Crispy Baked Chicken with Teriyaki Sauce

Not long ago I did a post about my weekly menu planning process and I showed an example of our weekly menu board. After seeing that menu, many readers requested the recipe for this crispy baked chicken with teriyaki sauce. I was already planning on sharing it anyway, but after all the requests it was a done deal. This recipe comes from The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook by the fabulous Jaden Hair. After hearing good things about this book on blog after blog, I knew I needed a copy for myself. As soon as it arrived I read it basically cover to cover and let me tell you, I am pumped. It is chock full of recipes that I can’t wait to try, and by the time I finished looking through it I was practically (okay, literally) drooling.

This is the first thing I have made from the book and it was a great choice. The chicken is baked with a coating of flour and panko to keep it crispy. In fact, it uses the method from my very favorite chicken Parmesan for keeping the breading light and crisp, so I knew this would be a winner. Having the teriyaki sauce on the side made this far better than any chicken teriyaki I have ever tried, that can be coated in an overly sweet and sticky sauce. This way you can control exactly how much sauce you want to use. I was having a hard time deciding on a side dish for this meal but eventually I settled on veggie fried rice from none other than Jaden once again. Her shrimp fried rice is one of my very favorite dinners (also included in the cookbook), so I used the same basic recipe but minus the shrimp and with extra veggies added. Great main dish, great side dish, great meal – case closed.

Yield about 4 servings

Ingredients

For the sauce:
3 tbsp. soy sauce
3 tbsp. freshly squeezed orange juice
3 tbsp. sake
3 tbsp. sugar
3 tbsp. mirin

For the chicken:
½ cup all-purpose flour
½ tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
2 large eggs
1½ cups panko breadcrumbs
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 2-3)
Nonstick cooking spray

Directions

01
To make the sauce, combine the soy sauce, orange juice, sake, sugar and mirin in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low and let simmer for 6 minutes, until slightly thickened. Remove from the heat and set aside.
02
Preheat the oven to 475˚ F. In a shallow bowl or pie plate, whisk together the flour, garlic powder, salt and pepper. In a second bowl, lightly beat the eggs together. Place the panko in a third shallow bowl or pie plate. Place a wire rack over a baking sheet and spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray.
03
Butterfly the chicken breasts into halves so that you have 4-6 pieces total. Lightly season both sides of the chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Using tongs and working with one piece of chicken at a time, dredge the chicken in the flour mixture to coat both sides. Shake lightly to remove any excess. Then dip into the eggs and shake gently to remove any excess. Finally place in the panko, turning to coat well. Transfer to the prepared wire rack. Repeat with the remaining chicken pieces. Once all the chicken pieces are in place, spray lightly with cooking spray.
04
Bake for 15 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the bread crumbs are golden. Let rest a few minutes before slicing and serving. Serve with the teriyaki dipping sauce.

Source

slightly adapted from The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook by Jaden Hair