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Weeknight Sesame Teriyaki Chicken with Ginger Rice. This is the super-fast Asian chicken and rice bowl that the whole family will love. Quick-cooking chicken, pan-seared, then tossed in a sweet and tangy garlic-ginger soy sauce with stir-fried fresh bell peppers. Serve this teriyaki chicken over steamed ginger rice and top with spicy cucumbers and toasted sesame crumbs. Every bite is saucy, sweet, and tangy. It’s delicious and even pretty healthy too. Major bonus? This is all made in one pan without the use of your oven.

overhead photo of Weeknight Sesame Teriyaki Chicken with Ginger Rice

Well, look at that, another chicken and rice bowl, another quick dinner, and you know what? I kind of love it.

This chicken…it is so good. Think, crispy, sweet, and tangy with soy sauce and rice vinegar. And…it’s served with all very delicious ingredients.

I’m talking gingery sesame rice, spicy cucumbers, and even some toasted sesame “crumbs”. And to top it all off, this chicken and rice dinner comes together in a matter of minutes. About twenty-five to be very exact.

Most importantly though…it’s delicious!

OK! And I got the post started. Sometimes writing out the first few sentences of each day’s blog post can be the hardest. I’ve said this before, but words really are not my thing. I love to tell a story through photos, but words on the hand? Well, words I can struggle with. Funny that I’ve now written two cookbooks (and 2495 blog posts). Not sure how that happened, but hey, I guess that just goes to show you that we shouldn’t sell ourselves short.

We can do more than we think!overhead photo of Ginger Rice

The process.

Ok, so first up…start with the rice. I made a batch of sesame ginger rice, which is such a great complement to this sweet, tangy chicken. The ginger adds just the right amount of kick…which over here we find really delicious. Let the rice cook while you prepare the rest of the meal.

Now, those sesame crumbs? You need these, so don’t even think about skipping them. They’re simple Panko breadcrumbs, sesame seeds, and spicy chili flakes cooked in a bit of sesame oil. Everything gets toasted up in a skillet until golden and crisp. Finish with a pinch of salt.

These sesame crumbs are addicting, and they make for the perfect extra special finishing touch to this dish.

overhead photo of Weeknight Sesame Teriyaki Chicken in skillet

Now, make the sauce. It’s simply soy sauce, honey, and rice vinegar. A traditional teriyaki is made with Mirin and or rice wine, but it’s easier for me to find rice vinegar, so I just use that. I also ended up swapping the usual brown sugar for honey. This makes the sauce a little healthier and I also love the added flavor.

Now take some of the sauce and toss it with thinly sliced cucumbers. I wanted to add a fresh topping to this teriyaki, so my farmer’s market cucumber was finally put to good use. I then added a nice pinch of chili flakes to the cucumbers to make them spicy. Delish.

Pan-fry the chicken in a little oil until crisp, then add plenty of garlic, ginger, and bell peppers. Next, pour the sauce in and let it simmer down and thicken over the chicken and peppers.

SO GOOD.

overhead photo of Weeknight Sesame Teriyaki Chicken with Ginger Rice with chopsticks in bowl

Now, put it all together…

Spoon your rice into bowls, then add the chicken and peppers. Finish each bowl off with a good sprinkle of those spicy sesame crumbs and cucumbers.

Enjoy…immediately.

And that’s it…simple, quick, and oh so good. Perfect Asian dinner for any night of the week. We love this one!

overhead close up photo of Weeknight Sesame Teriyaki Chicken with Ginger Rice

Looking for other easy weeknight chicken dinners? Here are a few ideas: 

20 Minute Florentine Butter Chicken with Burst Cherry Tomatoes

Spicy Honey Mustard Pretzel Chicken Fingers

Roasted Garlic Butter Chicken with Lemon Olive Dressing

Lastly, if you make this weeknight sesame teriyaki chicken with ginger rice be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!

Weeknight Sesame Teriyaki Chicken with Ginger Rice

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings: 4
Calories Per Serving: 642 kcal

Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

Ingredients

Instructions

  • 1. To make the sesame crumbs: Heat 1 tablespoon oil, the Panko, sesame seeds, and a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook until lightly toasted and caramelized, 3-4 minutes. Watch closely. Spoon the crumbs out of the skillet onto a plate. Sprinkle with salt. Set aside.
    2. To make the sauce: Combine the soy sauce, honey, rice vinegar, and 1 tablespoon oil.
    3. Toss the cucumbers with 1/4 cup of the sauce and a large pinch of red pepper flakes. Let sit.
    4. In a medium bowl, toss together the chicken, cornstarch, and a pinch of black pepper.
    5. Wipe the skillet clean. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil over medium heat. When the oil shimmers, add the chicken and brown all over, until it becomes crispy, about 5 minutes. Add the bell peppers, garlic, and ginger, cook another 2-3 minutes. Pour in the sauce and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook until the sauce coats the chicken, about 5 minutes.
    6. Serve the chicken over bowls of rice. Top with sesame crumbs and spicy cucumbers. Enjoy!

Notes

Ginger Rice: Combine 2 cups water in a medium pot. Bring to a boil. Add 1 cup basmati rice, 1 inch grated fresh ginger, 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil, and a pinch of salt. Stir to combine, cover, then turn the heat down to the lowest setting possible. Allow the rice to cook 10 minutes on low, then turn the heat off completely and let the rice sit, covered for another 15-20 minutes (don't take any peeks inside!). Remove the lid and fluff the rice with a fork.
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Comments

  1. 5 stars
    We loved this recipe!! So much flavour and the added crunch from the panko/sesame puts it over the top. Super easy to make gluten free as well with GF panko.
    This will be in my dinner rotation going forward.

  2. What a amazing dish.
    I didn’t do the ginger rice.
    But the chicken was to die for. The combination of the panko breadcrumbs and cucumber just amazed me. U don’t think cucumbers a top of chicken would be good but omg. Just try this recipe you won’t regret it

    1. Hey Brenda,
      Wonderful!! Thanks so much for making this recipe, I love to hear that it was a winner. Have the best weekend:) xT

  3. 5 stars
    This is absolutely delicious! And very easy. Don’t skip the sesame crumble … small confession, I ended up eating it out of the pan with a spoon 😉
    I did add some slivered scallions in with the red pepper, and steamed some bok choy for the side. Very good all together!

    1. Hey Ursula,
      Thanks so much for making this recipe, I am thrilled to hear that it was enjoyed! Have a great day:) xxT

  4. 5 stars
    Made this tonight – so so good! Not a health nut at all but it was so nice to see no sugar like most stir fry recipes. Loved the cucumbers with it!! Thank you ?

    1. Hi Amy,
      Happy Friday!! Thanks a lot for giving this recipe a go, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! xxTieghan

    1. Hi Heather,
      I really appreciate you giving the recipe a try, so glad to hear that it was enjoyed! Have a great week! xxT

  5. 5 stars
    So delicious and relatively simple to mix up the boring weeknight menu. The toasted sesame adds such a nice texture to the dish. Your recipes constantly leave us raving about the flavor of the meal. Thank you so much for sharing with us.

  6. I would really like to understand how anyone is making this dish in under 1 hour. Are you guys using pre cut chicken and pre cut veggies? Jar of garlic instead of mincing your own? Is chicken breast faster to cut than chicken thighs? Magic????

    This took almost a full 2 hours for me, and while it is tasty, I don’t know if the output is worth the amount of time. I did double it and my chicken thighs were pretty gamey so I had to spend like 30+ min cutting the chicken and cleaning off the extremely fatty parts.

    Any tips would be nice……

    1. Hi Kristen,
      Sorry to hear this took longer than expected. Everyone cooks and moves around differently in the kitchen. Like you said, doubling and removing fatty parts of the chicken probably added extra time for you:) xTieghan

  7. 5 stars
    Loved it! New go to teriyaki recipe because I keep most of these ingredients on hand anyways. I added a few green onions along with the garlic and ginger also. Like other people mentioned- the sauce is pretty thin but just add cornstarch at the end when simmering the sauce with the chicken and vegetables and you can adjust it to your liking. No big deal. The flavor is the best and it is better than takeout!

    1. You could use deboned chicken breast – that was 2 min to cut up for me (and turned out delicious). And yes, I used frozen minced garlic cubes, which saves time. If you used frozen minced ginger too that would be faster as well. Nothing else should take very long….

      1. Hey Ursula,
        Thanks so much for making this recipe, I am thrilled to hear that it was enjoyed! Have a great day:) xxT

  8. Morbid podcast made me come on your site and I honestly cant wait to try it all. This one looks like it might become a weekly recipe for us ?

  9. Do you think this would work with out sesame? (Allergy) olive oil and just skip the raw sesame seeds or swap for another nut?

    1. Hey Janine,
      Yes, that is totally fine! You could even use peanut oil in place of the sesame oil. I hope you love this dish, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan

  10. The sauce never really thickened – what can be the reason? 🙁

    But it tasted really good anyways, even when the sauce was really runny 🙂

    1. Hey Ann,
      So sorry to hear this, was there anything you adjusted in the recipe? You can always add a little cornstarch to help thicken a sauce. I hope this helps for next time! xTieghan

      1. Well darn. My sauce didn’t thicken either. But no one complained! 🙂 I’ll try adding more cornstarch next time. We loved the crunchy Panko sesame bits on top!

  11. 5 stars
    I think this is an excellent recipe! Reading some of the reviews really makes me laugh. It’s not that hard to look at the picture and see what to do with the green onions. 🙂 Plus cut that chicken however you want! Strips, cubes, dodecahedrons… I do think 30 minutes is optimistic to have dinner on the table – I managed it in 45 and I’m a quick cook. ANYWAY. It’s delicious and easy, and the cucumbers and breadcrumbs make all the difference. Thank you!

    1. Hey Lesley,
      Fantastic! Thanks so much for making this recipe, I am so glad it was enjoyed! Have a great weekend☀️ xTieghan

  12. 4 stars
    This chicken was super quick and easy and turned out really well. Makes a lot of food. Great flavors and much better than restaurant!

    The rice cooking times did not work for me and I used my standard method which was nbd. Added the ginger and sesame first, sauteed those with the rice for a minute to toast it, added water, bring to boil, cook low 25 min.

    Will make again!

    1. Hey Morgan,
      Happy Friday! I am delighted that this recipe was enjoyed. I appreciate you giving it a try:) xTieghan