Teriyaki Chicken Stir Fry

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This Teriyaki Chicken Stir Fry is an easy dinner recipe that you need in your life! This Asian inspired dish combines juicy chicken with green beans, red bell peppers and carrots, tossed in out delicious homemade teriyaki sauce.

Ready under 30 minutes, teriyaki chicken stir fry makes for a simple yet delicious easy weeknight dinner. Skip takeout and make this today!

Teriyaki chicken stir fried with red bell peppers, green beans and carrots

Love Teriyaki flavors? I think you’ll love these recipes as well – Teriyaki Glazed Salmon and Teriyaki Chicken Skewers!

Table of Contents

Easy and Yummy Teriyaki Chicken Stir Fry

Teriyaki is a popular sauce that originated in Japan and can be found all over the world today! It has a complex flavor with umami qualities. It is a combination of salty, sweet, savory, and tangy. It is DELICIOUS.

This Teriyaki Chicken Stir Fry recipe is not an authentic teriyaki chicken recipe (check out RecipeTin Japan’s very authentic take on it here). Instead it retains a lot of the authentic teriyaki flavors while using pantry-friendly ingredients – making this recipe super accessible and easy!

I also wanted to create a Chicken Teriyaki Stir Fry recipe that is obviously yummy (well duh), but also one where we can quickly incorporate veggies and turn it into a wholesome one-bowl dinner, lunch or meal prep. In other words, an easy everyday meal for busy people!

The best way to serve Teriyaki Chicken Stir Fry is definitely over white or brown rice because rice will soak up that sticky, crazy flavorful Teriyaki sauce. Soft fragrant rice pairs amazingly well with the juicy chicken and crunchy veggies.

It’s so good you may be licking your bowl clean at the end of it!

Teriyaki Chicken Stir Fry has quickly become one of our favorite easy weeknight dinner meals. And the secret is truly in the sauce.

Never settle for store-bought, pre-made teriyaki sauce, because they are just not the same! Especially when this homemade Teriyaki Sauce is made with simple, easy-to-find ingredients. Before you know it, homemade Chicken Teriyaki Stir Fry is a real thing in your life!

Get ready to fall in love and bring this chicken teriyaki chicken stir fry into your dinner rotation!

A large skillet loaded with teriyaki chicken stir fry with veggies

Ingredients

Let’s talk chicken teriyaki stir fry ingredients! First, let’s dive into the ingredients that makes up the delicious teriyaki sauce.

This is my tried and true way of making my homemade teriyaki sauce. It is simple, easy and has that umami flavor thanks to a special ingredient we incorporated:

Soy sauce – Kikoman is my favorite brand to use when making Japanese food.
Mirin – that’s really the secret to the umami flavors in the teriyaki sauce. Do not skip this! It can often be found in most mainstream grocery store in the Asian aisle. If not, most Asian grocery stores carry them. Lots of Japanese dishes have Mirin in them! If you want to cook more Japanese food, you’ll be using this a lot.
Brown sugar – White sugar is okay to use if you don’t have brown sugar.
Sesame oil – a nutty oil used a lot in Asian dishes. Bring about a distinct taste and flavor
Rice vinegar – bring about a slight tangy flavor to the sauce. We are only using a little bit of this because we don’t want the sauce overly sour. you can substitute with white vinegar if in a pinch.
Corn starch – used to thicken the sauce
Water – we need a little water to dilute the Teriyaki Sauce so that it is not overly salty.

In addition to ingredients for teriyaki sauce, we will also need:

Chicken tenderloins – cut into cubes. I like using tenderloins more than breast when making chicken teriyaki stir fry because I find them juicier and more tender. If you only have chicken breast, that works just fine. Chicken thighs or dark meat chicken works as well.
Vegetables – you can use any veggies for this. I am using green beans, red bell peppers and carrots.
Garlic – it’s hard to cook Asian food without garlic! Use fresh and avoid substituting with garlic powder.

How to Make Teriyaki Chicken Stir Fry

Now that we have laid out all the necessary ingredients, let’s stir fry some teriyaki chicken!

Make the teriyaki sauce sauce: The very first thing to do is to combine teriyaki sauce ingredients in a small bowl and use a whisk to whisk the sauce until it is nice and smooth, i.e. no more lumps from corn starch.

Sear veggies in skillet: Add vegetable oil to non-stick skillet or wok, and heat under high heat.

Once oil is hot, bring green beans, bell peppers and carrots to skillet/wok and cook until it is soft on the inside and charred on the outside. Stir continuously the whole time. Remove veggies when done and set aside.

At any point when making teriyaki chicken stir fry, lower heat slightly if wok or skillet is getting too hot. Always be prepare to adjust the heat when stir frying so you do not overcook your food.

cooking bell peppers, carrots and green beans in a skillet

Cook chicken: Add more vegetable oil to skillet and let skillet heat under high heat again. Then add cubed chicken tenderloins (make sure to pat dry it prior to this!)

Sear chicken and stir so that all sides are cooked properly.

We are cooking the vegetables and chicken separately to

avoid overcrowding the skillet.
make sure chicken and veggies are not over or under cooked. Since they cook at different times/speed, cooking them separately can help ensure they are cooked exactly the way they need to be.

Combine everything: Bring red bell peppers, carrots and green beans back into the skillet, add minced garlic…

Then add teriyaki sauce!

Adding teriyaki sauce to chicken and veggie stir fry

Stir continuously to combine everything so chicken and veggies are evenly coated in that yummy Teriyaki Sauce.

Our homemade teriyaki sauce has cornstarch in it, so it will thicken as the sauce heats and boils.

Once sauce is thickened and chicken and veggies are coated in Teriyaki Sauce, you are done!

Serve that delicious chicken teriyaki stir fry over rice, and prepare to feast your heart out!

Teriyaki chicken stir fry proves once and for all that simple CAN be delicious. All this shouldn’t take more than 30 minutes from start to finish, and you will find yourself soaking up that delicious sauce with rice and inhaling every bite!

Closeup of teriyaki chicken stir fry with veggies

Stir Fry Tips

A few tips and tricks that will help bring success to your teriyaki chicken stir fry:

The stir fry process goes quickly so prepare everything ahead of time and set it in arm’s reach next to the stove before you start cooking.
Cook under high heat if possible! Use a skillet or wok that can withstand high heat. Wait until oil is hot before adding ingredients so they get a nice sear.
Make sure to pat dry ingredients before adding them to the wok, especially chicken. If ingredients are wet, it will create a pool of water at the bottom of the skillet and ingredients will not be seared well in hot oil.
Do not overcrowd your skillet or wok – if doubling the recipe, cook in two batches.
Stir continuously throughout the whole stir fry process so that all the ingredients are cooked evenly.

For more stir fry tips, check out 8 Tips to a Great Stir Fry.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I use a wok or a regular frying pan for making teriyaki chicken stir fry?

While a wok is traditional for stir fry, a large skillet or frying pan works well too. The key is to have a cooking vessel large enough to accommodate all the ingredients without overcrowding, and can withstand high heat.

What other veggies goes well with chicken teriyaki?

Broccoli, baby corn, leafy greens, white onions will also go with it.

How do I prevent the stir fry from becoming too watery?

1) Make sure to pat dry chicken and veggies if they are wet before adding them to skillet.
2) Do not use frozen chicken or veggies, make sure they come to a completely defrost and are pat dry if they are frozen. I typically advice against using frozen veggies for stir fry because they will not be crunchy and they will be too mushy after cooking.
3) Ensure that your pan or wok is hot before adding the chicken and vegetables. Cook them quickly over high heat to prevent them from releasing excess moisture.

What’s the difference between teriyaki sauce and soy sauce?

Teriyaki sauce is made with soy sauce in addition to other sauces and seasoning. So think of Teriyaki Sauce as a more complex sauce compared to soy sauce. It has more dimension of flavors (sweet, savory, slightly tangy etc).

Does Teriyaki Chicken Stir Fry keep well?

Absolutely! In fact, this is one of my favorite thing to make for meal prep! Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. When ready to eat, heat in microwave. It heats very well too.

A bowl of teriyaki chicken stir fry served with rice, a large skillet of chicken in the background

More Asian Stir Fry Recipes

Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry
Shrimp and Snow Pea Stir Fry
Shrimp Stir Fried Noodles
Ramen Noodle Stir Fry
Kung Pao Shrimp
Mongolian Beef Noodles
Pad See Ew Noodles
Chicken and Asparagus Stir Fry
Asian Tofu Vegetable Stir Fry (by Christie at Home)

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