Teriyaki Chicken

Although I call this teriyaki chicken, and it has some ingredients in common with actual teriyaki chicken, this is not authentic and isn't even very close to normal teriyaki. 20 minutes. Serves two or three.

Utensils:

• Water faucet (cold water)
• Measuring cup (rice, water)
• Stovetop with at least two burners
• Big metal pan (for chicken)
• Metal spatula (to cut up and stir chicken)
• Small pot with lid (for rice)
• Paring knife (bell pepper)
• Knife sharpener (so paring knife can cut bell pepper)
• Cutting board (bell pepper)
• Two hotplates (one for teriyaki, one for rice)
• Serving spoon (for rice)
• Two or three plates, water cups, forks or spoons
• Napkins
• Scrubber with handle (cleaning pot and pan and spatula)
• Barkeeper's Friend (cleaning pan)
• Dish soap
• Dish drain (for letting pot and pan dry)

Ingredients)

• Rice (jasmine or other white, it cooks faster than brown rice)
• Turmeric (just a dash to color rice)
• Water (2 cups for rice, plus rinse rice first)
• Olive oil (1 tablespoon, Costco)
• Frozen chicken thighs (3 or 4 pieces, Costco)
• Bell pepper (1, Costco)
• Soy sauce (1 tablespoon, Costco)
• Molasses (1 teaspoon)
• Ground ginger (1/4 teaspoon)
• Ground sage (1/4 teaspoon)

Start the rice. Measure 1 cup rice with dry measuring cup. Put it in the small pot. Rinse it in the pot with water (don't need to measure the water) by swirling it around with your fingers.

Repeat stirring it and emptying the water, about four times, until the water stops being so cloudy. After you dump the water about 1/4 cup of water will still be sticking to the rice, that is OK.

Add 2 cups water to the rice with measuring cup. Add dash of tumeric, cover. Turn the stovetop on medium high.

Put frying pan on stove, on medium. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil. (Kyle will add dill, that is OK.) Add 3 or 4 frozen chicken thighs. Cover.

Once the rice starts bubbling at all, turn it to low. Do not leave it unattended or you'll destroy your pot with burnt-on rice. Keep a potholder nearby so you can lift the lid if it starts bubbling over.

It will take 10 or 15 minutes for the rice to cook and the chicken to thaw. Kyle will hover over the chicken and cut it up in the pan with the spatula once it has thawed enough.

Keep an eye on the rice and lift the lid briefly if it starts to bubble over. As long as it's bubbling it's not done. Once you only see cooked rice on top, no bubbles, it's done, turn off the heat but leave the rice covered on the stovetop. It will keep soaking up any remaining water.

Once the chicken is cut up, add 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 teaspoon molasses, 1/2 teaspoon ginger, 1/2 teaspoon sage. (Once you know amounts you want, just dump them in don't measure them and you won't have any measuring spoons to clean.) Mix and cover. Wait at least 3 minutes.

Tell Kyle to cut up a bell pepper. He'll get the knife and cutting board and pepper and do it on his own, and eat part of the pepper. Also tell him to put two or three plates on the table.

Wait longer, checking the chicken, until water has boiled off enough for the sauce to thicken.

Turn off all burners, put rice and teriyaki on the table.

Serve.

Afterwards, clean the pan with a scrubber. Use Barkeeper's Friend to remove the impossible-to-clean film the chicken and oil leave on the pan. Also clean the pot and kitchen tongs and dishes.