When my sister and I were growing up, we naturally followed mother on her regular Costco trips. Costco has helped moms feed their kids for years, and one of our favorite treats was what we called “Costco Chicken.” It was a recurring stand in which some lady with a hair net cooked chicken bites with that Yoshida teriyaki sauce on it. We were totally those annoying kids who just hang out around the food, begging for more and blocking others.
Up until this year, I still loved Costco Chicken and would cook it up over white sticky rice. Yum! However, my gentle roommate wasn’t so thrilled. In fact, I think the word he used was “hate.”
Which brings me to earlier this week, when I had a craving for Costco Chicken but was too tired to go to the store after work to buy the sauce. So I used whatever was in my cupboard and I must say it was deeeelish! It tasted restaurant-quality. Gentle roommate LOVED it, and I happily gobbled up leftovers at work the next day.
Write Gal’s Chicken Teriyaki:
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast or tenders, cut into bite-sized pieces
1/4 c. soy sauce
1 c. water
1/2 tsp ground ginger (sure, you could use fresh!)
1/4 tsp garlic powder (duh, you could use fresh, but who cares?)
5 T brown sugar
1 T honey
4 scallions, thinly sliced
2 T cornstarch dissolved in 1/4 c. cold water
Red pepper flakes
Cracked black pepper
toasted sesame seeds
In a small bowl, combine the ingredients – soy sauce through cornstarch mixture – until combined. Add red and black pepper to taste. In a large skillet over medium, heat a dash of oil. Stir-fry chicken until slightly browned, but not cooked through. Add the sauce mixture and stir to cook. Bring to boil and simmer until thickened and the chicken is cooked through.
Meanwhile, cook a pot of brown rice.
To serve, on a bed of rice, spoon over chicken and top with sesame seeds and more scallions, if you have them.
This dish has a nice combination of sweet and spicy, but feel free to add more garlic or pepper as you wish. But remember that this is a convenience food meant to mimic that craving you have for cheap Asian take-out. Don’t spend more time or money than you would at the local Panda Express.
Enjoy, friends! xoxo
Seasoned to Taste 