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
Mme de Fleuris says
Dear Kimberley, this was a great Teriyaki recipe. I wrote a comment in your Hoisin sauce recipe as well, but l had to say it again! I like the way you remove the innecesary “westerners'” additions and how they recipes become so authentic (although l have never been in Asia😄). Just une question, l am cooking my teriyaki but because l have time and l dont have cornstarch nor flour, l guess making a reduction until it becomes thik would do the same effect, right? Thank you again, Mme de Fleuris
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thank you very much, I appreciate the compliment! :) I don’t recommend making a reduction with this because it will be far too concentrated and salty.
Sherry says
This is delicious!!! I made this today today to go with my husband’s chicken teryaki bowl meal prep. I love that I already had all of the ingredients. I added a dash of rice vinegar for some tang (I saw someone mention it in the comments) and a little sriracha for some heat.
Will deff make this again! And recommend to others. Thank you :)
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thanks so much, Sherry, I’m thrilled you enjoyed it!
Don says
The pictures show sesame seeds in the sauce but the recipe omits them. ???
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Don, what you’re seeing isn’t sesame seeds, it’s the minced pieces of garlic and ginger.
Alanna Linley says
Awesome recipe! I have made this several times now. Thank you so much.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thank you, Alanna, I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
maria bailey says
I never write reviews but this is truly THE BEST teriyaki sauce. Like others have said, it’s straight forward and easy! The taste is incredible! I didn’t have mirin so I used plum wine and tastes great!
Thank you! Thank you! Will now be a favorite!
maria bailey says
I forgot to mention, I tossed some chicken breast pieces with onion, red peppers, chives and frozen peaches with Thai teriyaki sauce in a baking sheet and it’s just delicious!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thank you so much, Maria! :)
Elle says
Great recipe! Easy and straightforward…much healthier than store bought!
Rita says
Excellent recipe! I used it for teriyaki chicken and beef and broccoli!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Fantastic, Rita, thanks so much!
Anonymous says
Awesome. My picky family love this recipe. Thank you for posting it👍💐
Sylvia says
Hi,
Can rice vinegar be used as a substitute for mirin?
Thanks!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Sylvia, mirin is a sweet rice wine so if you use rice vinegar you’ll need to add sugar to it (standard recommendation is about 1/2 teaspoon for every tablespoon of mirin). But if you have it, I’d first recommend substituting sherry or sweet marsala.
Zuz says
Hi, can I use Tamari sauce instead of soy?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Zuz, absolutely!
Ksadamson says
Tasty but a bit too sweet for me. I have a recipe that includes rice vinegar that has a nice tang but lacks complexity. I think I’ll try this one again with rice vinegar instead of miren, maybe cutting back a little on the brown sugar.
Shakura says
Fantastic! So easy and delicious, thank you! Because I do not drink or eat alcohol I mixed vinegar and sugar together instead of the mirin. Turned out great!
Mario Morales says
Omg. Thank you thank u so much for this recipe. I made this today with some fried rice and it was delicious. Thanks again
Phuong says
If I’m making this marinade for beef jerky, should I add the cornstarch or omit it?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Phuong, for a marinade omit the cornstarch.
Mark Dumont says
I used this in a stir fry with the cornstarch already added, but wonder if I should have left it out and added it (in a water slurry) at the end of cooking to thicken the sauce then. The sauce was beautiful (and so tasty!) when I prepared it yesterday and stored it overnight, but after adding it late in the stir fry it got watery and remained so.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Mark, yes, cornstarch breaks down when it cooks for too long so you’ll either want to add the prepared teriyaki sauce in at the very end or at it at any point and then stir in a cornstarch slurry at the end. I’m glad you enjoyed the flavor!
Mark Dumont says
Thanks Kim! I had added in the prepared thickened sauce after the pan was off the heat, but the pan was still hot of course, so it cooked. I’ll leave the cornstarch out from now on, as I also plan to use this as a marinade. And maybe I’ll prepared a side batch of the thickened sauce for a glaze. Thank you!