Top | Main Dishes

Alice Tucker's Teriyaki Chicken

(recipe, Carrie Floyd)


primary-image, l

Introduction

My friend Mary makes a delicious teriyaki chicken — tender, gingery, and not too sweet. The recipe comes from her mother-in-law, Alice Tucker, who lives in Hawaii. If you can't find fresh papaya (a natural tenderizer), replace it with 1/2 cup pineapple juice.

Ingredients

  1. ¾ cup chopped onion
  2. 2 garlic cloves, chopped
  3. 1 thumb-size piece of ginger, finely chopped
  4. 2½ Tbsp. brown sugar
  5. 1 cup soy sauce
  6. ½ cup papaya, puréed (see Introduction, above)
  7. ¼ cup water
  8. ¼ cup dry alcohol (cooking sherry, rum, bourbon, or whatever you feel like)
  9. 1 cut-up whole chicken, or a mixture of parts (breasts, thighs, drumsticks), 4 to 5 pounds total
  10. Freshly steamed rice, for serving

Steps

  1. In a medium bowl, mix together all the ingredients except the chicken and the rice.
  2. Place the chicken in a large zip-lock plastic bag. Add the marinade, squeeze the air out of the bag, and seal it; marinate in the refrigerator for at least 12 and up to 24 hours.
  3. In a shallow oven-proof pan, broil the chicken in the marinade until cooked through. Alternatively, remove the chicken from the marinade and grill it until cooked through.
  4. While the chicken is cooking, steam the rice. When the rice and chicken are ready, bring the marinade to a boil in a small saucepan. Pour the hot marinade over the chicken just before serving.