Travel Food: Teriyaki Chicken

This recipe provides a meal that is light yet fulfilling enough to satisfy a traveler’s hunger. The ingredients provide energy and a feeling of being pleasantly satisfied. It makes for the perfect travel food. The cooking method may seem a little long and complicated at first, but try this recipe and you will soon learn what works best for your own taste. It really is a recipe that is easy to prepare and make, and, most importantly, is very healthy. Just the thing for travelers who need energy for touring around.

The ingredient measures listed for this recipe are designed to be enough for one person. Adjust the measurements for the desired number of diners. The recipe uses ingredients that are readily available at most grocery stores.

Teriyaki chicken on a bed of rice.

Ingredients:

Measurements are provided in grams and the approximate equivalent in ounces (g/oz).

Basmati brown rice – 60/2
Carrots – 26/1
Mange touts – 35/1.2
Bean sprouts – 30/1.1
Chestnut mushrooms – 54/2
Coriander – 6/0.25
Parsley – 5/0.25
Apricots (dried) – 5/0.25
Chicken breast (1 medium breast cut into five pieces; skin removed)
Ginger – 4/0.15
Soy sauce – 20/0.75
Saki/mirin* – 80/2.85
Natural cane sugar – 25/1
Salt to taste
Black pepper (ground) to taste
Olive oil/vegetable oil – 50/2

*A mixture of rice vinegar and sugar can be used as a nonalcoholic alternative to saki, although the alcohol in the saki/mirin evaporates during the cooking process.

Prepare the ingredients:

1. Prepare marinade for the chicken.

1. Peel and chop the ginger finely and place into a bowl.
2. Add the sugar, soy sauce and the saki or mirin (or nonalcoholic alternative). Instead of adding the saki/mirin, you can, if you prefer, just add a little sugar to sweeten the soy sauce.
3. Cut the chicken into five even pieces and place into the marinade.
4. Cover with cling film or foil and refrigerate for a minimum of 4 hours.

2. Prepare the rice.

1. Place the rice in a mixing bowl and wash in cold running water for 3 minutes.
2. After 3 minutes leave the rice covered with clear water to soak overnight.

3. Prepare the vegetables.

• Wash the vegetables in cold water and place into separate bowls.
• Slice the mange touts lengthways into short strips.
• Slice the chestnut mushrooms into thin slices.
• Peel the carrots and cut them into short lengths to resemble the size of the mange touts.
• Wash the bean sprouts and leave them as-is.
• Wash the coriander and parsley and remove the stalks from the leaves.
• Chop the dried apricots into smaller pieces.

Cook the ingredients:

1. Set the grill to a medium heat.
2. Drain the rice into a colander or sieve and rinse with cold water.
3. Place the rice into a saucepan and cover with fresh cold water until the water covers the rice by approximately 5 mm.
4. Add two pinches of salt.
5. Place the saucepan on a low heat and simmer until the rice is tender and the water has evaporated.
6. At the same time as the rice is being cooked remove the chicken from the marinade that has been refrigerated and place onto a wire rack, which should then be placed on top of a baking tray.
7. Place the chicken under the grill for approximately 15 minutes, turning the chicken to make sure it is cooked all the way through, then place the chicken into the bottom of the oven to keep hot.
8. Strain the chicken marinade through a sieve into a small saucepan and place on the stove set to a medium heat to boil, until the marinade has thickened and can coat the back of a spoon.
9. While the marinade is boiling, place a frying pan or wok on the stove and set to a medium-high heat for 1-2 minutes to get hot.
10. Add olive oil or vegetable oil to the pan.
11. Add all the vegetables at once to the pan and stir vigorously for 30 seconds to coat the veggies in oil. Keep stirring intermittently to prevent the ingredients from sticking and until they are cooked while still being crunchy to eat. Season with salt and black pepper.

Serve:

1. Place the rice on a serving dish or a plate, followed by the vegetables and the chicken.
2. Spoon the marinade over the chicken and finish with parsley, coriander and the chopped apricots.

Enjoy!

Teriyaki chicken meal in a box for travel.

Glossary:

Mange touts – Beans or peas where everything can be eaten, for example the pods and seeds. A French expression that means “eat everything.”

Mirin – This is a kind of traditional Japanese rice wine that is similar to sake, but it contains less alcohol and more sugar. There are different types of mirin, each with varying amounts of alcohol. In Japanese cooking, mirin is an ingredient used in teriyaki sauce. The mirin is used to sweeten the soy sauce, but if you want to avoid alcohol altogether, you can just add a little sugar to the soy sauce.

Saki – This is a traditional Japanese alcoholic drink that is made from fermented rice. I searched for a nonalcoholic alternative and found that rice vinegar mixed with sugar can be used. I wouldn’t recommend that for drinking but it seems to work ok for cooking.

Click here for a PDF version of this recipe: AnotherCappuccino.com Teriyaki Chicken recipe