Japan. Teriyaki as a cooking method (not a specific sauce) applies to any protein cooked with the teri-glaze technique. The term is documented in Japanese cooking from at least the 17th century. The Western-world fixation on chicken teriyaki as a specific dish is partly an American adaptation — in Japan, yellowfin tuna (kihada maguro) and mackerel (saba) are as commonly grilled with teriyaki glaze.
Authentic Japanese teriyaki is a glaze technique — not a marinade, not a sauce drizzled over cooked chicken. The word combines teri (gloss) and yaki (grill or broil) — the glossy finish on the chicken surface is the dish. The glaze of soy, mirin, sake, and sugar is applied in multiple coatings during grilling, building a lacquered surface that shines.
Cold Asahi Super Dry — the dry, clean finish of Japanese lager is the classic accompaniment, cutting through the sweet glaze. For sake: a futsu-shu (ordinary table sake) served warm, which amplifies the soy and mirin in the glaze.
{"Chicken thighs (skin-on, bone-in): the fat in the skin renders and bastes the chicken from within, keeping the meat moist during the dry heat of the grill. Breast meat dries too quickly","Score the thigh through the skin with shallow cuts — this prevents the skin from contracting during cooking and allows the glaze to penetrate","Teriyaki sauce: 3 tablespoons soy sauce (Kikkoman regular, not tamari), 3 tablespoons mirin, 1 tablespoon sake, 1 tablespoon caster sugar — simmered together until the sugar dissolves","Grill technique: start skin-side down on a medium-high grill or cast-iron pan. The skin must be rendered and golden before the glaze is applied","Apply glaze in three coatings: once at 5 minutes, once at 10 minutes, once in the final 2 minutes. Each application builds the lacquer — the earlier coatings caramelise and deepen in colour, the final coating provides the fresh gloss","The glaze should caramelise on the surface — not burn, but develop dark, sticky, glossy patches where the sugar has caramelised into the soy"}
The moment where teriyaki lives or dies is the glaze caramelisation — when the first coating of teriyaki hits the hot, partially-rendered skin, it should sizzle and immediately begin to darken at the edges. If it does not sizzle, the pan is too cold or the skin is not rendered enough. The sound should be a sharp crack, not a low hiss.
{"Using bottled teriyaki sauce: too thick, too sweet, and lacks the depth of fresh sauce","Marinating in teriyaki sauce: the dish is not a marinade — the glaze must be applied during cooking to build the lacquer","Using breast meat: dries out before the skin achieves the necessary rendering"}