I created this recipe because I love the flavor of Teriyaki but I don’t usually eat soy.
My Mom used to make a marinade that was close to this that did include soy so I just tweaked it a little more to suit our taste.
Two different kinds of balsamic vinegar stand in for the soy sauce, plus there is lemon juice, fresh ginger and fresh garlic. I balanced the acid with brown sugar.
It doesn’t taste exactly like traditional Teriyaki, but I’m happy to have created something that is close enough to satsfy a craving for those flavors.
This recipe makes about 1 cup of the marinade which is enough for 2-4 chicken half breasts with bone and skin.
I made a double recipe for the 6 breasts that we grilled last night.
It is best to marinade the chicken in this mixture for 12-24 hours so it will be very tender and moist. If you don’t have that much time, I would recomend blending the mixture in your blender or food processor before adding it to the meat.
This recipe would be great for either chicken or pork.
I just linked to this recipe at another great blog called the WHOLE Gang which stands for Whole Healthy Organic Living Everyday. Diane has a feature on her blog every Friday called Friday Foodie Fix. She names a secret ingredient every week (this week it was balsamic vinegar) and if you have a posted recipe with that ingredient then you can link to your recipe from her post. It is a very fun feature and attracts many innovative recipe postings.
Mix all ingredients together in small bowl:
3 Tblsp olive oil (it should have a mild flavor so it’s not dominant)
2 Tblsp balsamic vinegar (I use Trader Joe’s)
2 Tblsp white balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup lemon juice (I used Meyer lemon juice because I had it- if you use “regular” lemon juice you will probably need more brown sugar to balance)
1/4 cup water
3 Tblsp brown sugar (or more to taste)
3 Tblsp fresh ginger, minced
3 Tblsp fresh garlic, minced
This recipe makes about 1 cup of marinade which is enough for 2-4 chicken half breasts with bone and skin. I made a double batch for 6 half breasts.
Wash and dry chicken and poke all over with a fork to allow marinade to get into chicken.
Place chicken and marinade in a 1 gallon size freezer Zip Lock bag.
Move chicken around in sealed bag to ensure that it all is touching marinade.
Refrigerate chicken and marinade 12-24 hours.
If you can’t marinade it that long, I recommend blending the marinade in your blender or food processor before adding to the chicken (or pork).
BBQ the chicken or pork. My husband adds more olive oil to the marinade right before BBQing so it won’t stick to the grill as much.
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I LOVE this idea! I am a teriyaki girl and have been asked for soy alternatives. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for leaving a comment Lexie and I’m glad you found my blog!
Thanks for the recipe. I notice you listed “canola oil” in the ingredients list, but then comment that your husband adds more “olive oil.” I far prefer the taste of olive to canola, so wanted to know if this was a typo. Thanks again!
Hi Chris! Thanks for catching that! I originally used canola oil in this recipe but then I changed it later to olive oil. It is all about personal preference!
This is a nice recipe, Andrea. Thanks for sharing. One effect soy sauce has that I don’t see captured in the ingredients is that of saltiness. I made this exact recipe last night (a double batch) and added 3 tblsp fish sauce, which is often used by Asian cooks as a replacement for soy sauce. It did a nice job of bringing the saltiness into the marinade. Give it a try!
Also, if you have time, I recommend allowing the marinade to sit by itself overnight so the flavors infuse together. There was a huge difference in the taste between time I made it and the next day. I’ll be using this recipe a lot in the future. Thanks again!
Thank you so much for your feedback Chris! I love how recipes can be tailored to each person’s taste!