely hating the pictures that I got. I was able to partially save them with editing, but they are definitely not my faves. I am posting a super yummy Skinny Pumpkin Alfredo recipe (love) soon that I also photographed that day using my sister’s camera, and those pictures are literally the bane of my existence. BUT, this chicken and that pasta are yummy enough that I will post them despite not loving the pictures.

FOR YOU! Because I lava you. And food.

Super Simple 5 Ingredient Chicken Teriyaki - This recipe is impossibly delicious for how quick and easy it is! Done in under 30 minutes, this chicken will be a new family favorite in your house! TheGarlicDiaries.com

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Quick and Simple 5 Ingredient Teriyaki Chicken

★★★★★

5 from 2 reviews

  • Author: Annie Chesson
  • Yield: 3 servings 1x

Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 chicken breasts, diced into bite sized cubes
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1/4 teaspoon fresh grated ginger (I freeze my ginger so it’s easier to grate and keeps longer)

Instructions

  1. Heat a large pan over medium high – high heat while you dice your chicken
  2. Add a bit of vegetable oil to the pan, let it heat for several seconds, and add your chicken
  3. To this, add pepper and a tiny bit of salt (not too much because the soy sauce is high in sodium)
  4. Sear the chicken for just a few minutes to get some golden brown color – do NOT cook the chicken through – it will finish cooking in the sauce
  5. To the chicken, add your other four ingredients, stir to combine, and let everything simmer/boil for several minutes (stirring often) until the sauce has reduced, thickened, and coats the chicken. There shouldn’t be much sauce pooled in the pan once it has reduced
  6. Optional extra toppings include sliced green onions and toasted sesame seeds

Did you make this recipe?

Share a photo and tag us — we can't wait to see what you've made!

Super Simple 5 Ingredient Chicken Teriyaki - This recipe is impossibly delicious for how quick and easy it is! Done in under 30 minutes, this chicken will be a new family favorite in your house! TheGarlicDiaries.com

Super Simple 5 Ingredient Chicken Teriyaki - This recipe is impossibly delicious for how quick and easy it is! Done in under 30 minutes, this chicken will be a new family favorite in your house! TheGarlicDiaries.com

If you make this or any of my other recipes, be sure to Instagram it and hashtag #thegarlicdiaries!

In the mood for more yummy Asian recipes? Check these out:

Easy Korean Flank Steak

Thai Pineapple Fried Rice

Perfect 30 Minute Red Curry

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Filed Under: 30 Minute Meals, All Recipes, Appetizers, Dinner, Lunch, One Pot Meals Tagged With: 20 minute meal, 30 minute meal, Asian, Chicken, Chinese, Easy, Quick, quick and easy, teriyaki, teriyaki chicken

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Comments

  1. Sue W. says

    April 28, 2020 at 7:28 pm

    Looks good! I know this was posted years ago but I’m gonna beg my mom to let me cook this for dinner! I’m only 12 and my mom needs some time off.
    Sue W. recently posted…Grilled Spring Veggie PanzanellaMy Profile

    Reply
    • Annie Chesson says

      May 4, 2020 at 1:09 pm

      You’re so sweet! I hope you and your mom love it :).

      Reply
  2. Vivi says

    April 18, 2020 at 10:29 pm

    Teriyaki is my favorite flavor!!! It is so lucky to find out this simply yet yummy teriyaki chicken recipe! Can’t wait to impress my family with this delicious food! Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  3. ItsDmarie says

    March 5, 2019 at 8:23 am

    This is a great recipe! Perfect for lunch, because it is very fast!
    Next time, I will make more sauce (double it?) though, because the chicken was a little dry when I made it.
    ItsDmarie recently posted…Back in Business!My Profile

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Annie Chesson says

      March 6, 2019 at 12:20 pm

      Oh no! I’m sorry the chicken was dry! If the meat itself was dry, you could try adding the sauce earlier so the chicken cooks in it for less time by the time the sauce thickens. I hope it works out better for you next time!

      Reply
  4. Stephanie | The Foodie and The Fix says

    October 2, 2016 at 3:44 pm

    This sounds and looks fantastic, Annie! Sounds like a frustrating day though! I’ve been there! It’s definitely super annoying when your photos don’t come out the way you wanted, but this chicken looks pretty darn delicious!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Annie Chesson says

      October 3, 2016 at 8:46 pm

      Thanks, Stephanie! Yes, very frustrating…I’m glad some of the pictures turned out okay!

      Reply
  5. Monique says

    September 30, 2016 at 6:34 pm

    Hi Annie,
    Do you peel your ginger before you freeze it? Thanks! Monique

    Reply
    • Annie Chesson says

      October 3, 2016 at 8:44 pm

      Nope, I freeze it peel and all! It’s SUPER easy to peel and grate/dice when it’s frozen. You should definitely try it – huge time saver!

      Reply

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Annie Chesson
I am a passionate Christian, wife, cooking addict, and mom to the two sweetest boys in the world! Join me in my journey to create delicious, flavorful food. More About Me...

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