Easy Teriyaki ... with or without veggies

As I worked my way through college, I worked in the mall in a little souvenir shop.  Not the most glamorous of jobs, but they actually paid commission on all the sales, so I could make an extra hundred or two every month.  Back then, it was half of the rent at the student apartments, so it was definitely worth it.

Working in the mall means eating dinner at the food court over and over again.  And while I really love it, there's only so many times a week you can eat Chick-Fia-A.  The chinese restaurant was always a little sketchy, the non-chain sandwich place was closed down twice for health violations, and the taco hut was heavy on the lettuce, light on the "meat".  I personally saw how many hours the Sbarro pizza sat on the counter, and I try to stay to stay away from McDonald's because my heart gets one of those bad hugs after eating the oversalted fries. 

So my other good option was Edo, the "Benihana of the Mall" (agreed, nowhere close to Benihana in quality, but pretty good). They'd cook up a little Teriyaki Chicken in front of my eyes, douse it in the teriyaki glaze and I'd cover it with the superhot sriachi sauce.  Yes, it'd clear out my sinuses, but it was really yummy.  Now that I have more of a real job, I don't have Edo just outside my door.  So I have to make my own when I get the urge.

I like to have the chicken marinade in the sauces before I cook it.  Now there are a lot of teriyaki sauces that could be used for this recipe.  I have to admit I'm partial to the Yoshida's, which you can buy in bulk at Costco.  I also like the Seal Sama sauce.  It was made by the former head chef of Ichiban Sushi, so you know it's going to be good.  And they even make a low sodium version of it as well. 

And there are really two ways to make this recipe; the long marinade method or the short marinade.  If you forget to make it the night before, you can marinade it for 30 minutes and it will turn out just fine.  A longer marinade will just have more of the sauce seep into the meat, which you'll notice when you slice into the chicken after in cooks.


Teryaki Chicken
Serves 4-6, depending on the amount of vegetables

Marinade
1 cup favorite teriyaki sauce
1 1/2 pounds of chicken or steak
3 cloves garlic, chopped fine or smashed flat
2 teaspoons ginger
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/8 cup green onions
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
(Spicy version, add 1-2 teaspoons of sambal oolek red garlic pepper sauce or sriachi)


Combine all of the marinade ingredients into a gallon ziploc back and slosh it around until throughly mixed.  Insert the chicken breasts or steak and move around until they are coated.  Close the ziploc and insert that bag into another ziploc bag and close (insurance against nasty spills in the fridge).  Let sit in the fridge anywhere from 30 minutes to 24 hours.  There are three recommended ways to cook the breasts.  If you can use the barbecue grill, grill over medium heat until the meat is thoroughly cooked.  You can also place them in a baking dish and cook them in a 350 degree oven until cooked to the proper doneness (about 20-25 minutes).  You could also cook them in the a skillet on the stovetop until cooked thoroughly.  Once they are done, slice the breasts into small sections and lay over a bed of rice.  Add a little more teriyaki sauce over it as you wish.

Now you can also add a few veggies.  You can steam some cabbage, broccoli and carrots and then add them as a side dish.  I personally like a few mushrooms and some squash and there are a couple ways to do it. 

Pan method - Place a large deep saute pan over medium high heat.  Slice the mushrooms as you would to cover a pizza.  Cut the zucchini and squash into small thin medallions.  Add the oil or butter to the pan, then place them into the pan.  Constantly stir for 3 minutes.  Drop the heat to medium and after 1 minute, add the teriyaki sauce and stir for 1 more minute.  Remove from the pan and add to the rest of the meal. 

Grilling method - Heat the BBQ to medium heat.  Place the mushrooms on skewers.  Slice the squashes lengthwise into either spears or long thin sections.  Baste all of the veggies with the teriyai sauce.  Lay the veggies on the grill grates and make sure to turn them every minute or so to prevent burning.  After 4-5 minutes, remove the veggies.  Slice the mushrooms and squashes into smaller bite-size pieces, or leave whole, your choice, then add to the rest of the meal.

Once again, if you like the spice, you can add sriachi sauce.  Another way to add some heat is to take a little teriyaki sauce, pour it into a cup, stir in a little sambal oolek asian hot sauce, heat in the microwave and pour that over the dish at the end.  This meal also turns into great leftovers for lunches the following day.  So make a little extra, nuke it in the microwave and have people ask you, "what are YOU having for lunch?"