Featured Comment:
“It came out phenomenally! The flavor was slapping! I’m making the pizza dough now for another type pizza that I’m making today because the dough is crazy! thank you for this recipe.”
– Meg (from Pinterest)
What is Teriyaki Chicken Pizza?
Teriyaki Chicken Pizza is, as the name suggests, a uniquely Japanese pizza topped with Teriyaki Chicken (a Japanese chicken dish cooked in a sweet and savory sauce).
The first Teriyaki Chicken Pizza in Japan was sold by Aoki’s Pizza, which operates in the Nagoya area, an area I have been familiar with since childhood.
Incidentally, since I grew up around the Nagoya area, I believed it was a nationally popular pizza chain, but it is a local delivery pizza chain that is almost unknown outside of Aichi Prefecture.
Unique Pizza Scene in Japan
Pizza is a universally loved food, and Japan is no exception. Despite being considered a luxury due to their high cost, Japanese people still enjoy pizza.
Even though pizza was introduced to Japan around the 1950s, it was rare because many restaurants did not have ovens. Small frozen pizzas appeared in supermarkets as mini ovens became common in homes.
By 1985, Domino’s opened its first store in Japan. With over 600 outlets, Domino’s is the biggest pizza delivery brand alongside Pizza-la and Pizza Hut. While Pizza-la offers unique Japanese toppings, Domino’s and Pizza Hut have introduced some unconventional choices.
Have you ever ordered pizzas in Japan? Or have you ever looked at the delivery pizza menu in Japan?
We indeed have some toppings that you might have never seen before, such as:
- Teriyaki chicken pizza
- Mochi cod roe pizza
- Cod roe seafood pizza
- Yakiniku pizza
- Tuna potato pizza
It’s also common to offer limited edition pizza with seasonal ingredients, for example, pizza with eel in summer or crabmeat in winter, etc. Check out Pizza-la’s menu if you want to see more examples!
Visual Walkthrough & Tips
Here are my step-by-step instructions for how to make Japanese Teriyaki Chicken Pizza at home. For ingredient quantities and simplified instructions, scroll down for the Printable Recipe Card below.
1. Delivery style pizza crust
Measure out the flour, yeast, and water for the pizza dough base.
Combine in a bowl until no more dry ingredients remain.
Tip onto a clean, dry surface and knead for 5 minutes. This is a low-hydration dough, and the kneading is to ensure the ingredients are evenly distributed rather than to form the gluten just yet.
Rest in a covered bowl for 3 hours at room temperature or overnight in the fridge.
If the dough is refrigerated, keep it in an airtight container to prevent it from drying out, and take it out one hour before moving on to part B.
After 3 hours, the dough should have doubled in size.
Measure the flour, warm water, sugar, salt, sugar and milk.
Punch the air out of the dough from part A and then add all the measured ingredients to the bowl.
Combine the ingredients by kneading by hand.
Once an even dough forms again, add olive oil and knead for 10 minutes.
Divide into equal portions and cover. Rest for 10 minutes or while you cook the chicken.
2. Teriyaki Chicken
Make horizontal incisions on the thickest parts of the chicken and fold them out so that it’s an equal thickness all over.
Stab both sides thoroughly with a fork and then pat dry with kitchen paper.
Sprinkle salt and cornstarch on both sides and rub to distribute evenly. It should have a light coating on both sides.
Add cooking oil to a cold pan and place the chicken thigh inside with the skin facing down. Move it around in a circular motion to spread the oil around evenly, then move the pan to the stove and heat on medium.
Fry for 7-8 minutes and rotate the chicken occasionally to prevent heat spots and ensure even cooking.
After 7-8 minutes, turn the chicken over and fry on the other side for 2 minutes. Wipe out the excess oil with kitchen paper.
Mix soy sauce, sake, mirin, dashi (or water), light brown sugar and honey in a bowl until well combined. This is the teriyaki sauce.
Increase the heat to medium-high and pour the sauce into the pan. Base the chicken continuously until the sauce becomes thick and glossy. Tilt the pan occasionally to prevent burning.
Once the sauce has thickened, remove the pan from the heat and transfer the chicken to a chopping board. Rest for 10 minutes before cutting, and save the leftover sauce in the pan for later.
3. Assemble and Cook the Pizza
Preheat your oven and baking tray using the highest setting on your oven. Ideally, this should be somewhere between 230-300°C (446-572°F). While you wait, assemble the pizza.
I recommend rolling the pizza dough out on baking paper to prevent sticking and ensure easy movement. Using a rolling pin works best since this is a relatively dry dough. If the dough is sticky, lightly dust the rolling pin, but try to avoid adding excess flour if possible.
Roll the dough out as thin as you can without making holes. You should be able to make 2 25cm (10 inch) pizzas with this recipe.
Make sure the teriyaki sauce in the pan is properly cooled before adding it to the pizza, then divide it evenly between each one. Top with mozzarella and sliced onions.
Add the chicken and top with a drizzle of Japanese mayonnaise and a sprinkle of sweetcorn.
Bake on the middle shelf for 10-12 minutes or until the crust is brown and crispy. Check regularly to ensure it’s not burning; if it is, move to a lower shelf or cover with foil.
Jump to Full Recipe Measurements
I hope you enjoy this Teriyaki Chicken Pizza recipe! If you try it out, I’d really appreciate it if you could spare a moment to let me know what you thought by giving a review and star rating in the comments below. It’s also helpful to share any adjustments you made to the recipe with our other readers. Thank you!
More Teriyaki Recipes
- Garlic Teriyaki Chicken Donburi
- Pan-Fried Teriyaki Salmon
- Deep-fried Teriyaki Cod
- Teriyaki Tofu Donburi (Vegan Rice Bowl)
Hungry for more? Explore my teriyaki recipe collection to find your next favorite dishes!
Japanese Teriyaki Chicken Pizza
Ingredients
Pizza dough
Part A
- 200 g bread flour
- 1 ½ tsp instant dry yeast
- 100 ml warm water no hotter than 40°C or 105°F
Part B
- 200 g bread flour
- 3 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp milk
- 100 ml warm water no hotter than 40°C or 105°F
- ½ tbsp olive oil
Teriyaki chicken
- 300 g boneless chicken thigh skin on
- 1 pinch salt
- 2 tsp cornstarch
- 1 drizzle cooking oil
- 4 tbsp Japanese soy sauce (koikuchi shoyu)
- 4 tbsp sake
- 4 tbsp mirin
- 4 tbsp dashi stock (liquid, not powder) or water
- 1 tbsp light brown sugar
- 2 tsp honey
OTHER TOPPINGS
- 50 g onion thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp Japanese mayonnaise
- 150 g mozzarella cheese grated
- 2 tbsp canned sweet corn
- 2 tbsp kizami nori (shredded nori)
My recommended brands of ingredients and seasonings can be found in my Japanese pantry guide.
Instructions
Delivery style Pizza Dough – Part A
- Measure out 200 g bread flour, 1 ½ tsp instant dry yeast and 100 ml warm water.
- Mix them together in a bowl until a shaggy dough forms.
- Tip the dough onto a clean dry surface and knead for 5 minutes. Avoid adding extra flour since the dough it already quite dry.
- Transfer back to the bowl and cover with a damp cloth or plastic wrap for at least 3 hours.
- After 3 hours, press the air out of the dough and move onto part B. (Optional – Store in the fridge over night and remove 1 hour before moving onto part B)
Part B
- Measure out 200 g bread flour, 3 tsp sugar, 1 tsp salt, 2 tsp milk and 100 ml warm water.
- Add them to the bowl of dough and combine by kneading with your hands. I recommend using a large bowl for this.
- Once the new ingredients are incorporated into the dough, pour the ½ tbsp olive oil over the surface and knead by hand in the bowl for 5 minutes.
- Tip the dough out onto a clean dry surface and knead for another 10 minutes. Avoid adding extra flour unless absolutely necessary.
- Divide into 2 pieces and cover with a damp tea towel or plastic wrap and rest while you make the chicken.
Teriyaki Chicken
- Take 300 g boneless chicken thigh and make a horizontal cuts on the thickest parts. Open them out so that the chicken is a similar thickness all the way over.
- Stab with skin with fork and pat both sides dry with kitchen paper.
- Lightly sprinkle both sides with 1 pinch salt and 2 tsp cornstarch. Rub to evenly coat.
- Take a cold pan and add 1 drizzle cooking oil. Place the chicken with the skin-side down and move it in a circular motion to spread the oil evenly.Place the pan on the stove and heat on medium. Fry the chicken for 7 minutes and rotate occasionally to prevent heat spots from browning the skin unevenly.
- While you wait, make the teriyaki sauce in a small bowl by mixing 4 tbsp Japanese soy sauce (koikuchi shoyu), 4 tbsp sake, 4 tbsp mirin, 4 tbsp dashi stock (or water), 1 tbsp light brown sugar and 2 tsp honey.
- Flip the chicken thigh and cook for 2 minutes on the other side. Then remove it from pan and set it aside. Use kitchen paper to wipe out the excess oil.
- After 2 minutes, turn up the heat to medium high and pour the sauce into the pan. Baste continuously until the sauce becomes thick and glossy.
- Once the sauce has thickened, remove the pan from the heat. Transfer the chicken to a chopping board and rest for a few minutes before slicing. Save the leftover sauce in the pan to coat the pizza.
Assembling and cooking the pizza
- Pre-heat your oven and baking tray/pizza stone to 300 °C (572 °F). If your oven temperature doesn't go that high, select the highest setting.Roll out each ball of pizza dough on a sheet of baking paper as thin as you can without making holes. Since this is quite a dry dough, I recommend using a rolling pin.
- Make sure your teriyaki sauce is cool to the touch and then pour an equal amount onto each pizza.
- Top with mozzarella cheese and sliced onions.
- Add the teriyaki chicken.
- Drizzle with mayonnaise and sprinkle with sweetcorn, then transfer it to the preheated baking tray. (Be careful not to touch the tray when it's hot.) The baking paper should make this easy to do. Bake for about 10-12 minutes.
- Once the crust is cooked through, remove the pizza from the oven and sprinkle with shredded nori.
- Cut, serve and enjoy!
Notes
- This recipe makes 2 10″ pizzas which serves 2-3 people.
- If you want to speed up the process, of course, you can use your favorite premade pizza crust.
- If you make the pizza dough in advance, wrap and store in the fridge, then use within 3-4 days.
- Store leftover pizza by cutting into portions, wrapping each piece in plastic wrap, placing in a container, and freezing.
- Reheat frozen pizza by defrosting at room temperature or in refrigerator, then baking at 200°C for about 10 minutes.
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