Panda Express Teriyaki Chicken

If you're a fan of Panda Express Teriyaki Chicken and it's the dish you're always ordering at this fast food restaurant chain, you're about to learn how to make it in your own home.

Knowing the recipe will save you time and money, and allow you to enjoy the dish whenever you want, especially if you don't have a Panda Express restaurant nearby. Your whole family will love it and you'll have it on your table quicker than driving to the nearest restaurant.

What's more, you can adjust the flavor by controlling the ingredients as you wish. The recipe is easy and once you try it, you'll want to make it again and again.

Here's how to make copycat Panda Express Teriyaki Chicken so that you can enjoy the dish without having to leave the house.

copycat panda express teriyaki chicken

How to Make Panda Express Teriyaki Chicken

The wonderful thick, sweet, and savory glaze included in this dish is one of the best teriyaki sauces out there. It's the key ingredient that makes this Panda Express dish so unique. It complements the grilled chicken thighs perfectly.

It's easy to make and requires only a few simple ingredients that you probably have in your kitchen right now. The sauce is the perfect blend of sweet and savory with an addition of ginger and garlic.

The meat is tender and abundant in flavor and melts right in your mouth. Your taste buds will get excited the moment you take a bite.

The recipe here uses ginger and garlic in powder form which shortens the duration of preparation, but you can use fresh ginger and garlic and grate them right before using them.

This homemade version of Panda Express Teriyaki Chicken is flavorful and fragrant while being extremely easy to make. In fact, you can almost never go wrong with chicken thighs. Somehow they always come out great. And when it comes to dishes with sauces, they are the perfect choice of meat.

This dish is best served with brown rice for a complete meal. But, you can also combine it with your favorite vegetables or grilled pineapple.

Panda Express Teriyaki Chicken

Course: Main Cuisine: Chinese Difficulty: Easy

Here are all the necessary ingredients and step-by-step instructions on how to make Panda Express Teriyaki Chicken in your home and save valuable time and money.

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp. canola oil

  • 2-pound chicken thighs

  • ¼ cup low-sodium soy sauce

  • 2/3 cup sugar

  • ½ tsp. garlic powder (you can also use fresh, grated garlic)

  • 1/3 cup water

  • 1 tsp. lemon juice

  • ¼ tsp. ground ginger

  • 2 tbsp. water and 2 tbsp. cornstarch mixed together

Directions

  • Put the chicken thighs in a bowl and add the canola oil. Let them stay until the grill pan heats up on high.
  • Then, add the chicken thighs to the heated grill pan and leave them for three to five minutes on each side. Remove from heat.
  • In a separate pan, add the soy sauce, sugar, garlic powder, lemon juice, water, and ground ginger. Mix well and bring to a boil on high heat while waiting for the chicken thighs to cook.
  • Reduce the temperature to medium-low and cook the sauce for two to three minutes.
  • Next, add the cornstarch/water mixture and cook over low heat until the sauce starts thickening.
  • Place the cooked chicken on a plate and drizzle the sauce over it.
  • Combine with grilled pineapple and brown rice, or your favorite sides such as steamed vegetables.

Notes

  • Tools used: 1. Pigtail flipper – for easier flipping that prevents food from smashing. 2. Grill pan – perfect for grilling chicken thighs, but you can also use any skillet

Nutrition Facts

8 servings per container

  • Amount Per Serving Calories 240
  • % Daily Value *
  • Total Fat 8 g 13%
    • Saturated Fat 1 g 5%
  • Cholesterol 106 mg 36%
  • Sodium 356 mg 15%
  • Potassium 288 mg 9%
  • Total Carbohydrate 19 g 7%
    • Dietary Fiber 1 g 4%
    • Sugars 16 g
  • Protein 22 g 44%
  • Vitamin A 5%
  • Calcium 12%
  • Iron 8%

* The % Daily Value tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

Additional Tips & Tricks

Some people say they've gotten nothing but cornstarch taste when making this recipe. To prevent this from happening, make sure you mix water and cornstarch thoroughly before adding it to the sauce.

If you're wondering whether you can make this dish in the oven in case you don't have a grill, the answer is yes, you can. However, you can use any skillet and cook it on the stove top. A grill pan is not necessarily needed. But, if you still want to cook it in the oven, make sure you make the sauce on the stove top and then drizzle it over the chicken thighs in a baking dish. After baking for half an hour at 375 °F, flip the chicken thighs over and let them cook for 15 more minutes.

You can serve your cooked chicken over steamed vegetables and drizzle with sauce.

Even though everyone puts the focus on the sauce when it comes to this dish, the meat is an extremely important part of the recipe. If you use other chicken meat than thighs, such as breasts, you'll most probably end up with dryish chicken meat where the flavor of the sauce can't really penetrate. That's why you should always use chicken thighs to make your Panda Express Teriyaki Chicken.

Conclusion

Panda Express Teriyaki Chicken is one yummy meal, and now you can make it in your own home and enjoy it with the whole family. It's easy to prepare so it makes the perfect weeknight meal or a Friday night Chinese fix.

It requires a few simple ingredients and only 25 minutes to make it, and this includes the preparation time. The sauce is one of the key elements to this recipe that adds that unique flavor to the whole dish.

The chicken thighs can be cooked in a grilled pan or any other skillet, but there's also an option to cook the dish in the oven.

Your Panda Express Teriyaki Chicken is best served with brown rice or steamed vegetables.

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Laura Ritterman

Hi, I'm Laura and having studied an MSc in Nutrition, becoming a professional chef and appearing on major publications with my recipes I decided to create a website of my own. This website is where I share unique recipes, tips and cooking inspiration that will allow your culinary skills flourish. You can contact me here. For more information, you can find more about me.