Step Away from the Takeout Menu and Make Slow Cooker Chicken Teriyaki

When you’re exhausted after a busy day at work and know that the family’s favorite Chinese restaurant is only a call away, it’s hard to resist the urge to pick up the phone and order takeout. My favorite takeout place is (unfortunately) only a few doors down, so I know the feeling all too well. But with a little help from your slow cooker you can easily make your favorite takeout meal at home.

For Slow Cooker Chicken Teriyaki, combine soy sauce, brown sugar, pineapple juice, garlic, ginger, and crushed red pepper in the slow cooker crock. Then add chicken thighs and stir until it’s coated. Cook on HIGH for 1 ½ to 2 hours or on LOW for 4 to 5 hours, until the chicken is fully cooked.

No takeout order is complete without that perfectly packed container of steaming hot white rice. Use your rice cooker to cook rice and steam vegetables while the chicken finishes. About 30 minutes before the chicken is done, start your rice. Ten minutes before the rice finishes, add a steamer basket filled with an Asian vegetable medley – bok choy, carrots and snow peas – to the rice cooker. The vegetables will steam while the rice finishes until they are tender and ready to serve.

A sweet, rich teriyaki sauce completes the meal. To make the sauce, strain the liquid from the slow cooker crock into a sauce pan. Over medium heat, heat and thicken the sauce using a mixture of water and cornstarch.

To not only mimic my favorite takeout flavors, but my favorite takeout delivery box, I ordered simple takeout containers online. Serve your rice, vegetables, and chicken in separate containers and let family or friends serve themselves, or fill each of the boxes with the full meal and serve individually. The best part? The kids won’t know the difference while you’re not only saving money but controlling your ingredients, easily making a healthier version of your favorite takeout dinner at home.

Slow Cooker Chicken Teriyaki

Yield: Serves 4
Author: Hamilton Beach Test Kitchen

Ingredients

1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cup pineapple juice
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
2 1/2 to 3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
4 rice measuring cups white rice
6 ribs bok choy, cut in 1/2-inch slices
4 medium carrots, cut in 1/2-inch slices
1 package (6 ounces) snow peas
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons cornstarch

Instructions

In a slow cooker crock, combine soy sauce, brown sugar, pineapple juice, garlic, ginger and crushed red pepper.
Add chicken. Stir until evenly coated.
Cover slow cooker and cook on HIGH for 1 1/2 to 2 hours or LOW for 4 to 5 hours.
About 30 minutes before chicken is done, add rice to rice cooker. Add water to corresponding 4-cup line. Let cook until steam escapes from vent. Place bok choy, carrots and snow peas in steamer basket and add to rice cooker. Let steam about 10 minutes or until vegetables are crisp tender.
Using a fine strainer, pour sauce from crock into a medium saucepan. Over medium-high, heat sauce until boiling. Blend water and cornstarch. Gradually add to sauce and cook until thickened.
Slice chicken. Place rice on plates. Add chicken and vegetables. Pour sauce over chicken, vegetables and rice.