Japanese 7 Spice (Shichimi Togarashi) infuses the homemade teriyaki sauce in these easy bowls to boost the flavor even more. Teriyaki chicken rice bowls reheat well and are especially great for meal prep or as a quick weeknight meal.
This post is in partnership with McCormick®
Not-Your-Average Teriyaki Chicken Bowls
Today’s recipe uses the Japanese 7 spice combination ethnically known as Shichimi Togarashi to intensify a classic chicken teriyaki rice bowl. I use Togarashi all the time to add a little heat to recipes like garlic-studded shrimp and soba noodles, but I never thought to make this spice blend at home until I was introduced to this recipe.
I remember going to the food court at West Los Angeles’ Century City mall (before their big remodel) where a wicked good rice bowl had customers lined up each and every day for a quick — and cheap — lunch of chicken, rice, and veggies all dressed with a sweetened teriyaki sauce. As my usual cravings lean, I always spiced it up with a little additional heat.
I still crave that bowl. So it is time to make one of my own.
Enjoy!
Heidi’s Tips for Recipe Success
Choose quality spices. Simple recipes like these teriyaki bowls rely heavily on spices to infuse every bite with flavor. Sniff your spices before using them; if they smell very faint, they’re old and likely need replacing. My go-to brand is McCormick, which has been producing high-quality spices for more than 125 years.
Feel free to doctor up your bowls. If desired, you can add other veggies to your teriyaki chicken bowl, but I love how simple these bowls are. There’s no need to add lots of extra ingredients when the bowls taste so good already!
Rest the chicken before slicing. After grilling the chicken, cover it loosely with foil and let it rest for a few minutes before slicing it. This gives the juices time to redistribute and makes for a juicier bite of chicken.
The Main Ingredients
The full recipe, with amounts, can be found in the recipe card below.
- Japanese 7 Spice — Ground red pepper, Valencia orange peel, sesame seed, ground ginger, poppy seeds, and ground white pepper are all processed and mixed with the nori (dried seaweed) to create the homemade 7 spice.
- Teriyaki sauce — My favorite homemade teriyaki sauce gets an added kick of heat from the Japanese 7 spice. If you like your heat on the gentle side, start off with adding ½ teaspoon to the sauce and add more to taste.
- Chicken — I use chicken thighs for my teriyaki rice bowls because that’s what they use at the food court, and in my book, thighs are always juicier and more flavorful than chicken breasts.
- Veggies — Frozen shelled edamame adds lots of plant-based protein, while shredded carrots and green onions add flavor and crunch. Other veggie options could include blanched broccoli florets, red bell pepper, peas and water chestnuts.
- Rice — Brown rice adds a bit of nuttiness to this bowl and is my personal fave, but if you’re a fan of white rice (like my daughter) I recommend using short grain sushi rice for the bowls. A shortcut I can totally get behind are the shelf-stable bowls of brown rice. This is my favorite brand. Just warm in the microwave and you have hot rice in mere minutes and everyone can choose white or brown. Perfect for a quick lunch.
How to Make Teriyaki Chicken and Rice Bowls
- Make the Japanese 7 spice. I first pulse the nori in my food processor, then add in the remaining spices and blend.
- Make the teriyaki sauce. Everything gets added to a saucepan and simmered for 5 to 10 minutes until sticky and thickened.
- Cook the chicken. The chicken thighs are lightly seasoned with salt, then cooked on a grill pan on the stove. Once the chicken is cooked through, I give it a brushing of the Japanese 7 spice-infused teriyaki sauce and cook the thighs for an additional 2 minutes on each side or until nice grill marks appear.
Heidi’s Tip: If you brush with the sauce too early, the sugar might burn and cause a crispier crust on the chicken. But if that’s your thing, go for it.
- Assemble the teriyaki bowls. I use my serrated veggie peeler to thinly slice raw carrot and green onions that I add cold straight to the bowls. The heat of the rice, chicken, and teriyaki sauce is enough to warm these tender veggies along with the thawed edamame.
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating below, leave a comment to tell us what you think, and tag me on Instagram @foodiecrush.
Teriyaki Chicken Rice Bowls Recipe
Ingredients
Teriyaki Sauce
- ½ cup soy sauce
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup mirin
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons water
- 4 teaspoons rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Japanese 7 spice (recipe below)
Japanese 7 Spice (Shichimi Togarashi)
- ½ sheet nori (dried seaweed)
- 1 tablespoon McCormick Gourmet™ Valencia Orange Peel
- 4 teaspoons McCormick ground red pepper
- 2 teaspoons McCormick sesame seed
- 1 teaspoon McCormick ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon McCormick poppy seed
- ¼ teaspoon McCormick ground white pepper
Chicken and Rice Bowls
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs (about 4 pieces)
- kosher salt , to taste
- 2 cups cooked sushi rice or brown rice
- 1 carrot , thinly shaved
- 4-6 green onions , thinly shaved
- 1 cup frozen shelled edamame , thawed
- Sesame seeds , for garnish
Instructions
Make the Japanese 7 Spice (Shichimi Togarashi)
- Process nori in a mini food processor or blender until fine flakes form. Add remaining spices and blend. Store tightly in a covered jar in a cool, dry place.
Make the Teriyaki Chicken Bowls
- Prep the chicken. Rinse the chicken in water and pat dry with paper towels. Season the chicken lightly with kosher salt and set aside.
- Make the teriyaki sauce. Add the soy sauce, sugar and mirin to a small sauce pan. Mix the cornstarch in the water and add to the sauce pan. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce to simmer. Add the rice vinegar and Japanese 7 spice and cook for 5-10 minutes or until the sauce thickens, stirring occasionally.
- Cook the chicken. Spray a grill pan with cooking spray and bring to medium high heat. Add the chicken thighs but don't crowd the pan. Cook the chicken for 5-7 minutes on each side. Baste each side of the chicken with the 7 spice teriyaki sauce and cook for an additional 2 minutes each side. Remove from the pan, lightly tent with foil and rest for 3-5 minutes. Repeat with the other chicken thighs if needed.
- Assemble the bowls. Spoon rice into the bottom of the bowl, then layer with shredded carrot, shredded green onion, and edamame. Slice or chop the chicken thighs and place on top then drizzle with the 7 spice teriyaki sauce. Garnish with sesame seeds.
Nutrition
FAQs
Of course! If you don’t have regular rice on hand or are trying to limit your carb intake, you can most definitely use cauliflower rice.
Yes, but I recommend storing each component (rice, chicken, sauce, veggies) in separate containers. In a perfect world, you’d always reheat the teriyaki chicken in a skillet over low heat to prevent it from drying out.
Otherwise, microwaving the teriyaki chicken and rice for 30 to 45 seconds should do the trick (the chicken will just be drier).
Listen, it’s your kitchen! I much prefer the nuanced flavor of homemade teriyaki sauce to the often too-sweet bottled stuff, but if you’re in a rush or it’s just “one of those weeks,” do what you’ve got to do.
More Easy Rice Bowl Recipes
We send good emails. Subscribe to FoodieCrush and have each post plus exclusive content only for our subscribers delivered straight to your e-mail box.
Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest for more FoodieCrush inspiration.
This post is in partnership with McCormick®. As always, thank you for reading and supporting companies I partner with, which allows me to create more unique content and recipes for you. There may be affiliate links in this post of which I receive a small commission. All opinions are always my own.
