For an absolutely phenomenal homemade Teriyaki Sauce recipe, look no further! Ready in 10 minutes, no junk ingredients, and crazy delicious – you’ll never use store-bought again! It’s simply the BEST!
It happened one too many times. I needed teriyaki sauce for a recipe and thought I had some on hand only to find – after all the other ingredients had already been prepped – that there wasn’t any. No doubt you can relate to this scenario, whether it’s teriyaki sauce or some other condiment like tahini paste, black bean sauce, or hoisin sauce. So I whipped up my own homemade teriyaki sauce…and have never touched store-bought since!
Trust me, after making this teriyaki sauce recipe, you won’t either.
This sauce is popular all around the world with its dark, bold, savory-salty-sweet flavor with lots of umami undertones. Its primary ingredients include soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, honey and mirin.
The word teriyaki refers to both a Japanese cooking technique as well as to the sauce. It was developed in the 17th century and has become synonymous with Japanese cuisine, being served all over the world. The term teri in teriyaki refers to the aesthetic shine on the food created by the sugar content in the sauce, while yaki refers to the method of grilling. With its shiny luster and robust flavor, teriyaki sauce is a natural pairing for grilled foods.
How To Use Teriyaki Sauce
Quick and easy to make, this sauce is as versatile as it is delicious. Use it as a sauce or as a marinade (simply omit the cornstarch). You can use it for beef, chicken, fish and seafood, as a glaze, for barbecuing, in Asian salad dressings, in noodle dishes, stir-fries and more.
Teriyaki sauce is a versatile and flavorful Japanese sauce that can be used in various ways to add a sweet and savory taste to your dishes. Here are some common ways to use teriyaki sauce:
- Marinating Meat, Poultry, Seafood or Tofu: Simply omit the cornstarch and use this sauce as a marinade. Place the protein in a ziplock bag, pour in the sauce, and allow it marinate for at least 30 minutes before cooking.
- Grilling: Brush this sauce onto your proteins or veggies to create a delicious caramelized glaze.
- Stir-Fies: This makes an excellent base sauce for stir-fries of all kinds.
- Baked Chicken, Pork, Salmon or Tofu: Slather this on and bake to create a delicious sticky glaze.
- Dipping Sauce: This makes a great dipping sauce for sushi, spring rolls, dumplings, tempura, or other appetizers.
- Bowl or Rice Topping: Drizzle it over your rice bowls with your grilled teriyaki chicken, pork, beef, salmon or tofu and some steamed or stir-fried veggies.
- Glaze for Roasted Vegetables: Brush some of this sauce onto roasted vegetables for a sweet and savory glaze.
- Sandwiches, Wraps or Burgers: This adds a burst of flavor to your favorite sandwiches and burgers.
- Noodles: Add a drizzle of teriyaki sauce to noodle dishes, such as udon or soba, and toss to coat.
- Salad Dressing: Combine the teriyaki sauce with some oil, vinegar or lemon juice, and a little sesame oil for a unique and flavorful salad dressing.
Can I Use It As a Marinade?
Absolutely. Simply omit the cornstarch, let the sauce cool completely, and you’ve got the perfect teriyaki marinade!
Wonderfully versatile, this is a sauce you can whip up quickly in a pinch to boost the flavor of your Asian-inspired dishes.
Teriyaki Sauce Recipe
This is a super quick and easy sauce to make, all you have to do is:
- Combine the soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger, garlic, honey, sesame oil, mirin and water mixed with cornstarch together in a bowl
- Transfer the mixture to a small saucepan and simmer for about 4 minutes until thickened.
- Your sauce is ready!
You can use it right away or store it in the fridge for up to a couple of weeks. And the flavors will get even better over time. Enjoy this fantastic best homemade teriyaki sauce in the dish of your choice!
Ready in less than 10 minutes, thoroughly delicious and free of fillers or junk ingredients, there simply is no good reason to EVER use store-bought again!
Enjoy!
Be sure to try these other fabulous homemade sauces!
- Sweet and Sour Sauce
- Yum Yum Sauce
- Plum Sauce
- Hoisin Sauce
- Eel Sauce
- Black Bean Sauce
- Kecap Manis
- Sweet Chili Sauce
- Char Siu Sauce
- Ponzu Sauce
- Ginger Sauce
- Big Mac Sauce
BEST Teriyaki Sauce
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup tamari , can substitute low sodium soy sauce. Note: tamari has more flavor than soy sauce and significantly less sodium.
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- see brown sugar alternative (for low sugar option)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh ginger ,minced
- 1 teaspoon garlic ,minced
- 1 tablespoon honey (Vegans: use agave nectar or sweetener of choice)
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 3 tablespoons mirin (see note)
- 1/4 cup water mixed with 3 teaspoons cornstarch
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 4 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.
- Store in the fridge for up to a week. Makes about 1 1/4 cups teriyaki sauce.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Originally published on The Daring Gourmet May 27, 2013
Marketa says
Simply delicious! 😋
Amanda says
Hi, I made this last night and it was a hit. My fussy food allergy teenage daughter called it “pure heaven” so that speaks volumes to me. Yes, it’s sweet, but we love sweet! It’s pretty clear with the ingredients that it’s going to be in the sweeter side of things and it is now going to be our go to teriyaki sauce for marinading our minute steaks. Obviously people will tweak it to their liking but I think that is the beauty of your recipe that you can tweak this to less sweet, we added more cornflour to make it thicker but once again that was our personal preference.
Thanks so much ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Kimberly Killebrew says
Oh that’s so awesome, Amanda, I’m thrilled that this won your daughter over! <3 Thank you so much for the feedback!
Holly says
I’m just wondering why you choose to say 3 teaspoons instead of 1 tablespoon of cornstarch. I read it wrong and had way too much cornstarch! I should have known better of course 🙄
Kristi Weik says
Are you able to can this like you do plum sauce? I’d really like to make a batch of it so I always have it on hand. It’s wonderful!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Kristi, this hasn’t been tested for canning to verify its safety, plus cornstarch is generally not advised for canning (it breaks down). So I’d have to go with a “no” on that one.
Scott says
It is actually generally accepted that both flour and cornstarch may be used in modern canning recipes. The only important thing regarding canning is the pre and post sterilization techniques. I imagine that if you made this recipe, you may have success in pressure canning for the ease of hitting higher consistent temperatures. If you pressure can it under 15psiI for 15-20 minutes that’s typically more than sufficient to be able to fully sterilize any liquid media. If not pressure canning, I’m guessing a 2 hour water bath at a minimum, but I don’t can using water bathes typically. Note that pressure canning may cause the flavor to deepen or take on more caramel notes from the increased heat (221°f at 15psi) so run a small test batch to see if the flavor still matches up with—or improves upon—your expectations before committing to a full run.
Once again, though, it’s generally accepted as safe to can with cornstarch and flour. A lot of the products we buy from stores have those ingredients as well and have undergone similar canning techniques as well.
William Curren says
Kim,
This is my go to sauce for teriyaki. I have yet to use mirin, occasionally used sake or chardonnay.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thanks so much, William, I’m thrilled that it’s become a regular!
Sarah says
My boyfriend made this and it was absolutely disgusting to me. It was so unbearably sweet I could barely eat half of it. I asked him if he doubled the sugar by mistake and he informed me that, no, the recipe actually has 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1 tbsp honey, and 3 tbsp of Mirin!!! That’s essentially like adding 1/2 cup of sugar to this recipe, which has 3/4 cup of liquid! WHAT?! No wonder it was sickeningly sweet! I don’t understand how people are saying it’s not too sweet, but I’m guessing they are used to eating a lot of sugar (wondering if this is the American palate?). Also, after looking at the recipe, I feel compelled to correct the statement that tamari has less sodium than soy sauce. That maybe is true of some specific brands, but it’s not universally true. Our tamari (San-J brand) has 980 mg of sodium per tbsp…more than either of the soy sauces we had. He used lower sodium soy sauce in the end (590 mg sodium per tbsp).
Jen says
I’m wondering how you were using the sauce. It’s definitely not a dipping sauce (to my taste). It’s more of a glazing sauce. You want to brush a thin-ish layer onto whatever you’re cooking.
But if you’re using this as a sauce for stir fry, I’d really only use a couple tablespoons, at most. This is one of those sauces where a little is meant to go a long way.
Candy says
Hi Sarah. I always put unsweetened pineapple juice, unsweetened mandarin orange juice, & rice wine vinegar in mine. I’ve never measured anything, just go by taste. I do put scads more sliced garlic cloves & sliced ginger root as well. Also, I use a light olive oil, never toasted sesame oil because it’s best as a finishing oil that’s drizzled. You’ll lose a lot of the fragrance if you cook it. Take care
Lorie Lee says
Made this tonight using soy sauce. My family loves it! Thank you :)
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thanks so much, Lorie!
Yolanda says
I am out of cornstarch can I use
flour and water instead?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Yolanda, flour will give it a murky color and the texture will be more like gravy. I strongly recommend waiting until you have cornstarch.
Anonymous says
Excellent consistency and not too sweet. Made exactly and directed.
Josie says
SUCH a good teryaki sauce. I didn’t have mirin or sherry so just didn’t add it at all and tasted great
Kimberly Killebrew says
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Josie, thanks for the feedback!
Juanito says
This recipe absolutely slaps. I make this every other week and sell it to my coworkers and they can’t get enough
Kimberly Killebrew says
I’m so glad it’s a hit, Juanito, thanks for the feedback!
Kathy Broggio says
We tried this tonight. I really enjoyed it – so much better than the bottled teriyaki sauce. Thank you
Kimberly Killebrew says
Fantastic, Kathy, thank you!