Skillet Chicken Teriyaki

Steps

1. Stir the soy sauce, mirin, sake, sugar and ginger together in a measuring cup until the sugar dissolves.
2. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Open each thigh flat so it cooks evenly.
3. Heat the oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers.
4. Lay the chicken in smooth side down and cook without moving until well browned.
   ⏱ Brown side 1: 6 min
5. Flip and cook until the second side is browned.
   ⏱ Brown side 2: 4 min
6. Turn off the heat. Fold a paper towel, hold it with tongs and blot up most of the fat in the pan.
7. Turn the heat to medium and pour in the sauce. It will bubble right away.
8. Simmer (how to simmer)

   Simmer Cook liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles breaking the surface now and then. 1. Bring the liquid up over medium-high heat.2. As soon as bubbles rise steadily, turn the heat down.3. Adjust until only a few small bubbles break the surface every second or two.4. Stir now and then and check that it hasn't crept back to a boil. Done when: You see lazy, small bubbles, not a rolling boil. A "bare" simmer has just a bubble here and there. Safety: Steam burns fast: lift lids and foil away from your face, tipping the far edge up first.How to simmer: mistakes to avoid

   , turning the chicken every minute, until the sauce

   reduces to a sticky glaze (how to glaze)

   Glaze Coat food with a thin, shiny layer: a reduced sauce on meat or vegetables, or a sugar icing on baked goods. 1. For meat, brush the glaze on in the last 10 to 20 minutes so the sugar doesn't burn.2. Add a second coat a few minutes later for more shine.3. For a stovetop glaze, simmer the sauce until it is syrupy and toss the food in it.4. For cakes, pour a thick-but-pourable sugar glaze over a cooled cake and let it set. Done when: The surface is glossy and sticky and the glaze clings instead of running off. Safety: Keep a brush that touched raw meat out of the glaze you serve; set some aside first.How to glaze meat and baked goods: mistakes to avoid

   that coats the chicken and the chicken reads 165°F (74°C).
   165°F⏱ Glaze: 4 min
9. Move the chicken to a cutting board,

   rest (how to rest)

   Rest Leave cooked meat, baked goods or dough alone for a while before you cut, slice or shape it. 1. Move meat to a board or plate as soon as it is done (a few degrees shy of target for big roasts; it keeps rising).2. Tent it loosely with foil if the kitchen is cool.3. Rest steaks and chops 5 minutes, roasts 15 to 20, a turkey 30.4. For dough, cover it so it doesn't dry out while it relaxes. Done when: Meat juices stay in when you slice; dough rolls out without springing back. Safety: Rest at room temperature for under an hour, then refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours of cooking.How to rest meat and dough: mistakes to avoid

   2 minutes, then

   slice (how to slice)

   Slice Cut food into flat pieces of the same thickness. 1. Give round food a flat side to sit on.2. Hold it with your fingertips curled under.3. Cut with long strokes, pushing the knife forward and down rather than straight down.4. Move your guiding hand back the same distance each time so every slice matches. Done when: The slices are even. For meat, slicing across the grain (across the lines of muscle) gives the tenderest bite. Safety: Keep the fingertips of your guiding hand curled under, knuckles toward the blade, and set the board on a damp towel so it can't slide. Slice hot roasts on a board with a groove for the juices.How to slice evenly: mistakes to avoid

   it into strips.
10. Serve over rice, spooned with any glaze left in the pan and sprinkled with sesame seeds and green onions.

Tap an underlined word for how to do it, or see all techniques.

Tips

• Watch the glaze closely in the last minute; the sugar can go from sticky to scorched fast. Add a tablespoon of water if it gets too thick.
• No mirin? Use 3 tablespoons water plus 1 extra tablespoon sugar. The flavor is simpler but still good.

Storage

Refrigerate up to 3 days. Great cold in lunch boxes or rice bowls.

Make ahead

Mix the sauce up to 1 week ahead and refrigerate.

How long leftovers keep, and freezing and reheating: leftovers and storage.