Easy Teriyaki Chicken

My boyfriend and I live on different continents, and when I am not around he lives on pre-roasted Woolworths' chickens and raw vegetables. When I am there, I make him delicious homemade chicken meals. This is a favourite. Not only does my boyfriend steal the chicken pieces out of the pan while I'm trying to get everything served up, he actually takes my plate out of my hands so he could have seconds, and I consider myself lucky if I get it back.

Sometimes it's like I have a child.

The best thing about this recipe is that it is super easy. I can get it on the table in half an hour (before my boyfriend heads for the chips), or if I'm having a more organized day I can do the prep work early and marinate the chicken in the sauce for a few hours beforehand. Either way, we have a delicious dinner. I hope you all enjoy it as much as we do!

This recipe can feed three or four people, depending on how many chicken breasts you use. I like to use three so that we have dinner for two and lunch for my boyfriend to take to work the next day.

Ingredients

1/2 cup teriyaki sauce

1/4 cup soy sauce

A few dashes oyster sauce

1/2 red onion (white/yellow onion will also work)

1/4 cup chopped scallions

3-4 chicken breasts (sliced)

4 cloves of garlic

Garlic powder

Cumin

1 tsp cornstarch

Salt and black pepper to taste

Directions

This recipe works best with sliced chicken breasts so that the sauce can coat more of the chicken. Take each breast and slice them width-wise, making each piece roughly the same size. Put the chicken in a bowl.

Mix your sauces together and pour them over the chicken. You can either do this directly before cooking or a few hours beforehand so the chicken can marinate in the sauce for a while. However, marinating isn't necessary for a delicious meal.

Set the chicken aside and heat two frying pans. I will grease them with butter because I love life, but any oil except for olive oil will do. Olive oil turns carcinogenic at high temperatures and is better as a dressing than as a cooking oil.

Thinly slice your red onion. Grease one of the frying pans and add the onion.

Chop your scallions and garlic. I don't have a garlic press, so I like to crush the cloves with the flat of the knife and then chop the crushed pieces as finely as I can. Set the scallions and garlic aside.

Grease the other frying pan and add the chicken. DO NOT add the sauce! Set the sauce aside. Liberally coat the chicken pieces with garlic powder and cumin. You could use fresh garlic, but I find garlic powder easier for meats. If you like, take your bottle of teriyaki sauce and drizzle a bit over the chicken.

Add the scallions and chopped garlic to the onions.

Once the onions and garlic have begun to brown, add the sauce mixture. If the pan is too hot, the sauce may congeal a bit. Just add a dash more teriyaki sauce. Pour any liquid from the chicken pan into the saucepan. Stir in the cornstarch to thicken the sauce. To make a thicker sauce, add more cornstarch. If you somehow add too much and end up with a paste, use chicken stock to save the day.

Once the chicken is nearly cooked through, add it to the onions and sauce. Stir to coat the chicken. Add salt and black pepper to taste.

I like to serve this chicken on basmati rice (brown basmati, if I'm feeling healthy) with Asian salad. Depending on how much sauce was soaked up by the chicken, I sometimes drizzle a little soy sauce over the rice.

If you've got a partner like mine, guard your plate. Don't say I didn't warn you.