BEST Teriyaki Sauce Recipe
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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! Just read the hundreds of rave reviews below. This recipe has consistently enjoyed top ranking across the web for over 10 years for one reason: 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! And trust me, after making this teriyaki sauce recipe, you won’t either.
What is Teriyaki Sauce?
This thick and sticky Japanese 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.
Ingredients & Substitutions
This recipe calls for 8 ingredients, all of which are pantry staples with maybe the exception of mirin which you can substitute or omit. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Tamari: you can substitute low sodium soy sauce but tamari has much more flavor while also have less sodium.
- Brown sugar: adds flavor and sweetness. For sugar free teriyaki sauce you can substitute a brown sugar alternative.
- Fresh ginger: adds flavor and zing
- Fresh garlic: adds flavor and depth
- Honey: adds flavor complexity and sweetness
- Sesame oil: adds depth of flavor
- Mirin: adds flavor complexity and a hint of sweetness. You can substitute sherry and a pinch of sugar or omit it altogether.
- Cornstarch: to thicken the sauce.
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 homemade teriyaki sauce in the dish of your choice (see below for ideas).
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!
How To Use Teriyaki Sauce
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: To use this sauce as a marinade simply omit the cornstarch. 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-Fries: This makes an excellent base sauce for stir-fries of all kinds.
- Chicken Teriyaki, Teriyaki Salmon, Teriyaki Tofu, and Teriyaki Pork: 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.
For more homemade Asian sauces try my:
- 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
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BEST Teriyaki Sauce Recipe
Equipment
- Small saucepan I use and recommend All-Clad stainless steel cookware!
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
Hi, I’m Kimberly Killebrew and welcome to Daring Gourmet where you'll find delicious originals, revitalized classics, and simply downright good eats from around the world! Originally from Germany, later raised in England, world-traveled, and now living in the U.S., from my globally-influenced kitchen I invite you to tour the world through your taste buds!
This is my “go to” Teriyaki sauce recipe. I use all the portions of the ingredients mentioned. I add some rice vinger, red pepper flakes, diced jalapenos, sesame seeds and lemon juic for a tangy spicy teriyaki sauce I use coconut aminos instead of soy sauce. We use it over rice, burgers, chicken, pork and steak!. We love it.
1st time making this it was great, I also added Tai sweet chili sauce to give it alittle zing. Used reduced sodium soy sauce also.
Wonderful, Becky, thank you so much!
Have made this twice and it’s really good, but wanted to comment because if you click the buttons to change the amount you make (for example, the 2X button), it doesn’t change the amount of cornstarch needed and will give you watery sauce.
About the recipe, I use rice vinegar instead of mirine (can’t find any here) and it seems to work well too.
The only reason I gave it 4 stars is because I only used 2 of the ingredients, and I love it! I use only soy sauce and honey and add lemon juice or rice vinegar for a tangy flavor but thank you for a base recipe and I will try the recipe as is when I have all of the ingredients.👍
How about not rating a recipe when you only use 2 of the ingredients..
This is a glaze, not a sauce.. omit the cornstarch and you’ve got the sauce. Portions are off a bit. Reducing makes it thick but if you want a wing sauce, this recipe is fine
Chill, ya nerd. Anything slathered on a thing is a sauce.
pretty please: What are you talking about? The difference between glaze and sauce is huge. That’s a great comment and important for the cook who wants to incorporate the sauce into a meal with rice or with veg. You should be the one chilling.
I am horrible at sauces, but I am stepping out of my comfort zone! This was a wonderful recipe. We made teriyaki chicken salad with Asian dressing. Used it as a marinade.
Thank you, Jon, I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I ran out of the store bought teriyaki sauce and with all the snow we’ve had I really did not want to run out to the grocery store for one item. I happily found this recipe and made it. Very easy to make. I followed the directions and I think it’s delicious. Taste-tested it with the remains from the store bought bottle. This was loaded with flavor and WAY less salty! Yum!
Thanks so much for the feedback, Pam! I’m happy you found us and that you enjoyed the recipe!
I tried this out a lil different then recipe instead of rice vinegar wine I used crown royal whiskey two shots with brown sugar soy sauce garlic cloves cheese graded along with graded ginger and this sauce was magnificent the best I ever had thanks so much for the info ingredients was simple
Just made this for the family, it is awesome! So easy and good!!
Hello,
The taste was amazing but next day after being stored in the fridge it turned to a jelly consistancy. Did I add too much cornstarch? or it’s always like that?
thank you
Hi Julian, I’m glad you enjoyed the flavor! Yes, that’s what cornstarch does, it jellies, and you can add less next time so it’s not as thick. For this batch, you easily thin it out by adding a little water and reheating it.
This is my family’s go-to teriyaki sauce and has been for years! We do not find it too salty, but we do use low sodium soy sauce. And I do not add the honey, it is sweet enough with just the brown sugar and sweet mirin. Thank you for the recipe!!
Thank you, Stephanie, I’m so happy it’s become a regular!
So good!!! Better than store bought – so glad I found this recipe! Made a teriyaki tofu and veges on rice and husband loved it.
I’m so glad you both enjoyed it, Lucy, thank you!
Weird that the other reviewers said it was too salty. I made this and used as a marinade and it was very mild in flavor. In fact, I think it needed more salt and sweet but could be that the chicken watered down the marinade.
I wish I could have liked this. As other reviewers have said, this is way too salty and the soy sauce is overwhelming the flavor. I threw this out before use but will modify quantities of ingredients before I try again. As is, this will ruin your chicken or other protein you put this on. If you decide to use as is, greatly reduce the amount you apply.
The recipe called for Tamari sauce, not soy sauce. Tamari is far less salty.
Try replacing soy sauce with sweet soy sauce and add less brown sugar and honey to the recipe.
Kind regards
I followed your recipe to the exact. The sauce came out way too salty. :(
You probably reduced it too much
If you use kikoman shoyu you hv to add water. If you use aloha shoyu you dont.
Aloha shoyu is my go to! Make this sauce without the cornstarch or heating…adjust your seasoning to your liking…marinate the chicken thighs and as i bbq them I take them off the grill and dip em back in marinade and throw back on the grill several times…extremely juicy and are excellent with fried rice.