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Tender Shredded Teriyaki Chicken

6 years ago
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Tender shredded teriyaki chicken is one of my favourite batch-cook staples. I slow cook chicken thighs in a rich, homemade teriyaki sauce until they’re soft enough to pull apart with a fork, then use it in everything – rice bowls, wraps, noodles, or even cold straight from the fridge. The balance of sweet and salty makes it endlessly versatile, and it’s one of those recipes that tastes even better the next day. Simple, satisfying, and full of flavour.

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Yield: 4

Shredded Teriyaki Chicken

Tender shredded teriyaki chicken is one of my favourite batch-cook staples. I slow cook chicken thighs in a rich, homemade teriyaki sauce until they’re soft enough to pull apart with a fork, then use it in everything – rice bowls, wraps, noodles, or even cold straight from the fridge. The balance of sweet and salty makes it endlessly versatile, and it’s one of those recipes that tastes even better the next day. Simple, satisfying, and full of flavour.
4.6 Stars (16 Reviews)

Tender shredded teriyaki chicken is one of my favourite batch-cook staples. I slow cook chicken thighs in a rich, homemade teriyaki sauce until they’re soft enough to pull apart with a fork, then use it in everything – rice bowls, wraps, noodles, or even cold straight from the fridge. The balance of sweet and salty makes it endlessly versatile, and it’s one of those recipes that tastes even better the next day. Simple, satisfying, and full of flavour.

Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes

Ingredients

  • 500g chicken breast
  • 1 tbsp peanut oil
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce (or tamari)
  • 1/4 cup mirin (or sake)
  • 1/2 tbsp sugar
  • 1/2 tbsp minced ginger
  • 1 cup chicken stock

Instructions

  1. Add all ingredients to a large pot.
  2. Set over medium-high heat and bring to a simmer.
  3. Once simmering, cover and reduce heat to low, simmering for one hour.
  4. Remove from heat, and use two forks to pull and shred the tender chicken breasts. Stir the shredded chicken to help it absorb any remaining sauce in the pot.
  5. Serve with steamed rice and steamed vegetables.

What I Cook With

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 309Total Fat: 9gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 108mgSodium: 1054mgCarbohydrates: 12gFiber: 0gSugar: 9gProtein: 42g

Please note, this nutrition information is to be used as a guide only. Nutrition information isn’t always accurate.

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© Bry
Cuisine: Japanese / Category: Dinner

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Tender Shredded Teriyaki Chicken

Tender shredded teriyaki chicken is one of my favourite batch-cook staples. I slow cook chicken thighs in a rich, homemade teriyaki sauce until they’re soft enough to pull apart with a fork, then use it in everything – rice bowls, wraps, noodles, or even cold straight from the fridge. The balance of sweet and salty makes it endlessly versatile, and it’s one of those recipes that tastes even better the next day. Simple, satisfying, and full of flavour.

Slow-Cooked Comfort

Over the weekend, my husband and I ended up live-streaming our sushi-making antics, which was exactly as chaotic and unglamorous as it sounds. Homemade sushi is one of those things that feels like a luxury but really isn’t hard to do, especially when the rice is still warm, the nori is soft and pliable, and you’re not wrestling with sad supermarket fillings. We made a whole bunch of different combinations, but the standout by far was the tender shredded teriyaki chicken. I slow-cooked the chicken until it practically fell apart, then stirred it through a glossy, deeply savoury sauce that clings to everything in the best way.

Teriyaki is one of those glorious meals that manages to deliver big flavour without any stress. It sounds like you’ve gone to loads of effort, fills the house with the kind of smell that makes you want to hover near the kitchen. And really, it only asks for four ingredients and a bit of time. Soy sauce, mirin or sake, ginger and sugar – nothing fancy, nothing difficult. Just a classic combination that’s been showing up for dinner in my kitchen for years. I use this sauce all the time, on everything from chicken to salmon to pork.. It’s a go-to because it works, and because it lets me be lazy without compromising on taste.

When I’m tired or frazzled and want something comforting but can’t be bothered, this is the kind of thing I turn to. It’s foolproof, flavourful, and forgiving, which is exactly what I need from dinner most nights. And when you finally shred that chicken and stir it through all the salty-sweet sauce that’s been bubbling away all afternoon? It’s heaven. Not the fussy, intimidating kind. The warm, familiar, cosy kind that makes you feel like you’ve looked after yourself a little, even if you’ve ignored everything else all day.

Plans for the Blog

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about where my blog. It’s such a comfort to create, especially over the past few years, and while I love the way it’s grown, I also want to make it a little more helpful and less… confusing. You know what I mean. Cooking measurements that don’t make sense, recipe quantities that leave you with either way too much or not nearly enough, or having to do maths before your morning coffee – it’s not ideal. So I’m planning on making the recipe cards more user-friendly, with options for metric or imperial measurements and customisable serving sizes so you can cook without stress or guesswork.

I’ve also been toying with the idea of starting a YouTube channel. Not a polished, professional thing, just me in my very real kitchen, with Maia likely in the background maiowing her best instructions at me. I think it’d be nice to show what these recipes look like in action, especially something like the shredded teriyaki chicken, where the textures and glossy sauce really come to life. I want it to feel like you’ve just popped over for a cuppa and a casual chat, and ended up staying for a little impromptu cooking lesson.

Of course, the logistics of filming, editing, and uploading without wanting to crawl under the nearest rock are still a work in progress. But it’s happening slowly in the background, and I’m excited to share more when the time’s right. Until then, it’s business as usual here – good food, easy recipes, and that feeling of sitting down to something warm and delicious after a long day, which is honestly what it’s always been about.

Tender shredded teriyaki chicken is one of my favourite batch-cook staples. I slow cook chicken thighs in a rich, homemade teriyaki sauce until they’re soft enough to pull apart with a fork, then use it in everything – rice bowls, wraps, noodles, or even cold straight from the fridge. The balance of sweet and salty makes it endlessly versatile, and it’s one of those recipes that tastes even better the next day. Simple, satisfying, and full of flavour.

For More Than Just Sushi

Even though my shredded teriyaki chicken started out as a sushi filling, it’s far too good to keep confined to rolled rice and seaweed. Once you’ve made a batch, it’s like a little lightbulb goes off and you start finding excuses to use it in everything. I throw it into rice paper rolls with crunchy cucumber and buttery avocado. I pile it onto rice with a drizzle of sesame oil and called it dinner. And I even mix it into rice noodles with a splash of noodle water for a quick fix when I can’t be bothered cooking but still want something that tastes like I did.

What I really adore about this recipe is how much credit it gives you for so little effort. The slow cooker does the hard work. It gently transforms chicken thighs into something so tender they fall apart just by looking at them. And by the time you remember dinner’s a thing? It’s already made. It’s a bit like having a very competent, very quiet assistant who doesn’t mind that you’ve ignored the kitchen for six hours. And when it comes time to serve, you get to swan in, plate it up, and pretend it was all very intentional.

This recipe is keeper for so many reasons – it freezes beautifully, reheats like a dream, and always hits the spot. Recipes like this are the real treats, the ones that work on your laziest, busiest, and most forgetful days. It’s delicious, low-effort, and comforting in that deeply satisfying way that only comes from knowing dinner is sorted and you didn’t have to lose your mind to make it happen. That, my friends, is the kind of food I want more of.

Ingredients Breakdown

The ingredients for my shredded teriyaki chicken are beautifully straightforward and all about balance. You’ll need chicken breast, a splash of peanut oil, soy sauce (or tamari if you prefer it gluten-free), mirin or sake for that slight boozy sweetness, a little sugar to round things out, minced fresh ginger to give the sauce its warming kick, and some good-quality chicken stock to keep everything juicy and rich as it slow cooks.

I love that this list isn’t fussy or filled with hard-to-find bits and pieces. It’s the sort of thing I almost always have on hand, and if I don’t, it’s easy enough to substitute or skip without ruining the final result. The ginger brings the zing, the sugar and mirin bring the sweet, and the soy does all the heavy lifting with that salty, savoury depth. It’s all about that glossy, umami-rich sauce that clings lovingly to the shredded chicken.

This combo also happens to be incredibly flexible. You could switch the chicken breast for thighs or even pork if you’re in the mood for something different. You could double the sauce and use it for stir-fries later in the week. It’s simple, yes, but it’s the kind of simple that makes you feel clever – like you’ve tricked the universe into giving you something far fancier than the sum of its parts.

Tender Shredded Teriyaki Chicken is sweet, savoury, and irresistibly sticky – slow-cooked or gently simmered until the chicken pulls apart with ease, then coated in a glossy homemade teriyaki sauce. It’s perfect for rice bowls, wraps, or salads and packed with bold flavour from soy, ginger, garlic, and a touch of honey. I love keeping a batch ready for easy meals through the week. Simple, versatile, and always a favourite.
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Bry is the food writer and recipe developer behind Cooking with Bry, a recipe platform built on nearly thirty years of cooking experience and over 215 original recipes spanning classic Australian, British, Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisine. She grew up in Western Sydney, where food was never just food. It was Aussie barbecues in the backyard, Middle Eastern bakeries down the road, and Mediterranean kitchens that treated every meal like an occasion. That early, immersive exposure to bold and diverse flavours shaped her palate and her cooking instincts in ways that underpin every recipe she develops today. She spent seven years living in the UK across London and Glasgow, deepening her understanding of British comfort food and traditional European cooking before returning to Australia via Adelaide, the country's undisputed foodie capital, where a passion for exceptional produce and honest, ingredient-led cooking only grew stronger. She's now based in Brisbane, developing and testing all of her recipes from her home kitchen. All of that, Western Sydney, the UK, Adelaide, Brisbane, and everywhere in between, feeds directly into what she cooks and how she writes about it. Her recipes pull from the traditions she knows most deeply, the food that feels like home, and are developed with the home cook firmly in mind. Honest, unfussy, and built around flavours that actually work.
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