Oven-baked teriyaki chicken and vegetables

This oven-baked teriyaki chicken is packed with vegetables and swimming in a delicious Asian flavoured sauce. And it’s so easy to make, you just pop it in the oven and forget about it until you are ready to eat.

Almost a one-dish meal

Don’t you just love it when you find a recipe for an easy meal that almost cooks itself? I do. And this is why I am sharing this recipe with you today. This oven-baked chicken teriyaki is almost a one-dish meal, you just have to boil up the teriyaki sauce first, so you do need to use an additional saucepan. However, you could cheat and use a bottle of store-bought sauce, but then you’d miss the delicious flavours that you get from making your own sauce.

I think the sauce is really the star of the show in this oven-baked teriyaki chicken. It elevates a rather boring dish of chicken and vegetables from the mundane to the extraordinary. And it’s amazing to think how so few ingredients combine so well together to produce such complex flavours.

Teriyaki sauce is a sweet and tangy sticky sauce, with a savoury element provided by ginger and garlic. It also has a hint of nuttiness from sesame oil and umami from soy sauce. I like to make my own teriyaki sauce, because then I can control the taste. And of course, there are no added preservatives in homemade teriyaki sauce.

The chicken and vegetables are covered with teriyaki sauce before being baked in the oven, resulting in moist juicy chicken and tasty vegetables, which makes the perfect family supper served alongside a bowl of freshly cooked noodles or white rice.

Ingredients you will need

For the teriyaki sauce

Note – authentic teriyaki sauce, as made in Japan, does not contain garlic, ginger or sesame oil. I’ve taken the liberty of including these extra ingredients in my version of this recipe to add an extra layer of flavour to the dish. If you want to try an authentic teriyaki sauce recipe you can find it on the japan.recipetineats.com website.

• Dark soy sauce – this provides the saltiness and a hint of umami
• Brown sugar – this provides the sweetness. I like to use dark brown sugar rather than white sugar because of the slight caramel flavour in the brown sugar. You can substitute the brown sugar with honey if you prefer.
• Rice vinegar – this adds the sour element. You could use white wine vinegar or any fruit flavoured vinegar. Don’t use malted brown vinegar – the taste will be wrong.
• Garlic – you can use fresh cloves of garlic, or alternatively use crushed garlic from a jar.
• Ginger – I like to use freshly grated ginger, but you could use ginger from a jar, or even dried ginger powder if that’s all you have. If you are using ginger powder, you will only need a small amount as it is quite concentrated. Half a teaspoonful will be ample.
• Sesame Oil – this provides a slight nuttiness. Sesame oil has a very strong taste and should never be used for frying food, it is only ever used for flavouring.
• Cornflour – (also known as cornstarch) – this is used to thicken the sauce.

For the chicken and vegetables

• Skinless chicken breast fillets – you could use chicken thigh fillets if you prefer the dark meat. One portion of chicken is between 3 and 4 ounces (or 85g to 110g).
• Broccoli – I like to use tender stem broccoli or broccolini, but you can use broccoli florets if you prefer.
• Red pepper or capsicum – thinly sliced, with the membrane and seeds removed.
• Onions – thinly sliced. A mandolin is ideal for slicing the onions, or you could just use a sharp knife.
• Brussels sprouts – cut in half. I added these because I love the way the sauce soaks in between the leaves. If you don’t like brussels, by all means, leave them out.

You could substitute any of the above vegetables with vegetables of your choice. Why not try a mixture of carrot ribbons, snowpeas (sugarsnaps), baby sweetcorn, pak choi or even asparagus.

Whatever vegetables you choose, you should allow one cup of mixed vegetables per person.

How to make it

Teriyaki sauce

This is so easy to make. Just combine all the ingredients in a saucepan, and whisk over a medium heat until the sugar has dissolved and the sauce has thickened. This should take about 5 minutes. The consistency should be that of thick gravy.

If the sauce doesn’t thicken sufficiently, drizzle in a slurry of cornflour and water until the desired consistency is reached (image 1 below).

Assemble the dish

• Slice the onions and red peppers and arrange in a layer on the bottom of a casserole dish (image 2 above).
• Season the chicken breasts with a little salt (optional) and arrange them on top of the vegetables and then pour the teriyaki sauce over the chicken and vegetables (image 3 above).
• Cover the casserole dish with a lid and bake in a hot oven (200C/400F) for 20 minutes.
• Remove the dish from the oven and arrange the broccoli and Brussels sprouts (if using) between the chicken breasts.
• Replace the lid and return to the oven for another 20 minutes until the chicken and vegetables are cooked. The internal temperature of the chicken should have reached at least 74C/165F.
• Remove the dish from the oven, remove the chicken breasts, slice and arrange back on top of the vegetables (image 4 above).
• Spoon some of the teriyaki sauce over the chicken and optionally sprinkle with sesame seeds.
• Serve immediately with a bowl of freshly cooked noodles or white rice.

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Freezing and make-ahead instructions

You can freeze the cooked dish in a sealable plastic container for up to 4 months. However, the vegetables will probably lose their crispness on freezing and defrosting.

To use, let it defrost in the refrigerator and then transfer to a saucepan and heat through until piping hot.

You can make the teriyaki sauce in advance and store it in a screw-top jar the refrigerator for at least 2 weeks.

You can also store the assembled dish in the refrigerator for up to 2 days before baking. Storing in this way is the equivalent of allowing the chicken to marinate and will improve the flavour.

If you enjoyed this recipe for chicken and vegetable teriyaki, you may also enjoy some of my other Asian inspired meals.

• Twice-cooked pork belly with a sticky glaze
• Garlic beef in oyster sauce with vegetables
• Easy szechuan chicken with noodles
• Sesame chicken with vegetable chow mein
• Honey garlic shrimp with saucy steamed vegetables
• Crispy orange chicken baked in the oven

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