Strawberry, Shiso & Chicken Teriyaki Sandwich

This flavor combo is incredible! I'd always wanted to try it and am so happy with how delicious it turned out to be 😋

Strawberries, Shiso & Teriyaki Chicken oh my! I’ve made a lot of sandwiches over the years and it’s often the simpler ones that are turn out to be the best.

This sandwich was no exception.

I had always wanted to try this flavor combination but for some reason never had gotten around to it. In my head it made a lot of sense. Chicken was an incredibly accommodating protein in the flavor department and was always my personal favorite option for a Teriyaki dish. Teriyaki was sweet, salty and savory with a touch of funk and strawberries and shiso were both sweet and fragrant as well with their own specific flavorful characteristics. I figured it was a combo that should work out just great!

Since it was the summer time I decided to give the Union Square Farmer’s Market a visit for the produce. The Union Square Farmer’s Market really is one of my favorite places in the city. It’s open year round with dozens of vendors and, during the Summer time, really shines with all of the various warm weather produce being brought in from local farms in the tristate area (New York, New Jersey and Connecticut). I was very happy to find everything I was looking for. The Strawberries were sweet and juicy, I found some beautiful purple shiso and one of the prettiest butter lettuce heads I had ever seen!

I actually went to college at SVA (School of Visual Arts) which is close by Union Square and how I became so familiar with the area. There were long stretches between classes where I would wonder and the space between Union Square and Astor Place was one of the first areas in NYC that I really got to exploring.

For our chicken, we’re using boneless thighs and salting them a few hours ahead of time. They cook up quick, so it’s best to use something to press them down to enable quicker browning ( A chef’s Press works great and is my personal go to).

For the Teriyaki sauce, we’re keeping it pretty classic with a mixture of Japanese Shoyu (soy sauce), mirin (sweet cooking wine), dark brown sugar and sake. It’s an easy process where you just combine everything in a small pot, bring the mixture up to a boil and then simmer to reduce for about 15ish minutes (until thick enough to coat a spoon). For added funk and flavor you can add a piece of Kombu (Sea Kelp) in the beginning or soak a small handful of Katsuobushi (Bonito Flakes) in it for about a minute at the very end with the heat off.

Side note, Teriyaki will keep in an air tight container in the refrigerator for a veeeery long time… like months (probably even more but I’ve never gotten that far!)

For bread, I didn’t want to go for a soft white loaf like a pullman or Japanese style milk bread and instead went for a crustier Italian loaf. Something like a Pan Toscana or Ciabatta will work great (even a larger Baguette).

To get our bread slices nice an toasty, I gave them a nice coating of Kewpie Mayo and then toast them off in a skillet.

Right before assembly, I sliced down our chicken thighs to make them both easier to bite through and also to provide more surface area for the teriyaki sauce to cover. I decided not to sauce/glaze them in the pan but you definitely could if you prefer.

Then you just take your time, assemble the rest of the layers with care and enjoy!

Cheers,

Joey

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