Chicken Teriyaki. Scott Suchman for The Washington Post; food styling by Lisa Cherkasky for The Washington Post What is teriyaki? It depends on whom you ask. First, I asked chef Shota Nakajima of Taku Seattle and Kōbo Pizza.

“‘Teri’ means glazed. ‘Yaki’ means grilled,” he said on a phone call during a recent trip to Japan. “So it’s a dish that is getting glazed as it’s grilled.

That is the original definition of teriyaki.” It’s believed to have originated during the Edo period in Japan, which lasted between the 17th and 19th centuries. Originally, it was more of a cooking technique than a particular recipe or dish, William Shurtleff and Akiko Aoyagi wrote in “History of Teriyaki.

” It involved meat or seafood cooked over direct heat while being brushed with a sauce, or tare, typically consisting of soy sauce, mirin and sake that adds luster and shine. In the United States, teriyaki is more commonly known as a dish that typically features chicken in a sweet and savory soy-sauce-based glaze. It’s this sauce that has come to define teriyaki in this country.

Food writer Kiki Aranita has a deep appreciation for teriyaki in its American form. “I come with an understanding of teriyaki from a (Hawaiian) perspective, primarily, and to me, it’s very, very American,” said Aranita, who founded Poi Dog sauces. “My husband is a Jewish American, and he also feels perfectly entitled to teriyaki.

When we talk about teriyaki and I’m like, ‘Oh, did you e.