A Japanese friend made these tacos for a Tuesday night dinner and I have been making them every week since. Boneless, skinless chicken thighs cooked in a pan with vegetable oil until browned, then simmered in a sauce of soy sauce, mirin, sake, and sugar until the sauce thickens and coats the meat. Sliced into strips and placed in taco shells with Japanese cucumber salad on top.
The teriyaki sauce gets sticky and glossy as it reduces, and the chicken thighs caramelise in it. The cucumber salad on top is cold, tangy, and crunchy. Warm, sweet, salty chicken against cool, sharp cucumber in a taco shell. It should not work. It does, every single time.
Tips for Making Chicken Teriyaki Tacos
Brown the chicken before adding the sauce
Heat vegetable oil in a pan over medium heat and cook the thighs until browned on both sides. This builds a crust that the sauce clings to. 
Do not add the sauce too early. If the chicken is not browned first, it poaches in the sauce instead of caramelising.
Reduce the sauce until glossy
Mix soy sauce, mirin, sake, and sugar in a bowl. Pour it over the browned chicken and let it simmer uncovered. The liquid reduces into a thick, shiny glaze.
Flip the chicken once or twice as the sauce thickens so both sides are coated. The sauce is ready when it coats the chicken without running off.
Chicken Teriyaki Tacos with Cucumber Salad
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4
Description
A cool, crunchy Japanese cucumber salad is the perfect topping to a rich, glazed chicken teriyaki taco.
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons mirin
- 2 tablespoons sake
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 4 taco shells
- Japanese cucumber salad (recipe linked above)
Instructions
- Heat vegetable oil in a pan over medium heat.
- Add chicken thighs and cook until browned on both sides.
- In a bowl, mix soy sauce, mirin, sake, and sugar.
- Pour the sauce over the chicken and let it simmer until thickened.
- Remove chicken from the pan and slice into strips.
- Assemble tacos by placing chicken strips in taco shells and topping with cucumber salad.
Notes
*You can prepare the Japanese Cucumber Salad the night before for faster prep.
**If you can’t find Japanese or Persian cucumbers, you can substitute 1 large English cucumber. It will need to be seeded and cut into half-moons.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Japanese
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 taco
- Calories: 350
- Sugar: 5
- Sodium: 800
- Fat: 15
- Carbohydrates: 30
- Fiber: 2
- Protein: 25
Frequently Asked Questions
What is mirin?
A sweet Japanese rice wine used in cooking. It adds sweetness and a subtle acidity. If you cannot find it, use rice vinegar with a teaspoon of sugar.
What is the cucumber salad?
A Japanese-style salad of thinly sliced cucumbers dressed with rice vinegar, sesame oil, and a pinch of sugar. It can be made the night before and chilled.
Can I use chicken breasts?
Yes, but thighs are better for this recipe. Thighs stay juicier and absorb the sauce more evenly than breasts, which can dry out during cooking.
Curious if tamari would work in place of the soy sauce, trying to keep a gluten-free version for my dad. Anyone tried?
The cucumber salad on top was sooooooo good, cold tangy crunch against the sticky teriyaki was unexpected and absolutely incredible!
I made these on a Wednesday and the sticky-sauce-on-thighs combo became the family request for next week, going on rotation!
Japanese-Mexican mashups go in and out of fashion but my college roommate had been making teriyaki tacos in her Brooklyn apartment for years before the trend hit menus. Browned the thighs hard before pouring the sauce in, the caramelization clung to the chicken instead of just glazing the surface. Cucumber salad on top was the contrast that made it work. Genuinely incredible Tuesday dinner.
Just getting into Asian flavours recently, sounds great!
Why are these recipes not pinable?