Teriyaki with steamed vegetables in the Thermomix® is ready in 48 minutes and serves 4. Here is the key method: chop 1 garlic clove, 30 g ginger and 1 chilli for 4 seconds at speed 6, then reduce 30 g sesame oil, 100 g soy sauce, 10 g lemon juice, 2 tsp honey and 2 tsp sugar without the measuring cup for 5 minutes at Varoma on speed 1 and set aside. Next, steam the peppers and 200 g mushrooms over 500 g water for 20 minutes at Varoma on speed 1, while searing 600 g chicken breast fillet in a separate pan. This keeps the mixing bowl clean and the sauce thickens on its own without cornflour.
This dish has been our go-to main course for years whenever we want something Asian without dirtying three pots and a frying pan. The Varoma cooks the vegetables while the teriyaki sauce reduces in the mixing bowl below. That parallel processing is precisely why we make this in the Thermomix® rather than on the hob. It goes perfectly with rice cooked in the Thermomix®.
Teriyaki with Steamed Vegetables in the Thermomix®
Ingredients 0 / 17 ✓
- 1 garlic clove
- 30 g ginger
- 1 chilli
- 30 g sesame oil
- 100 g soy sauce
- 10 g lemon juice
- 2 tsp honey
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1 red pepper
- 1 green pepper
- 200 g button mushrooms
- salt
- pepper
- 500 g water
- 20 g rapeseed oil
- 600 g chicken breast fillet
- 20 g sesame seeds
Instructions 0 / 5
-
1
Peel the garlic, peel the ginger, add both to the mixing bowl together with the chilli, chop for 4 sec / speed 6 and scrape down with the spatula.
-
2
Add the sesame oil, soy sauce, lemon juice, honey and sugar to the mixing bowl and reduce without the measuring cup for 5 min / Varoma / speed 1, then set aside.
-
3
Wash the peppers and cut into strips. Clean the mushrooms and quarter them. Distribute the peppers and mushrooms in the Varoma dish and season with salt and pepper. Pour the water into the mixing bowl, place the Varoma on top and steam for 20 min / Varoma / speed 1.
-
4
Meanwhile, heat the rapeseed oil in a frying pan and sear the chicken breast fillets over a high heat. Pour the teriyaki sauce over the meat and cook over a medium heat until done.
-
5
Slice the meat into strips and serve scattered with vegetables and sesame seeds.
Tip: Serve with Asian noodles, such as mie noodles or ramen.
Video
Nutrition per serving
Reducing instead of cornflour: how the sauce thickens on its own
The most important difference from almost every other teriyaki recipe online: We do not thicken the sauce with cornflour. Some versions stir in 2 tsp of starch and simmer for 3 minutes, while the official Cookidoo version also uses mirin. Instead, we reduce 100 g soy sauce, 30 g sesame oil, 10 g lemon juice, 2 tsp honey and 2 tsp sugar for 5 minutes at Varoma on speed 1 without the measuring cup. Leaving out the measuring cup is the key: steam escapes upwards, the liquid loses volume and turns syrupy on its own.
The result is a glossy sauce with no floury aftertaste. The honey and sugar caramelise gently, and the lemon juice keeps the sweetness in check. If you have mirin in the cupboard, you can add 20 g of it, but it is not necessary. Made with our standard storecupboard ingredients, the sauce tastes fully rounded and authentically teriyaki.
Sesame oil as the flavour base, not just a finishing drizzle
Sesame oil is often added drop by drop over a finished dish. Here it carries the sauce: 30 g sesame oil combined with 100 g soy sauce creates the nutty base note that sets teriyaki apart from plain soy sauce. The oil is not stirred in afterwards but reduced from the start together with the soy sauce, lemon juice, honey and sugar. This way it blends with the seasoning components rather than sitting on top.
Rapeseed oil is a second, separate matter. The 20 g of rapeseed oil go into the frying pan later for searing the chicken fillet over a high heat. Two different fats for two different jobs: sesame oil for flavour, rapeseed oil for browning. Sesame oil in a very hot pan would burn and turn bitter, which is why it belongs only in the sauce.
Fresh garlic and ginger instead of powder
Many Thermomix® recipes reach for garlic powder. That works, but the result is flatter. We chop 1 garlic clove, 30 g fresh ginger and 1 chilli for 4 seconds at speed 6 and scrape the residue down with the spatula. This gives a noticeably fresher, sharper note that powder cannot match. Fresh ginger also adds a light citrus heat that works very well with teriyaki sauce.
The chilli is optional. If you prefer it mild, leave it out or use only half a chilli without the seeds. The important thing is to chop the aromatics first, before the sesame oil and soy sauce go in. This distributes them evenly throughout the sauce rather than leaving them in coarse pieces.
Where most people go wrong with Varoma teriyaki
Sauce left in the mixing bowl while the vegetables steam
The most common mistake: the teriyaki sauce is left in the mixing bowl and the Varoma is simply placed on top. The steam then mixes with the residual sauce and the vegetables end up tasting of soy rather than staying neutral. Our solution: Once the sauce has reduced, pour it completely out of the mixing bowl into a bowl. Give the mixing bowl a quick rinse, pour in 500 g of fresh water and only then place the Varoma on top.
Sauce added to the pan too early, sugar burns
Adding the chicken and the teriyaki sauce to the pan at the same time means the sugar burns before the meat is cooked through. Honey and sugar caramelise into bitter compounds in seconds over high heat. Our solution: Sear the 600 g chicken breast fillet in 20 g rapeseed oil first until it has good colour and browning. Then pour the already reduced sauce over it and finish cooking over a medium heat. The sauce then only needs to glaze, not reduce further.
Peppers and mushrooms going soft instead of staying firm
Mushrooms release a lot of water during cooking. If they are cut too small or packed too tightly in the Varoma, they turn spongy. Our solution: Quarter the mushrooms rather than slicing them, and cut the peppers into finger-width strips. Spread everything loosely in the Varoma dish so the steam can circulate. After 20 minutes at Varoma on speed 1, the peppers are still firm to the bite and the mushrooms are cooked through without falling apart.
Vegetarian, spicy or combined with rice in the Varoma
Vegetarian option: Replace the chicken with 400 g firm tofu (well drained) or 300 g extra brown mushrooms. Cut the tofu into cubes first and sear it in the pan just like the meat, then glaze with the teriyaki sauce.
More vegetables to steam: Broccoli florets, sliced carrots or mangetout work well here. Put firm vegetables such as carrots in the lower Varoma dish and softer ones such as mangetout on the Varoma tray so everything is ready at the same time.
Spicier: Instead of 1 chilli, use a whole chilli plus 1 tsp sambal oelek in the sauce. For a smoky heat, add 1/2 tsp smoked paprika.
Rice instead of cooking it on the hob: If you are already using the Varoma, you can cook the rice in the water in the mixing bowl while the vegetables steam above. The rice then replaces the plain cooking water. We explain exactly how this works in our linked rice guide.
What we serve with teriyaki chicken
Classic accompaniments to our teriyaki are rice cooked in the Thermomix® or our Asian noodles from the Thermomix®. If you prefer something lighter and fresher, serve a crisp salad alongside. Our Asian spaghetti salad from the Thermomix® picks up the sesame and soy notes of the main dish while staying light.
Any leftover teriyaki sauce also makes an excellent dip or marinade. If you want to use the Varoma again for protein and vegetables in a single run, our salmon in the Thermomix® Varoma® follows the same principle: fish on top, vegetables below, everything ready at the same time.
How long the teriyaki keeps in the fridge
The finished dish with meat and vegetables keeps in a sealed container for 2 to 3 days in the fridge. To reheat, a short spell in a frying pan over a medium heat is enough so the sauce does not reduce too much again. The vegetables lose a little bite but remain good.
The plain teriyaki sauce without meat keeps longer: in a sealed jar, about 1 week in the fridge. Poured in hot and sealed immediately, it keeps for several weeks. Frozen in small portions, for example in an ice-cube tray, the sauce keeps for 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge, then warm through briefly. We do not freeze the steamed vegetables because they go soft on thawing.
