Learn to make scrumptious and simple selfmade Teriyaki Sauce with genuine Japanese flavors. You solely want 4 fundamental elements! Candy and savory, this versatile sauce will probably be your go-to seasoning for hen, salmon, tofu, beef, and meatballs.
Savory and candy Teriyaki Sauce (照り焼きのたれ) is now a preferred seasoning world wide. Do you know that Japanese dwelling cooks really make selfmade sauce with simply 4 easy elements? We by no means use the store-bought stuff as a result of the best-tasting sauce is really easy to make at dwelling. I’ll present you tips on how to make a batch for a scrumptious seasoning that goes with nearly every part!
Craving teriyaki-style recipes? Attempt my Hen Teriyaki, Teriyaki Salmon, and Teriyaki Tofu recipes subsequent!
What’s Teriyaki Sauce?
Teriyaki (照り焼き) in Japanese really describes a cooking technique that first appeared in Japan within the 1600s. Teri (照り) means luster and yaki (焼き) means grilled, broiled, or pan-fried, which is the widespread alternative for Japanese dwelling cooks. It basically refers to any meals cooked this manner that’s brushed with a shiny glaze known as tare (タレ). Today, each the meals cooked teriyaki-style and the sauce itself are known as teriyaki exterior of Japan.
Why I Love This Recipe
- It tastes higher than store-bought – One of the best teriyaki seasoning is selfmade! I actually like that this selfmade model makes use of no taste enhancers and different components, so I do know precisely what I’m serving to my household.
- A easy sauce with solely 4 fundamental elements – You’ll take pleasure in these genuine flavors from the foundational seasonings of Japanese cooking—soy sauce, sake, mirin, and sugar. I really like how scrumptious but easy it’s.
- So fast and simple – Simply warmth, simmer, and funky. It’s carried out in 10–Quarter-hour!
- Nice to make forward – This sauce retains within the fridge for two–3 weeks. I recommend making a batch you could attain for when you must cook dinner up one thing fast for a weeknight meal.
Components for Teriyaki Sauce
To make the teriyaki sauce, you’ll want solely the 4 most elementary elements from the Japanese pantry:
- Soy sauce – Use solely Japanese soy sauce because it has a unique taste profile from Chinese language, Thai, or Korean soy sauce.
- Sake – This Japanese rice wine provides complexity and a touch of fruitiness. I like to recommend Gekkeikan, Sho Chiku Bai, or Ozeki manufacturers. You’ll find sake at Japanese and plenty of Asian grocery shops or at any main liquor retailer.
- Mirin – This Japanese candy rice wine is an important ingredient in lots of Japanese recipes. It provides a fragile sweetness and perfume and offers the sauce a pleasant luster.
- Sugar – Sugar provides sweetness and balances the sauce’s savory style. It is usually what offers the glaze its thick, shiny texture.
Discover the printable recipe with measurements under.
Substitutions
- Soy sauce: You can use low-sodium soy sauce, tamari, or gluten-free soy sauce.
- Sake: If you happen to can’t discover it, you possibly can substitute Chinese language rice wine, dry sherry, or water.
- Mirin: If you happen to don’t have it, you may substitute ¼ cup sake + ¼ cup water + 3 Tbsp sugar. To skip the sake, you may use ½ cup water + 3 Tbsp sugar.
- Sugar: We don’t use honey or maple syrup as a result of they’ve distinct flavors. You should utilize them if that’s your choice, however watch out as they’ll burn simply throughout cooking.
Learn how to Make Teriyaki Sauce
Cooking
Step 1 – Warmth the elements. In a medium-sized saucepan, mix sake, mirin, soy sauce, and sugar. Carry the combination to a boil over medium warmth and constantly whisk the sauce till the sugar is dissolved.
Step 2 – Cut back the sauce to thicken it. As soon as boiling, decrease the warmth to medium-low. Simmer for 10-Quarter-hour or till the sauce is thickened.
Cooling
Step 3 – Take away from the warmth and funky. The sauce will proceed to thicken because it cools. It’s now prepared to make use of in your favourite recipe.
Nami’s Recipe Ideas
- Cut back the sauce to thicken it – We scale back Japanese teriyaki seasoning within the pan till it reaches a thicker consistency. Please don’t use a cornstarch slurry as a thickener. To lock in umami and juiciness, we often coat the elements with starch or flour, which helps thickening the teriyaki sauce a bit. Genuine teriyaki sauce must be thinner than Americanized teriyaki sauce and it shouldn’t be syrupy.
- The sauce will thicken extra because it cools – You’ll know the sauce is completed simmering when small bubbles will begin to rise and seem on the floor. Please needless to say the sauce will proceed to thicken off the warmth, so don’t simmer it longer than 10–Quarter-hour.
Variations and Customizations
- Change up the ratio of the seasonings. My recipe follows this ratio: Two components soy sauce, two components sake, two components mirin, and one half sugar (2:2:2:1). Basically, the fundamental formulation in teriyaki-style cooking is to make use of equal components of the primary three elements, then modify the quantity of sugar to your liking. I recommend memorizing this formulation, then modify the ratio to fit your style or the ingredient you’re making ready. Whereas altering the stability of seasonings retains issues fascinating, please needless to say Japanese delicacies is all about holding a fragile stability of flavors.
- Add grated ginger and minced garlic. Relying on the protein or vegetable I’m cooking, I generally add grated contemporary ginger and/or minced or crushed contemporary garlic to my seasoning. Nevertheless, I don’t suggest including sure elements like rice vinegar, brown sugar, sesame oil, apple cider vinegar, or sesame seeds within the sauce that you simply would possibly see in some on-line recipes. These additions don’t comply with an genuine taste profile for Japanese teriyaki-style cooking.
- Add a pat of butter. I generally add a tablespoon of butter to the saucepan simply earlier than turning off the warmth. Butter provides a easy richness and softens the sting of this sauce. It’s a preferred approach to spice up the depth of taste, and I take advantage of it in my teriyaki salmon recipe.
Totally different Methods to Use Teriyaki Sauce
The beauty of teriyaki sauce is its versatility. Listed here are a few of my favourite methods to make use of this sauce.
- As a glaze – use it over your grilled or pan-fried dishes, like teriyaki salmon, teriyaki hen, or teriyaki tofu (see the recipes under).
- In stir-fries – Use it to season Stir-Fried Greens.
- In donburi rice bowls – Combine with dashi and make Oyakodon and Gyudon.
- In simmered dishes – Combine with dashi and Nikujaga (Japanese Meat and Potato Stew)
Storage and Utilization Ideas
To retailer: You should utilize the selfmade sauce instantly as wanted or retailer it in an hermetic, sterilized jar like a mason jar within the fridge for as much as 2–3 weeks.
To make use of: Add a tablespoon or extra to the pan together with your already cooked fish, seafood, hen, tofu, steak, mushrooms, or greens. Coat nicely, then flip off the warmth. Since this sauce is already diminished and thickened, there’s no must simmer it.
Regularly Requested Questions
Sure! This straightforward Teriyaki Sauce recipe is good for prepping forward. It retains within the fridge for two–3 weeks, so I like to recommend making a batch that you need to use for a number of completely different recipes.
Sugar is crucial to this sauce as a result of it counterbalances the saltiness from the soy sauce. It’s additionally what makes the glaze shiny and thick. If you happen to select to make use of maple syrup or honey as a substitute of sugar, please needless to say they’ve sturdy flavors that can change the style of the sauce. Please additionally take care as they burn extra simply.
Extra Do-it-yourself Sauce Recipes
If you happen to love this selfmade Teriyaki Sauce recipe, you’re in for a deal with with these different irresistible Japanese sauce recipes.
Stop your display from going darkish
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Collect all of the elements. See Notes under for half-portion elements and substitutions for sake and mirin.
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In a saucepan, add ½ cup sake, ½ cup mirin, ½ cup soy sauce, and ¼ cup sugar. Carry the combination to a boil over medium warmth and constantly whisk the sauce till the sugar is dissolved.
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As soon as boiling, decrease the warmth to medium-low. Simmer for 10–Quarter-hour or till the sauce is thickened. As you combine the sauce or tilt the saucepan, small bubbles will begin to rise and seem on the floor. When this occurs, the sauce is able to use.
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Pour the sauce right into a sterilized jar and depart uncovered to chill. The sauce will thicken because it cools.
To Use the Teriyaki Sauce
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Teriyaki Salmon: Season thin-sliced salmon fillets with salt and freshly floor black pepper. Flippantly coat the salmon with all-purpose flour. Warmth a frying pan over medium warmth, then add cooking oil or butter. Add the salmon to the pan and cook dinner it on one facet for 3 minutes. As soon as properly browned, flip the salmon. Add 1 Tbsp sake and canopy to cook dinner for one more 3 minutes. Take away the lid and spoon the teriyaki sauce over the salmon to coat nicely.
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Teriyaki Hen: Season boneless, skin-on hen thighs (or hen breast, if you happen to favor) with salt and freshly floor black pepper. Flippantly coat the hen with all-purpose flour. Warmth a frying pan over medium warmth, then add cooking oil or butter. Add the hen to the pan, pores and skin facet down, and cook dinner till browned. Flip the hen and canopy the pan till the hen is cooked by means of. Wipe off the oil from the frying pan with a paper towel. Spoon the teriyaki sauce over the hen to coat nicely.
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Teriyaki Tofu: Drain nicely a block of agency tofu (urgent it or microwaving it for 1 minute). Reduce the tofu into steaks (slabs) and flippantly coat them with all-purpose flour. Warmth a frying pan over medium warmth, then add cooking oil. Add the tofu steaks and cook dinner on either side till golden brown. Spoon the teriyaki sauce over the tofu steaks to coat nicely.
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You can even pour extra teriyaki sauce onto the completed dish.
- with alcohol: ½ cup dry sherry or Chinese language rice wine
- with out alcohol: ½ cup water
Substitution for ½ cup mirin:
- with sake: ¼ cup sake + ¼ cup water + 3 Tbsp sugar
- with out sake: ½ cup water + 3 Tbsp sugar
For a half portion:
- ¼ cup (4 Tbsp) sake
- ¼ cup (4 Tbsp) mirin
- ¼ cup (4 Tbsp) soy sauce
- 2 Tbsp sugar
Serving: 1 cup · Energy: 754 kcal · Carbohydrates: 84 g · Protein: 13 g · Sodium: 7683 mg · Potassium: 31 mg · Sugar: 86 g · Calcium: 7 mg · Iron: 1 mg
Editor’s Observe: This submit was initially revealed on June 12, 2013. It was up to date with a brand new video and pictures in January 2018 and with extra useful content material on February 26, 2025.