Who doesn’t love to eat a good refreshing Chicken Teriyaki Salad in this beautiful springtime (or anytime…really)? Green lettuce, avocado, red bell pepper, green beans, mango, and chicken…the perfect combination for your salad. And the Teriyaki Sauce, what makes it different.
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How to make the Teriyaki Sauce?
First let me talk about the Teriyaki Sauce history. According to Kikkoman, “world-wide producer of soy sauce and related condiments, the syrupy sweet teriyaki we know and love originated in Hawaii, when Japanese newcomers mixed local ingredients such as pineapple juice and brown sugar with soy sauce and used it as a marinade.”
Wait…what? it is originated actually from Hawaii???
Well, yes. This is an interesting fact that I didn’t know myself either. When the first Japanese immigrants came to Hawaii they tried to make a marinade mixed local ingredients with their traditional ingredients.
Before we go forward, there is 2 type of teriyaki sauces and they have a fairly similar flavor. You can make your sauce on the stove-top, or an easier no-heat recipe. The stove-top version is more traditional and allows you to better control the sauce’s consistency. You can use them as a marinade, stir-fry sauce, or dipping sauce. Today I will going to do the easier one, the no-heat recipe. It’s quick, easy, and perfect for marinating the salad.
Make the Chicken Teriyaki Salad recipe for your taste. If you don’t like, for example, the mango, you can use strawberry or other fruit that you like. I used mango because my husband likes mango. Or if you don’t like onions you can leave that out. You know, this is a salad and you can combine it how you want. But be careful with the chicken. That is one of the main ingredients of the salad.
Make sure that you will marinate the chicken for at least 20 minutes. Then is better if you put it in the oven with the marinade because it will be a juicy chicken and it’s not going to be dry. The other thing that I want to mention is that bake it without aluminum foil. That it has a nice color on the top
What is a good side dish to go with Chicken Teriyaki Salad?
Whatever you wish. Noodles, Rice, Potatoes…l can imagine even french fries. I would do something easy and simple because the salad has all the ingredients that make it juicy and “spicy”.
Use fresh green salad, that will make it pop.
Good examples to go with:
Chicken Teriyaki Salad
Ingredients
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- 1 cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds
- 1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
- 1 tbsp garlic, granted
- 1 ½ lb skinless chicken breast
- ½ cup olive oil
- 1 head green lettuce
- 1 mango
- 1 red bell pepper
- 10 green beans thinly sliced
- 1 avocado
Instructions
- Let's make the teriyaki first: In a medium bowl combine the brown sugar soy sauce, lemon juice, sesame seeds, ginger, and garlic. Mix it until the sugar will desolve.
- You can cut the chicken however you wish, then place it in a baking dish. Pour the teriyaki sauce over the chicken, reserving 1/2 cup (120 ml) of the sauce. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and marinate the chicken in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 375˚F (190˚C).
- Let's make the dressing: While whisking, slowly drizzle the olive oil into the reserved teriyaki sauce.
- Transfer the marinated chicken breasts to the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 25-30 minutes. When it's done, use 2 forks to shred the chicken. Pour ¼ cup (60 ml) dressing over the chicken and toss to coat.
- Let's prepare the salad: Add the lettuce to a large bowl, the mango, bell pepper, green beans, avocado, and shredded chicken. Add the remaining dressing and toss well.
Notes
- You can also buy the teriyaki sauce in any supermarket, but in case you prefer a homemade one (like me) you can make it with this recipe.
- Make sure, that you bake the chicken with the sauce, don’t throw it away to have the chicken juicy and not dry. And bake it without the aluminum foil. It will give a little color to the chicken.
- You can try to use different fruit. I put mango because my husband loves it.
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