Something got lost in translation...

What a treat we had last night! Itsuka cooked teriyaki chicken for us! I had emailed her mom to tell her Itsuka was cooking for us, and she wanted to make sure her daughter had the recipe so she sent a link to one. Below is what the top of the website looks like. Notice it's in Japanese!

If you want to see the whole thing, it's at: http://cookpad.com/recipe/131380

What I learned is that if you right click the link, a choice to use Google Translator comes up. So, not speaking any Japanese, I clicked it. Here are some of the directions that gave in English...

• Put all seasonings in a pan, then "low heat" and then burn.
• Shake occasionally, please burn the sauce on both sides to take the inside out.
• In the list of ingredients, it calls for "2 photos of chicken peaches"

The whole translation thing can be a tricky adventure! Good thing we had Itsuka there to actually demonstrate how to make the dish.

Assembling the ingredients for dinner

Her mom would have been proud! The dinner was delicious! She taught Amanda how to use chopsticks, which we have been working on since Amanda's first trip to Happy Teriyaki (13 years ago?).  We all tried the miso soup she brought and had green tea. Itsuka obviously enjoyed the taste of home and I have to say that I will never make teriyaki chicken any other way. It was so yummy! Good bye Yoshida's sauce!

Making the teriyaki sauce

Here is the recipe, translated by me:

Itsuka's Teriyaki Chicken

3 Tablespoons soy sauce

2 Tablespoons white sugar

1 Tablespoon maple syrup

6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs

Mix the first 3 ingredients in a cup. In a fry pan, heat 2-3T vegetable oil. Brown the chicken on medium heat, turning as needed, until chicken is almost cooked through- about 8 minutes. Pour sauce on the chicken, turn heat to medium low and cover. Turn chicken after a few minutes. Cook until chicken is done and sauce is reduced to a glaze.

If you have a large family, you will want to double the recipe as those thighs cook down pretty tiny. I think you could also use white meat instead if you prefer and it would be just as delicious. Also, it didn't need any other flavor, but ginger or garlic would add a nice taste to the sauce.

Itsuka brought instant miso soup that came in brightly colored foil packets