I’m so unbelievably over the moon with this authentic homemade teriyaki sauce recipe. It’s so good that I’m actually kicking myself for using the store-bought stuff for so long! I love this easy sauce for my teriyaki chicken recipe, and it’s excellent with shrimp and salmon. You can use it as a marinade or a glaze! For more homemade Asian sauces, try our easy stir fry sauce and this homemade hoisin sauce.
Key Ingredients
Low-Sodium Soy Sauce: I use the green-topped soy sauce as the base of my sauce. It might seem salty, but trust me, it’ll blend beautifully with the other ingredients. You can substitute with light tamari with no changes. Sugar: I use granulated sugar, which balances the soy sauce and makes our teriyaki sauce thick and glossy when cooked. Feel free to experiment with brown sugar, coconut sugar, or even honey, but remember that these might make the sauce taste sweeter. Sake: Don’t stress about buying expensive sake for teriyaki sauce! Use something you’d enjoy drinking, but it doesn’t need to be top-shelf. If you can’t find sake, mirin (a sweeter rice wine) works well too. You can swap it in directly or slightly reduce the sugar in the recipe. Rice Vinegar: This adds a little zing to the sauce. You can usually find it near other vinegars at the grocery store. For substitutes, try white wine vinegar or plain white vinegar. Don’t worry if the sauce seems a bit strong after adding the vinegar—the flavors will mellow as it cooks. Fresh Ginger (optional): I like to grate it finely with a microplane so it melts into the sauce.
How to Make Teriyaki Sauce
Making your own batch of teriyaki sauce is easy, and it will taste much better than anything you can find at the store. This sauce is so good you will always want a batch in the fridge. You can use it as a marinade, stir-fry sauce, or glaze for meats and seafood. Think teriyaki chicken, salmon, and shrimp! Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan, then heat over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. You can cool and store the sauce in the fridge or simmer it for an extra 5 to 10 minutes for a thick and glossy sauce. Easy! This recipe makes about 2 cups of sauce – plenty to keep in your fridge for weeks! If you’d prefer a smaller batch, simply use this ratio: 1 part soy sauce, 1 part sugar, 1/2 part sake, 1/4 part rice vinegar. 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar, see notes for lowering sugar 1/2 cup (120ml) sake (Japanese rice wine) 1/4 cup (60ml) rice vinegar 1 heaping tablespoon finely grated ginger, see notes 2For a thick and shiny sauce, bring the teriyaki sauce to a simmer and cook for an extra 5 to 10 minutes. Cool. 3Store the sauce in the refrigerator for several weeks. You can also freeze it for up to three months. If it ever seems too thick, thin it with a tablespoon or so of water.
