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Wok Chicken Teriyaki with Broccoli

One-pan wok chicken teriyaki with roasted-then-steamed broccoli, served over rice. Glaze ratio confirmed on first cook.

Dish Type: Main Dish · Prep: 15 min · Cook: 25 min · Servings: 4 · Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Ingredients

Chicken:

  • ~2 lb boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1/2-inch to 1-inch pieces
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 2 tsp cornstarch
  • NO SALT (the glaze is the salt)
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil, divided

Teriyaki glaze (confirmed ratio — do not change):

  • 6 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
  • 3/4 cup water
  • 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
  • 2 tbsp rice vinegar
  • 1 tbsp garlic paste or minced garlic
  • 1 tbsp ginger paste or grated ginger
  • Toasted sesame oil to finish (optional; skip if only untoasted/virgin on hand)

Slurry (keep separate until the end):

  • 1 tbsp cornstarch + 2 tbsp COLD water

Broccoli:

  • 1 to 1.5 lb broccoli, large florets, dried well
  • 2 tbsp water (for steaming)
  • Tiny pinch salt

Serve with: steamed white rice (frozen/reheated rice works fine)

Instructions

Tool: HexClad 12-inch Wok with Lid. Entire dish is one pan.

  1. Pat chicken very dry. Toss with pepper, garlic powder, and 2 tsp cornstarch. Do NOT salt.
  2. Whisk the glaze in a bowl until sugar dissolves. Mix the slurry in a SEPARATE small bowl with cold water.
  3. Cut broccoli into large florets and dry thoroughly.
  4. Wok on medium-high with 1 tbsp vegetable oil. Broccoli in with a pinch of salt, uncovered, 2 min until edges brown.
  5. Add 2 tbsp water, lid ON, 2-3 min to steam. Uncover, 1 min to cook off standing liquid. Pull broccoli to a plate.
  6. WIPE THE WOK DRY. Fresh 1 tbsp oil, heat until shimmering.
  7. Sear chicken in FOUR batches, ~90 sec per batch (or three batches at 2.5-3 min). Do not crowd — pieces must stay in the flat bottom zone, not riding up the walls. Pull each batch to the plate.
  8. Glaze into the empty wok (do not wipe — keep the fond). Scrape bottom. Uncovered, medium, 3 min.
  9. Re-stir slurry, pour in while stirring. 60-90 sec until glossy. Pull when it coats the back of a spoon.
  10. Taste. If too salty: 2 tbsp water + pinch brown sugar, 30 sec.
  11. Pull kid portions of plain chicken and broccoli FIRST, then spoon sauce over to control the amount.
  12. Chicken back in, toss 30-60 sec. Broccoli in, toss 30 sec. Drizzle toasted sesame oil if using. Serve over rice.

Tips

First cook rated 5/5 on flavor; sauce called perfection, and the glaze ratio above is confirmed and should not be adjusted.

One failure to watch for: chicken can go in undercooked if sear time is sized to a flat skillet rather than to the wok's smaller ~6-7 inch usable hot zone. Fix: four batches at 90 sec, or three batches at 2.5-3 min — not three batches at 90 sec.

The 3/4 cup water dilution in the glaze is doing real work — don't reduce the water to concentrate the sauce.

Kids took it both sauced and plain — pulling plain portions before the final toss works well.

Glaze is scaled from the Chicken Teriyaki Fried Rice glaze, with brown sugar swapped for honey and water added.