Baked Teriyaki Chicken

Mmmmmmm! I love Chinese food. I love to order it, and wait for the nice Asian man to deliver it to my door. He is always so nice and kind to my kids. :-)

However, sometimes it's just not in the budget. And I've never had much luck making my own. Something is always missing.

But once I tried this recipe that I got from BBC, I have changed my mind! This is not the exact recipe, but my version of it. It might seem like a lot of ingredients, and truthfully, too many ingredients turns me immediately off when I read a recipe. But the beauty of this recipe is that most of these things you have in the pantry or spice cabinet. I didn't put any fresh ginger in this because I don't have any. But it would give it a nice fresh flavor. Feel free to experiment!

Baked Teriyaki Chicken:
1 T cornstarch
1 T cold water
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup cider vinegar
4 garlic cloves, minced (I used my handy garlic press)
1 t Siracha chili paste
pinch of salt and pepper
4 chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces.
Chicken thighs would also be great in this... I'd use 6.
Cooked white rice
Steamed veggies- broccoli, sugar snap peas, etc (optional)

Preheat the oven to 425. In a small saucepan, combine cornstarch, water, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, chili paste, salt and pepper. Cook on medium, stirring frequently. Bring it to a slow boil and stir until it starts to thicken.

In an 8x8 or 13x9 baking dish, arrange the chicken. Pour the sauce over the top, and stir so all the chicken is coated.
Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.
Serve over rice, and reserve some teriyaki sauce for the vegetables if you like. I also sprinkled some sesame seeds on each serving, just for crunch and presentation!