Food and meat are all and well. But what do you do when you just can’t find the perfect sauce?

Food seems dry without a proper sauce. Whether you choose the Hot Sauce, the Barbeque Sauce, the Garlic Sauce, or the Marinara Sauce, each leaves your food mouth-watering and finger-licking! The tang and the bang of any dish all lie within the contents and taste of the sauce.

But the most popular sauce right now that everyone seems to be talking about is the Teriyaki Sauce!

Teriyaki Sauce is mainly used in Japanese cuisine and cooking. It is mainly based on soy sauce and other ingredients, which create unique tastes loved by all.

What Is Teriyaki?

Before learning how to make it, what is it? Teriyaki is a Japanese dish mainly consisting of meat or fish marinated in soy sauce. The most traditional form of Teriyaki essentially describes how the dish is prepared and not the condiments.

It describes food cooking, grilling, or panfrying in a beautiful glaze on the surface.

The use of teriyaki as an explanation of sauce results from the Americanization of the recipe; you’re not likely to encounter the teriyaki typical of Japanese restaurants.

Japanese food is usually used for topping salmon, trout, yellowtail salmon, or skipjack tuna. Traditional fish sauces are made from Teritashi sauce. Generally, sauces are served with meats like chicken, beef, and pork in Western countries.

1. What Is Teriyaki Sauce Made Of?

Tenderloin Sauce Ingredients: Authentic Japanese Teriyaki Sauce blends soybean sauce, sago, honey garlic, and ginger for a distinctive sharp taste.

Westernized versions include honey garlic and ginger for a little more depth of flavor. Corn starch is often used to thicken teriyaki sauce.

Simply ingredients such as soy sauce, vinegar, honey, and garlic combine for the best taste; a gluten-free choice too!

2. What Is the Purpose of Teriyaki Sauce?

Teriyaki Sauce has a sour-sweet taste with savory, salty sweetness and a hint of umami flavor. Traditional Japanese ingredients include steamed soy sauce and steamed sake with sometimes a pinch of sugar and ginger.

Many people have added a significant quantity of brown sugar to their teriyaki sauce in the US.

It originated in Hawaii, where the Japanese immigrant settlers introduced the concept, locals mixed in their native pineapples and began incorporating them in marinades and sauces for chickens and pork.

2.1. What Is the Difference Between Soy Sauce, Teriyaki Sauce, and Teriyaki Marinade?

Soy Sauce is one of many components in the teriyaki sauce, including fermented paste of soybeans, fried wheat, brine, and aspexora oryzae. It resembles water inconsistency but has a strong umami flavor.

Quite salty, many people use teriyaki sauce with low sodium to avoid excess sugar.

Teriyaki Marinades are a thin version of Teriyaki Sauce that marinates poultry meat and fish in slow and gradually absorbed flavors over several hours. It’s thinner to allow for easier absorption of sauce. It is important to learn these differences.

3. Is Homemade Teriyaki Sauce Better than Store-Bought?

Most people prefer homemade teriyaki sauce because they find it to be healthier. Also, store-bought sauce is found to be less flavorful. Therefore, some people feel that it is better to make teriyaki sauce.

But it depends on the person consuming it. Some people find the store-bought sauce very sweet. At the same time, some find it to be just right. Try both, and choose what suits you best.

Store-bought Teriyaki sauce lasts longer than the homemade teriyaki sauce recipe.

4. Homemade Teriyaki Sauce Recipe

Making teriyaki sauce can be done easily and tastes much more delicious than any other condiment in the store.

It’s good, and you can always put one batch of it in the refrigerator. Here is an excellent homemade teriyaki sauce recipe.

4.1. Ingredients Needed

A homemade teriyaki sauce recipe requires 6 ingredients.

• Soy Sauce
• Brown Sugar
• Honey
• Spices
• Cornstarch (mixture)
• Water

4.2. The Process: Directions

It’s easy to make teriyaki sauces! Here are the directions for teriyaki sauce: the homemade teriyaki sauce recipe.

Simple? Mix all ingredients with sugar and heat over high heat until the sugar evaporates. It can be chilled and placed in a cold place and simmered over high pressure for five to 10 minutes.

It is possible to substitute sugar for orange juice or honey in dishes.

Put the ingredients into the pan over high heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Or, to make thick and glossy teriyaki sauce add some more simmering sauce and simmer 5-10 minutes longer.

Keep the sauce covered with a glass bottle. If the mixture is too thin, add a tablespoon of water. You can freeze this sauce for three months.

5. Teriyaki Sauce – Way 2:

1. Start with a mixture of everything except cornstarch. Whisk together, then set at medium temperature.
2. Pour the cornstarch into a small bowl.
3. Put cornstarch in an open container. Cook, whisking until the sauce is thick.

5.1. Storage

Try to use it within 1-2 days of making it.

But it can last 2 or 3 weeks if stored well. It can be stored in mason jars and kept in the fridge.

Make ahead and freeze: This recipe is prepared 1 week before the deadline. Keep it covered and stored in a tightly sealed bag at home.

Freezing: Let cool completely in an airtight freezer. Put the bag in the freezer to ensure that it freezes evenly. Then freeze overnight and then go back for use.

Store-bought Teriyaki sauce can last up to 3 years. It will depend on the brand and the contents. But this is the average period.

5.2. Make Teriyaki Sauce With 3 Ingredients

• Soy sauce
• Corn starch
• Honey

Also, you will need water.

5.3. Steps:

• Add Soy sauce and water.
• Add honey.
• Add corn starch.
• Whisk properly to combine the corn starch.
• Cook it on medium heat. Cook till the sauce thickens.
• Keep whisking often.

5.4. Additional Flavor Boosters

Other than the basic ingredients, a few others can be added for flavor, health benefits, and just because you like them!

Here are some of the additional flavor boosters that you can add to your Teriyaki sauce:

• Sesame oil
• Sesame seeds
• Rice vinegar/ Rice Wine Vinegar
• Pineapple juice
• Pineapple
• Fresh Ginger
• and Garlic
• White wine vinegar
• Low-sodium soy sauce
• Apple cider vinegar
• Coconut sugar

6. How to Use Homemade Teriyaki Sauce?

This homemade Teriyaki sauce is easier than the bottled ones and is well served over anything.

You can use it as a marinade. It can be used as stir-fry sauce on rice or for marination. It’s easy to skip cornstarch in marinades.

It can also be served as a pickle or ketchup. Its flavor is amazing!

6.1. Nutrition

Teriyaki sauce is usually cholesterol-free and fat-free.

Teriyaki sauce is high in sodium. It makes up more than 25 percent of your daily recommended sodium intake.

1 tablespoon of Teriyaki Sauce:

• Sodium – 613 mg
• Protein – 0.9 g
• Calories – 14
• Sugar – 2.3 g
• Carbohydrates – 2.5 g
• Fat – 0.003 g

Brown sugar is healthier than refined white sugar.

Low-sodium soy sauce can also be used.

6.2. Health Benefits of Teriyaki Sauce

• Soy sauce is a major source of isoflavones. Isoflavones are phytoestrogens similar to estrogen (female sex hormone), which help and support sexual health, heart health, and bone health.
• Eating more Soy foods can help you reduce the risks of cancer.
• Teriyaki sauce has very low calories and almost no fat. It can be used as a glaze and marinade. It can help you maintain a healthy weight as it doesn’t add any excess calories to your diet but still provides a lot of flavors.
• Instead of frying your meat, use Teriyaki sauce to dip your meat or vegetables in. This will help you save so many calories.
• Some versions of Teriyaki sauce contain ginger and garlic. The spicy and fresh ginger can help your digestive health. Thus, improving digestion.
• Garlic in Teriyaki sauce is flavorful, but it also helps by supporting the immune system. Garlic will also help you fight against the germs that make you fall sick easily.
• Brown sugar contains more minerals than refined white sugar.

6.3. Allergies

We also need to be aware of what ingredients we add. Sometimes, our guests may have allergies to certain ingredients.

The main ingredient of teriyaki sauce is soy sauce. Soy sauce, i.e., soy, can cause allergies to a few. So, if you are allergic to soy, look for brands of teriyaki sauce made without soy sauce. Or, while making your homemade teriyaki sauce, use soy substitutes.

Soy substitutes can be coconut aminos or liquid aminos, a flavor enhancer.

Another substitute for soy sauce can be Tamari sauce. Tamari sauce is made of wheat, so it is suitable for people with soy allergies, but this may cause problems for people with a gluten allergy.

7. Teriyaki Sauce Recipes to Try

Once you make the homemade sauce, you have many different ways of making this sauce! Teriyaki sauce chicken curry, grilled teriyaki salmon, shrimp curry beef, Teriyaki foil pack, teriyaki sauce dipped fried chicken. You can also try it with chicken broth.

Other recipes:

7.1. Teriyaki Chicken Pizza

Teriyaki Chicken Pizza Recipe:

This is a new twist you can give to pizza. It is bold, flavorful, and amazing!

Add some Teriyaki chicken (chicken marinated in teriyaki sauce or a glaze of teriyaki sauce), some pineapple pieces, and loads of cheese…and cilantro for freshness and garnishing.

7.2. Bacon-Wrapped Teriyaki Chicken Skewers

Bacon-wrapped Teriyaki Chicken Skewers Recipe:

Fun food, a great appetizer, or a tasty meal!

Ingredients: Chicken (boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs), bacon, and teriyaki sauce (preferably homemade).

Add chicken, bacon, and some pineapple pieces to the skewers. You can also wrap the chicken in bacon. Baste with teriyaki sauce.

You can use lemonade, cilantro rice, or green beans for serving on the side. This will make it a tropical menu!

You can also serve some teriyaki sauce on the side.

7.3. Teriyaki Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Teriyaki Chicken Lettuce Wraps Recipe:

This is a light and easy meal best for weekends.

Ingredients: Vegetables like bell peppers, zucchini, onions, or any other. You can use butter lettuce, collard greens, or even Swiss chard. Dice the vegetables. Lettuce is used as wraps.

The chicken is flavored with teriyaki sauce.

You can also use mirin – which is Japanese rice wine.

• Prepare Teriyaki sauce
• Cook the chicken
• Cook Vegetables
• Break chicken into small pieces and add the diced vegetables
• Add the Teriyaki sauce
• Serve! You can top it with cilantro, peanuts, and scallions or add a little drizzle or glaze of the teriyaki sauce.

7.4. Deep-Fried Teriyaki Chicken

Deep Fried Teriyaki Chicken Recipe:

Deep-fry chicken pieces to make them crispy. Then either dip or glaze them with teriyaki sauce. This gives a new tang to your classic fried chicken dish.

Teriyaki sauce can also be used with fried rice, stir-fried vegetables, or stir-fry sauce.

It can also be used as a savory sauce because of its savory salty-sweet flavor that complements every dish beautifully.

8. Is Teriyaki Sauce Gluten-Free (Gluten-Free Soy Sauce)?

Yes, Teriyaki Sauce is gluten-free unless the cornflour has gluten. If it has a gluten-free base, then use a cornmeal mixture. This is how to make gluten-free soy sauce.

If you prefer, it is possible to add some tamari and liquid amino acids, but the taste is distinctly different from the one used. This affects the flavor of the gluten-free soy sauce.

9. What Can I Use if I Don’t Have Teriyaki Sauce?

Substitution of teriyaki sauces:

• Replace soya sauce with coconut aminos.
• Use honey as a sweetener.
• Flour and arrowroot powder to replace cornstarch.
• Fresh garlic powder. Ginger is either raw or cooked.

10. Other Things to Know…

If the teriyakis you use don’t have enough sauce, they can be made. Add some sugar. Keep it heated to ensure the sugar dissolves quickly!

Simmer on a high-low temperature. It also helps in cooking liquids. Mix with some starch powder. Add the mixture of 1 to 3 tablespoons starch to 1 liter of water.

Most teriyaki sauce recipes are vegan.

For the recipe for vegan sauces, use honey with equal amounts of pure maple syrup, agua nectar, or sugar.

The key culprit of the Teriyaki sauce, which is unsafe for Celiacs, is the soybean sauce.

10.1. Starch Slurry

Make a starch slurry with cornstarch and water until smooth. Arrowroot is used as tapioca starch. Bring in the water, and it thickens the sauce.

10.2. Whisk until Thickened

Stir the sauce for 2-3 min on hot heat until it thickens. Note that this sauce thickens even more after cooling.

10.3. Combine Ingredients

Mix the soy sauce in a medium saucepan over very high heat.

Is there a good alternative to sake vinegar? Note. Rice vinegar should not contain alcohol. There’s not much confusion about rice wine.

How do I make teriyaki sauce better? You can make your teriyaki sauce recipe with various variations and additional ingredients. Add some ripe pineapple juice. The sweetened sauce has an attractive fruity taste and enhances the tastes of many supermarket-bought Teriyaki sauces.

Other possibilities include brown sugar dissolved in Teriyaki Sauce. The final step in sweetening this dish is to add soy sauce to the sugar.

You can also use other flavors using rice vinegar or rice wine vinegar, freshly grated ginger, maple syrup, powdered garlic, red pepper flakes, onion powder, potato starch, dark brown sugar, sesame oil, and coconut sugar.

How to customize your sauce? It is easy for someone to build their Asian sauce by simply understanding the ingredients required. Once you learn that, you can use it to combine with your resources!

A balanced ratio makes a good edible product despite every substitution being unsatisfactory. Start with the ratio and tweak the ratio depending on the available resources.

Also, try dividing your sauce into smaller portions. Add different ingredients to different portions and find out which customization you love the best. This way, even if you don’t like a particular portion, there won’t be a lot of wastage, and you get an assortment of sauces to go with your dishes.

11. Reviews

Our love of noodles and rice is teriyaki chicken over rice, and the food brush is always used when cooking meat for quick grating.

Traditionally teriyaki sauce has also been served in Chinese cooking.

Soy Sauce contains a large quantity of garlic, ginger, rice vinegar, honey, and sugar. This is usually served with chicken stir-fries and beef teriyakis. Amazingly tasty for seafood, shrimp, or vegetables! This can be used in marinades to tenderize the meat to give it some flavor.

Teriyaki sauce is one of the sauces other than barbeque sauce that goes great with meat. It even makes stir-fried vegetables better. The best part is that it can be made at home and has many substitutes.

It is healthy and helps avoid unnecessary weight gain. It may not have extreme health benefits, but it is a daily dose of sodium!

Hungry? But I’m bored of daily dishes. Want to add a tang and a bang to the same old dishes?

Make it bold! Make it interesting! Make your homemade teriyaki sauce, or buy it from your favorite store. Let’s season our meats with red pepper flakes and some teriyaki goodness.

Teriyaki sauce turns every simple protein into a finger-licking snack!

Next time you are craving Japanese, add a drizzle of Teriyaki to your life…

Last Updated on July 19, 2024 by Sathi Chakraborty, MSc Biology