Learn what vegetables pair the best with Teriyaki Chicken so that you can load up on the veg! I share my favorite recipe for homemade Teriyaki Chicken at the end.
Load Up the Veggies
When I think about great meals I’ve had at Asian restaurants, whether the cuisine was Chinese, Japanese, Indian, or Thai, all those dishes featured a flavorful protein with a delicious sauce and were absolutely loaded with vegetables.
It had been many years since I made my original teriyaki chicken recipe, so I thought it was time for an overhaul to pack in more veggies
I think it's important to give each vegetable proper attention when preparing and cooking them. I want every vegetable to stand out, not just be thrown in for the sake of it.
Here's what I did to get my veggies ready:
- Cut my carrots with a crinkle cutter.
- Slice my celery on the bias
- Cut my snap peas in half.
- Remove the core of my Napa cabbage to cook it separately.
I took my time cooking each vegetable and then brought it all together into the most delicious teriyaki chicken I’ve made yet!
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What Vegetables Go Well in Teriyaki Chicken?
Let me share some ideas on what types of vegetables you can use for teriyaki chicken. All of these are chosen because they complement the dish, not just to add extra vegetables for the sake of it. You certainly don't need to use all of these veggies—I'd recommend picking about 5 or 6 from the list.
- Carrots - Slice them up using a crinkle cutter because not only does it look cool, the grooves hold onto the sauce.
- Celery - Cut the celery on the bias to give it more surface area.
- Green or Red Cabbage - Shred the cabbage. It will cook quickly in the pan/wok.
- Napa Cabbage - Cook the inner core/stem first as it takes longer to cook.
- Onions - Slice the onions into strips.
- Garlic - Dice the garlic, and cook it before adding your teriyaki sauce to the pan.
- Shallots - Dice the shallots, and cook it before adding your teriyaki sauce to the pan.
- Snow Peas - Remove string if it has any. Slice in half.
- Snap Peas - Remove string if it has any. Slice in half.
- Baby Bok Choy - Cut off the root end and separate the leaves.
- Baby Spinach - Toss in to wilt as the final step to make the dish.
- Bell peppers - Cut into strips like for fajitas.
- Baby corn - Drain the liquid if using canned baby corn. You can find fresh baby corn and other baby vegetables at Trader Joe's.
- Zucchini or Yellow Squash - Small, tender zucchini is best. Slice into coins. Trader Joe's baby Zucchini would be perfect for this.
- Water chestnuts - Drain the liquid from the can and cook for a couple minutes.
- Edamame - Frozen, shelled edamame will need about 2-3 minutes cooking.
- Asparagus - Cut into bite sized pieces and sauté until tender.
Remove the inner core or stem of the Napa cabbage leaves and cut it into pieces. Shred the rest of the cabbage. Cook the inner part until it's softened, then add the leaves.
Angle your knife at 45 degrees to cut the celery on the bias. This gives the celery more surface area, which allows you to sauté it faster. Plus, it looks nice in the final dish.
When using either snow or snap peas, cut the peas in half one time, so the pieces are more bite sized.
Pick up yourself a Crinkle Cutter that can be used to use your carrots to look like this.
💡 Tip - Prep all your vegetables before you begin cooking. Consider the cooking times for each vegetable and pair those with similar cooking times. For example, I cook my carrots and celery at the same time.
What Chicken to Use?
While you can use either white or dark meat for teriyaki chicken, I prefer dark meat. It has more flavor and is much more forgiving when cooking. White meat is leaner, making it easier to dry out unless you're consistently tracking the chicken's temperature. In either case, I recommend having an instant-read thermometer on hand at all times. My favorite is The Thermapen® ONE from ThermoWorks.
Why Use a Wok
The best pan you can have on hand to cook the chicken, vegetables, and sauce is a wok. The biggest advantage of a wok is that it provides plenty of real estate with its high sides. This gives you a more evenly heated space to work with."
Look at all the space you have to get a nice sear on the chicken:
It's great for giving vegetables plenty of room as well.
Also, when creating the sauce, you have a nice wide space to stir without splattering, and it can thicken more quickly. When you add the chicken and vegetables back in, you can coat them really well.
What Veggies to Add to Other Dishes
I hope I’ve inspired you to add more vegetables to your homemade teriyaki chicken. You’ll find my personal recipe below. I also want to inspire you to add more vegetables to these dishes as well:
Teriyaki Chicken Loaded with Vegetables
Ingredients
- 2 lbs chicken thighs, removed from the bone and skin removed cut into bite sized pieces
- 2 stalks celery
- 2 medium carrots
- 6-8 Napa cabbage leaves
- 4 oz snow peas
- ½ yellow or sweet onions
For the teriyaki
- 1 cup low-sodium soy sauce
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- 5 tbsp brown sugar light or dark
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tsp lemongrass powder
- 1 tbsp corn startch
Instructions
- Prep all your chicken and vegetables before you begin, and set them aside.
- Heat a wok over medium heat and add enough oil to coat the pan.
- Add the chicken and salt to taste. Cook until the chicken is browned and reaches 175 degrees when checked with an instant-read thermometer. Stir the chicken often as it cooks.
- Remove the chicken from the wok and set it aside. Add the carrots and celery at the same time. Drizzle with oil if necessary and season with salt to taste. Cook until the carrots and celery are tender. Set aside
- Add the core/stem of the Napa cabbage. Drizzle with oil if necessary and season with salt to taste. Cook until the cabbage starts to become translucent, then add the rest of the Napa. Cook until tender. Set aside
- Now, cook the snow peas. Drizzle with oil if necessary and season with salt to taste. When the peas are browned and tender, set them aside.
- Add the onions and cook until softened. Keep the onions in the wok as you prepare the sauce.
How to make the sauce
- In a bowl, combine all the sauce ingredients and mix well.
- Add the ingredients to the wok. Stir often until the sauce thickens, which may only take a minute or two. You'll know it's done when it’s thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
- Add the chicken and all the vegetables back to the wok. Mix everything into the sauce and serve hot over sushi rice.
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