Chicken Teriyaki

Teriyaki was introduced to California via Hawaii and there was a time--the 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s--when it was eaten almost everywhere.

Mint

It remains popular, though it is most common these days in Japanese restaurants and throughout Hawaii. Every July for the last 60 or so years, Enmanji Buddhist Temple in Sebastopol hosts a barbecue festival for thousands of guests that features their delicious teriyaki chicken.

  • Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients

  • 1 cup soy sauce
  • 1/2 cup dry sherry
  • 4 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 6 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 tablespoons grated ginger
  • 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
  • 2 whole chickens, cut up, or 12 chicken pieces of your choosing
  • 1 tablespoon butter

Directions

  1. Combine the soy sauce, sherry,, brown sugar, garlic, ginger and red pepper in a small sauce pan set over medium heat. When the mixture boils, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes.

  2. Remove from the heat and cool to room temperature.

  3. Put the chicken into 2 large freezer bags and pour sauce into the bags, reserving about a quarter of the sauce. Squeeze the air out of the bag, seal it securely and then massage the chicken so that the sauce is in contact with every bit of it. Set on a baking sheet and refrigerate for at least 4 hours and as long as overnight.

  4. Refrigerate the remaining sauce in a covered container.

  5. To prepare the chicken, remove it from the refrigerator 30 minutes before cooking. Remove the chicken from the bag and wipe off as much of the sauce as possible.

  6. Preheat an oven broiler.

  7. Set the chicken, skin side down, on a rack set over baking sheets and broil, about 6 to 8 inches from the heat, for 15 to 20 minutes. Brush with some of the reserved marinade and turn skin side up. Broil for about 8 minutes, until the skin is crispy and the chicken is cooked through. During the last few minutes of cooking, brush the chicken a time or two with marinade.

  8. Remove the chicken from the oven, cover loosely with a sheet of aluminum foil and let rest 5 to 10 minutes.

  9. Meanwhile, pour the remaining reserved sauce into a small saucepan and bring to a boil.Reduce the heat to very low, add the butter and swirl the pan until the butter just melts. Remove from the heat.

  10. Serve the chicken immediately, with the remaining sauce alongside.

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