This vegan teriyaki chicken is meaty, umami, and packed with flavors! You only need 15 minutes and a handful of simple ingredients to make this recipe. To complete the meal, serve the seitan teriyaki alongside a side of rice.
I love using seitan as a meat substitute! It's so versatile and can be used to create delicious Italian sausages, bologna, and even seitan chicken breast for this mouth-watering vegan teriyaki chicken dish.
In this recipe, we will first coat seitan chunks in some cornstarch, then lightly sear them until they are golden and crispy. Then, they will be cooked in an amazingly flavorful homemade teriyaki sauce!
💚Why you will love this recipe
- Savory, saucy, and incredibly delicious
- A good source of plant-based protein
- A great weeknight dinner that is quick and easy to throw together
- Incredibly satisfying and filling
What you will need
📃Ingredients notes and substitutions
- Seitan - Use a batch of my vegan chicken breast or store-bought seitan.
- Soy sauce - Can be substituted with tamari or shoyu. Use a gluten-free brand if needed.
- Maple syrup - Feel free to substitute it with another liquid sweetener like agave or date syrup.
- Mirin- Sake is the next best substitute. You can even use dry sherry or rice vinegar but you might have to increase the amount of maple syrup used to counteract the sourness.
🔪How to make
Making teriyaki sauce - Add all seasonings needed for the sauce in a small bowl and mix well. Set aside for later use.
Preparing seitan - Add seitan cubes and cornstarch to a zip-top bag. Seal and toss the bag until seitan cubes are well coated.
Pan-frying seitan - Heat a tablespoon of oil in a well-seasoned cast-iron skillet/non-stick pan. Add seitan in one layer, and pan-fry for 2-3 minutes on both sides until golden. Remove from pan and set aside.
Putting everything together - Heat another ½ tablespoon of oil in the pan, then add ginger and garlic. Fry until aromatic. Then, add sauce along with pan-fried seitan. Cook until the sauce is thick and glossy. Serve your vegan teriyaki chicken with rice, and enjoy!
✔Helpful tips
- Do not skip cornstarch - Coating seitan in cornstarch helps them develop a crispy outer layer.
- Use a large enough pan - This is to ensure that the seitan cubes cook and crisp up properly.
- Adjusting seasoning to taste - Adjust the proportion of seasonings added to suit your taste. It is advisable to taste the dish towards the end and add more seasonings if required.
✨Variations and add-ins
Seitan - Instead of seitan, you can use other meat substitutes like pan-fried tofu or tempeh, rehydrated soy curls, or store-bought vegan chicken slices in place.
Veggies - For an extra boost of nutrients and fiber, you can add some vegetables to your vegan teriyaki chicken. Blanched broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots work particularly well. It's a good idea to double the sauce ingredients and adjust the flavor to your liking.
Teriyaki sauce - Use store-bought teriyaki sauce to make this recipe even quicker. Alternatively, you can make a batch of my vegan teriyaki sauce or spicy teriyaki sauce to be enjoyed throughout the week.
Toppings - Top your seitan teriyaki with some toasted sesame seeds or chopped green onion before serving to give them more flavor and texture.
Make it spicy - add a pinch of chili or red pepper flakes to your dish!
❄Storing suggestions
Fridge - Leftover vegan teriyaki chicken can be refrigerated for 3-4 days.
Freezer - This dish is freezable, too! Portion it out using small freezer containers, which can be frozen for a month. Thaw it overnight in the fridge, and heat it in the microwave when ready to serve. Add a splash of water if the mixture is too thick.
🍚How to serve
Here are some dishes that pair well with this vegan teriyaki chicken:
- Stir-fry vegetables - Yasai Itame, cabbage carrot stir-fry
- Side dishes - Avocado maki, wakame seaweed salad, Japanese tofu salad
- Rice and noodles - Jasmine rice, brown rice, cauliflower rice, Chinese fried rice, vegan yakisoba
❔Commonly asked questions
The conventional teriyaki sauce is usually not spicy and is known for its umami and savory taste with a touch of sweetness. However, if you desire a spicier version, add a small amount of chili or red pepper flakes to the recipe.
🍽More easy vegan Asian recipes
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📖 Recipe
Vegan Teriyaki Chicken (seitan)
Ingredients
For teriyaki sauce
Other ingredients
- ½ batch seitan chicken or 8 oz store-bought seitan
- ½ tablespoon cornstarch
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon minced ginger
Instructions
- Make your sauce by combining all ingredients needed. Mix well.⅓ cup water, 3 tablespoons soy sauce, 3 tablespoons mirin, 1 tablespoon maple syrup, 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- Place your seitan chunks and cornstarch in a zip-top bag. Seal and toss the bag until seitan are well-coated.½ batch seitan chicken, ½ tablespoon cornstarch
- Heat up ½ a tablespoon of neutral tasting oil in a non-stick pan on medium high heat. Place coated seitan in one layer and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until lightly browned Flip and cook for another 2-3 minutes on the other side. Set aside.
- In the same pan, add in another ½ tablespoon of oil. Saute garlic and ginger for 1-2 minutes, or until fragrant.3 cloves garlic, 1 tablespoon minced ginger
- Add in sauce along with the pan-fried seitan. Toss until everything is well-mixed. Cooked until sauce thickens before removing from heat.
- Serve vegan teriyaki chicken with some steamed rice and enjoy!
Notes
- Do not skip cornstarch - Coating seitan in cornstarch helps them develop a crispy outer layer.
- Use a large enough pan - This is to ensure that the seitan cubes cook and crisp up properly.
- Adjusting seasoning to taste - Adjust the proportion of seasonings added to suit your taste. It is advisable to taste the dish towards the end and add more seasonings if required.
Nutrition
Nutrition info calculated is just a rough estimate and is provided as a courtesy. Bear in mind that value will vary based on variables like specific brand or type of product used. To obtain the most accurate representation, it is highly recommended that you calculate it on your own with the actual amount and type of ingredient used.
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