15-Minute Teriyaki Chicken and Mango Salad

Tax season and the annual reckoning with numbers that do not lie. Brian's income from beer distribution is solid. My income from yoga teaching is modest. My income from the blog is zero, which Brian pointed out with the gentle pragmatism of a man who has been thinking about money and not saying anything for six months. "The blog is great," he said, "but it does not pay rent." He is not wrong. I am not wrong either — the blog is building something that cannot be measured in quarterly income. We are both right. We are both frustrated. The intersection of right and frustrated is a familiar address. We live there.

I made tamago sando this week — Japanese egg salad sandwiches, which are one of the great underrated foods of any cuisine. The eggs are barely set, almost creamy, mixed with Kewpie mayonnaise (which is tangier and smoother than American mayo), a pinch of sugar, salt, and white pepper, pressed between crustless white bread that is impossibly soft. The sandwich is simple and perfect and tastes like Japan's convenience stores, which are themselves a kind of culinary paradise that America has not figured out yet. I ate two for lunch and wrote about them for the blog and the post got enthusiastic comments from people who had discovered Kewpie mayo and had their lives changed by it, which sounds hyperbolic but is accurate.

Miya's vocabulary is expanding. She says mama, dada, cat, more, no, and something that sounds like "nana" which I believe is her attempt at "Obaachan" and which Brian believes is her attempt at "banana." We are both probably right. In this household, grandmother and banana are equally important, and occasionally interchangeable.

I visited Uwajimaya this week and spent an hour wandering the aisles. There is a particular peace in a Japanese grocery store — the order, the precision, the products labeled in kanji I cannot fully read, the smell of rice and seaweed and the faintly sweet aroma of mochi. I bought kombu, bonito flakes, white miso, soba noodles, and a package of mochi that I absolutely did not need but bought because it was there and because I am weak in the face of mochi. Fumiko would understand. Fumiko is also weak in the face of mochi. We are a family of mochi-enabled women. There are worse inheritances.

The tamago sando was lunch, and it was perfect, and it will get its own full post soon. But wandering Uwajimaya with kombu and miso in my basket also reminded me how much I reach for Japanese flavors even outside of the sandwiches — the balance of sweet and savory, the brightness that cuts through richness. This teriyaki chicken and mango salad became dinner that same evening: fast enough that I had it on the table before Miya needed her bath, bright enough that it felt like a small reward after a day of tax math and income conversations. It is not a convenience store tamago sando, but it carries the same spirit — simple food made with a little care.

Prep Time: 5 min | Cook Time: 10 min | Total Time: 15 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs, thinly sliced
3 tbsp soy sauce (low-sodium preferred)
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tbsp neutral oil (avocado or vegetable)
1 large ripe mango, peeled and diced
5 oz mixed greens or shredded romaine
1/2 English cucumber, thinly sliced
1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup shredded carrots
2 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted
2 scallions, sliced thin
Optional: sriracha or chili flakes for heat

Instructions

Make the teriyaki sauce. In a small bowl, whisk together soy sauce, honey, rice vinegar, sesame oil, grated ginger, and minced garlic. Set aside 2 tablespoons of the sauce to use as a salad dressing.
Cook the chicken. Heat neutral oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add sliced chicken in a single layer and cook for 3—4 minutes without stirring to get some color. Flip and cook another 2—3 minutes until cooked through.
Glaze the chicken. Pour the teriyaki sauce (minus the reserved 2 tbsp) over the chicken and toss to coat. Cook for 1—2 more minutes until the sauce reduces slightly and clings to the chicken. Remove from heat.
Assemble the salad. Divide greens among four bowls or spread on a large platter. Top with cucumber, red onion, shredded carrots, and diced mango.
Finish and serve. Add the warm teriyaki chicken over the salad. Drizzle reserved dressing over everything. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds and scallions. Serve immediately.

Nutrition (per serving)

15-Minute Teriyaki Chicken and Mango Salad — A Japanese Grocery Run That Turned Into Dinner