That's What Bob's Cooking: Teriyaki Grilled Chicken

Thursday, March 6, 2014

Teriyaki Grilled Chicken

Teriyaki has always been one of my favorite meals to go out for. Usually lunch, but on a rare occasion dinner.

It's not fancy food, and in the Seattle area they are like Starbucks, 2 on every corner. And each shop is just a little different than the last one. This one might have Chicken Katsu, that one might have a thicker sauce.....the differences go on and on. Well I've tried to make teriyaki at home and it's good, but jut not the same, until last nights creation.

Remember to keep food safe. If you'd like the teriyaki sauce to serve over the ice be sure to reserve some before marinating the chicken. Also when grilling the chicken I baste one side while the other is cooking, flip and baste once then stop using the marinade.

Always check the temperature of your chicken, with a food grade thermometer, to ensure it is cooked. At 160°F, the chicken is 100% cooked, but will still be a little pink. If you want a less pink aim for 170°-180° But remember the higher the temperature, the dryer the chicken. I typically cook my chicken to about 165°, and allow to rest before cutting. The chicken will continue to cook a little one it's off the grill. So the pinkness will go away, but the meat is still juicy.

Teriyaki Grilled Chicken

Ingredients:

3 pounds chicken thigh meat, boneless, skinless and fat removed

2 cups soy sauce,( I use pearl river light soy sauce, not really a reduced sodium, but lighter in texture)

2 cups chicken broth

1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar

1 bunch green onions reserve some for garnish later

1/4 cup sweet onion finely chopped

4-5 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp. sesame oil

1 (13.5 oz) can coconut milk (optional, I left out because I didn't have any!)

Instructions:

Trim chicken of any fat.

In a large bowl, mix soy sauce, water, brown sugar, onions, garlic, sesame oil, and coconut milk. Mix well and pull 3/4 cup aside, BEFORE MEXT STEP.

Place chicken in marinade and let sit for at least four hours, overnight is preferred. (If you opt for chicken breasts, I would definitely say over night is best to ensure the flavor is greatly absorbed)

Grill chicken until chicken is cooked through, switching sides half way through. Basting chicken with marinade while cooking. Stop using marinade after you flip the chicken. This is for food safety concerns. The marinade has chicken juices in it and you want to cook the chicken and sauce thoroughly before serving. Do not reuse the marinade.

Serve over rice, garnished with green onions and pour reserved marinade over rice.

Optional rice variance: To make coconut rice: Replace half of the water in your rice recipe with coconut milk.

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I was born and raised on the East side of Portland Oregon, by two native and second generation, Oregonians, my Mom and Dad (Jack and Joan). Oregon, and the Northwest are deep in my blood. That being said, I have always had an interest in cooking. I would love to add a warm loving story here about how my Mom nurtured my love of cooking by setting me up on or near the counter top to help with whatever she was cooking. Well, that's not exactly the case.

Being a child of the 70's and 80's, I had a great exposure to classic foods like Spam, Tang, Rice-a-Roni and Hamburger Helper. While many of these premade, sodium roller coaster, treats where regulars on our table, my Mom would have to hold the title as "casserole queen". Casseroles are her favorite and her specialty. Whereas, my Dad was more of a spur of the moment kind of cook. His creations included many of the items from our makeshift pantry. Sometimes, i think he was thinking, "the more ingredients, the better it'll be!". I think my first attempt at cooking would have to have been making cookies, either peanut butter (with the criss-cross fork tine print on top), or chocolate chip cookies. Over the years I have made so many of both of these recipes, I have surely lost count.

During middle school, my Mom encouraged me to take Home Economics, thinking that all kids, boy or girl, should know how to cook out in this world. This sparked a growing interest in cooking. So when I entered my junior year of High School, at David Douglas, I enrolled in the culinary arts program, we called it Food Services I. This was a class that had been offered many years before, where the students ran a restaurant, The Kilt, during the lunch periods. Unfortunately, since the class had not been offered in several years, so we didn’t have enough students to open the restaurant, that year. Within the first few weeks of this class, my instructor asked if I'd like to be involved in an outside "club" (kind of like a version of Eagle Scouts) that was mentored by local business owners. It sounded interesting so I joined (not to mention it got me out of the first 2 periods of the day).

At our first meeting I was approached by Sylvia Poesdel, the owner of the Portland landmark restaurant, Sylvia's Italian Restaurant & Dinner Theatre. She asked me if I would be interested in an afterschool job, coming to work for her to learn the cooking/chef trade on the job. I jumped at the chance and started in October of 1985. During my senior year I rejoined the culinary arts program (Food Services II) and this year we were able to reopened the restaurant, which the rest of the students voted me to manage. I just absolutely loved it! I worked at Sylvia's until after I graduated, in 1989. I learned a lot about the restaurant industry, and I would have to say it would be one of just a few life altering jobs I have had throughout my career.

After high school, while I was working at Sylvia's, I applied to culinary arts school. The Two things kept me from continuing my career in culinary arts, were financial and having worked out in the field, I saw so many negative attributes to being a chef, I decided that since I love to cook, I wanted it to be a hobby, and not a drag to go work each day.

When I left Sylvia's, I worked at a hotel, then Safeway. From there I joined Fred Meyer in the Service Deli, and was quickly promoted to a manager. During the next 8 years, I worked throughout the Portland and Southern Oregon areas. In 1998, I earned a promotion to the regional specialist position (District Manager) in Seattle. During this career move, I learned so much about the Food Service industry. I was charged to develop a new service salad case program, as well as work on a new catering program. I had the opportunity to work with manufacturers to develop these new programs.

In 2000, I met the love of my life, Craig. I also, moved from the food service program to the grocery department as an assistant manager. In the capacity I learned to develop my management skills as well as managing inventory. By being the best in my category, I earned the position of manager, where I moved from store to store cleaning up and reorganizing as I went. I also was entrusted with training future Food managers for the region. At which point I was pursued by another company to run a store for them, and enter back into the restaurant industry. During these 3 years, I learned the Restaurant Supplier side of the business. While I enjoyed the time I spent in this opportunity, I yearned to go back to the Grocery industry, and spend more time with my first love, cooking, and writing about my adventures….in the kitchen!