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
Cliff says
Good recipe, but be a little careful cooking it. Made a quad batch in a saucepan. Was about 3/4 full. Got it to a boil, turned down heat to simmer, but sauce bubbled like crazy and went all over the stove. When you see the first bubbles, turn it down. Either that or use a pot where the sauce is less than half of the volume of the saucepan.
Also, since I was making it for marinade, I took out the cornstarch and water, replacing it with half the amount of apple cider vinegar. Also added a bit of sriracha. Sauce came out with a little bit of a kick, which was nice. Good stuff.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Fantastic, Cliff, thanks so much for the feedback!
SoRah says
Hi- Can another oil be used other than sesame?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi SoRah, the primary purpose for the sesame oil is its flavor and without it the sauce won’t taste like it’s supposed to. If you don’t have sesame oil or don’t like it, simply omit it rather than substituting it with another oil.
.jackie says
Brilliant easy recipe family loved it.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thanks so much, Jackie!
Anonymous says
I hope it works with the gluten-free soy sauce just as well. All the other ingredients are gluten free, even the corn starch but check the packet if you are celiac as it could have traces of gluten. We do this all the time with one celiac in our household.
Cairneywyfe says
It closely resembles local teriyaki flavor in our area but came out a little thinner than we were hoping. Was very quick to make!
Ginette Anderson says
I made this and measured out all the ingredients. It was so salty it was not able to use it. Maybe a typo in the recipe? Seems it’s too much soy sauce, not enough sweet and water?
The texture and thickness was perfect, just too salty and I followed this recipe to the tee.
Ann says
I made this and it came out well except that it was extremely salty! What did I do wrong?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Ann, the sodium level is directed related to the brand of soy sauce you’re using. Not all soy sauces are created equal – some try compensate for lack of quality and flavor by bumping the sodium way up. Choose a good soy sauce and if you’re sensitive to salt you can also get low sodium soy sauce.
Jo says
THIS RECIPE IS SOOOO AMAZING …MY SAUCE CAME OUT SOO DELICIOUS AND SILKY LIKE…LOL
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thank you, Jo, I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Linda says
It is so good and quick. We had leftover BBQ chicken thigh. Pan fried them crispy and poured the sauce on top and simmered for 5 mins. Thank you for sharing your recipe.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thank you so much, Linda, I appreciate the feedback!
Amaya Hall says
Just made this last night. SO DELICIOUS. I only needed a bit of sauce for a recipe, so I halved the recipe twice.
Even with my eye-ball measurements it still tasted so good. Will be making this again and again!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Fantastic, Amaya, thank you!
Anna says
So if we do not add any wine, we do not add any cornstarch?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Anna, you’ll need cornstarch regardless in order to thicken the sauce.
Charlie says
I make teriyaki dishes all the time and have always bought the sauce – never again – this is a fantastic recipe. I used stevia instead of sugar – only a third of the quantity as it is much sweeter than sugar. Tasted fantastic.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thank you so much, Charlie, I’m happy you enjoyed it!
Tamara M Jones says
Never buying store bought Teriyaki again!! This sauce is awesome! My family loves it. I always make enough to have on hand, so now we’re eating Teriyaki at least every other week!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Fantastic, Tamara, thank you so much!
Marlene says
Excellent recipe. Thank you! I made this last night and you’re right, it tastes even better the next day. From now on, I will definitely make this the day before. I’m also going to also leave out the cornstarch slurry, as today it is very, very, v e r y thick and I’d prefer to be able to pour it. The slurry can always be added later.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thank you, Marlene, I’m happy you enjoyed it!
Cordie says
Hi I’m wondering if I could use flour instead of cornstarch? I don’t have any and the supermarkets don’t either 😑🤔🤔
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Cordie, you can, just know that it will alter/lighten the color of the sauce and it will not be translucent.