Teriyaki Chili Crisp Chicken
This golden brown chicken is laced with sweet and fiery, chili crisp-spiked teriyaki sauce! Each bite delivers the perfect balance of sweet and heat, with hints of garlic, onion, and chilies in every bite.
Chili crisp completely transforms ordinary teriyaki sauce! It’s such a simple addition, but chili crisp boasts a tremendous amount of flavor (from chilies, onion, fermented soybeans, and a few other seasonings). Chili crisp is also “crisp”, thanks to those onion bits, dried chilies, and soybeans, so it adds great texture to the sauce as well.
You can make this dish as spicy as you want. It’s the chili crisp that adds the heat, so you can adjust the spiciness easily. I used 3 tablespoons of chili crisp, which made the sauce spicy, but not enough to make your eyes water. If you’re unfamiliar with chili crisp, I suggest sampling a bit from the jar so you know how much to add to the sauce.
I used chicken breasts, but any chicken works. Feel free to use chicken tenders or chicken thighs instead. You can even use ground chicken! Craving steak instead? No problem, grab yourself a nice steak (preferably one with marbling, like rib-eye), cut it into bite-size pieces, and use that instead!
This meal is gluten-free and healthy too! Chili crisp is an oil-based condiment, but a little goes a long way. And since we thicken the sauce with cornstarch and serve everything over rice, this is a great gluten-free option too.
I used rice as the base, but you have options. You can also serve the saucy chicken over Asian rice noodles or your favorite grain. If you’d rather keep carbs in check, you can serve the chicken in lettuce leaves.
Teriyaki Chili Crisp Chicken
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup tamari sauce, soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons light or dark brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons chili crisp, or more/less to taste
- 1 tablespoon minced or grated fresh ginger
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar, regular or seasoned
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon peanut oil, or vegetable oil
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, tenders or thighs, cut into bite-size pieces
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
For Serving
- Rice, or rice noodles, or lettuce leaves
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, brown sugar, chili crisp, ginger, rice vinegar, and sesame oil. Set aside.
- Heat the peanut oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook until golden brown on all sides. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
- Add the soy sauce mixture and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes. In a small bowl, combine the water and cornstarch. Mix until the cornstarch is dissolved. Add the mixture to the skillet and simmer or 2 minutes, until the sauce thickens.
- Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Spoon the chicken and sauce over rice and serve.