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1
Combine the soy sauce, mirin, brown sugar, water, sliced ginger, and smashed garlic in a wide, heavy pan or Dutch oven. Stir briefly to begin dissolving the sugar. The liquid should smell of soy and caramel before the heat is applied.
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2
Arrange the chicken thighs skin-side down in the cold braising liquid. Bring the pan to a simmer over medium heat, then cover and maintain a gentle simmer for 20 minutes. The liquid should murmur steadily; a rolling boil will tighten the skin before the fat has had time to render.
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3
Remove the lid and raise the heat to medium-high. Turn the chicken halfway through the uncovered period so both sides are exposed to the reducing liquid. This is the step on which the dish lives or dies: the braising liquid must pass from a loose, thin broth into a thick, viscous glaze — a change signalled by large, slow bubbles breaking the surface and a deepening, almost burnt-caramel smell. The entire uncovered reduction takes 10 to 15 minutes.
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4
The dish is ready when the chicken glistens with a thick, lacquered coating and a spoon drawn through the remaining liquid in the pan leaves a trail that closes slowly. Remove the pan from the heat.
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5
Plate the chicken over two scoops of cooked short-grain rice per portion. Spoon the remaining braising liquid from the pan directly over the rice — it functions as the sauce for the entire plate.