Seattle teriyaki
Photo: John Margolies · Public domain

History

On 2 March 1976 Toshihiro Kasahara opened a 30-seat shop at 372 Roy Street called Toshi's Teriyaki. His sauce broke with Japanese tradition: he swapped mirin for granulated sugar, basted the marinade on yakitori-style chicken thighs over charcoal, and finished the plate with rice and a pile of shredded iceberg. The Seattle Times credited the move with launching a city-wide format that now numbers more than 200 teriyaki shops, more than any other US city. The dish is the only American food invented in Seattle that the city eats without irony.

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Common allergens: Soy, Gluten

Make it at home

Yield 4Hands-on 25 minTotal 45 minDifficulty Easy

Ingredients

  • 1 kg boneless, skin-on chicken thighs
  • 120ml regular soy sauce
  • 100g granulated white sugar
  • 60ml mirin
  • 60ml sake
  • 1 thumb fresh ginger, smashed
  • 2 garlic cloves, smashed
  • Cooked short-grain rice, to serve
  • Half an iceberg lettuce, shredded fine

Method

  1. Combine soy, sugar, mirin, sake, ginger and garlic in a small pan. Simmer 8 to 10 minutes until lightly syrupy. Cool. Strain.
  2. Pat the chicken thighs dry. Pour half the cooled sauce over them and marinate at room temperature for 20 minutes.
  3. Light a charcoal grill or heat a heavy cast-iron pan over medium high. The chicken must hear a sizzle on contact.
  4. Grill skin-side down 5 to 6 minutes until well charred. Flip, baste with reserved sauce and cook 4 minutes more, basting again at the end.
  5. Rest 3 minutes on a board. Slice across the grain.
  6. Pile on hot rice with shredded iceberg. Spoon over any sauce in the pan.

Tip from the editors. Charcoal beats gas; the sugar in the sauce only blackens correctly under live fire. If you only have a pan, add a teaspoon of neutral oil and finish under the broiler for 30 seconds.

Where to eat seattle teriyaki

Seattle teriyaki in Seattle

Maneki ★ 4.5

$$ JapaneseInternational District

Maneki in Seattle's International District is the oldest Japanese restaurant on the West Coast: opened in 1904, surviving wartime internment.

OrderThe geoduck sashimi if it is on the board, otherwise the chef's nigiri set with a tatami room.

TipReserve a tatami room four to six weeks ahead; the bar runs walk-in but the room shapes the meal.

Directions Book

Ba Bar Capitol Hill ★ 4.3

$$ VietnameseUntil Mon to Thu 01:30, Fri and Sat 03:30

Ba Bar Capitol Hill in Seattle is the city's only proper late-night Vietnamese kitchen: pho until 02:00 weekdays, 03:30 weekends, bahn mi at the counter.

TryPho ga at 02:00

Directions

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