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!
How long does it last refrigerated?
Hi Mindy, for about a week.
This was perfection and beats any other recipe I’ve tried and certainly anything I’ve ever bought from the store.
Thank you so much, Tanner, I’m happy you enjoyed it!
Can this be frozen.
Hi, yes it can but cornstarch has tendency to break down when thawed so you may need to re-thicken it.
Hi! I’ve been using this recipe for years, and it always comes out great! Except when I want to a triple batch and hit the “3x” button! It is always too thin, and I just realized why: All the ingredients are tripled, except for the amount of corn starch. It needs to say 9 teaspoons (or 3 tablespoons). Anyway, hoot that helps other people make a triple batch! I like to make a big batch and save it for a stir fry the next week.
Hi Ashley, I’m thrilled that this has been a regular in your home, thank you! Thanks for letting me know about the glitch in the triple feature, I’ll see if that’s something we can get fixed!
This is delicious. Used arrowroot instead of corn starch and coconut sugar, just half – I doubled the recipe. I love the taste of fresh ginger. The sauce became jelly like consistency after it cooled. Is there any way to thin it a bit for when I use it next? Thank you for the recipe.
Thank you, Heidi, I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Yes, to thin it simply reheat it and add a little bit of water.
I made the full recipe without adding cornstarch and only heated it enough to dissolve the sugar. I used half for the marinade and then returned the rest to the heat and added a cornstarch slurry and cooked until thickened. This is the best sauce/marinade that I have had outside of a restaurant. It’s absolutely delicious.
Yay, I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Kelly, thanks so much for the feedback!
I made this for my family tonight, and unfortunately it wasn’t a hit. I couldn’t figure out what specifically was wrong with it, but it may have been the quantity of fresh ginger (which is quite a bit of ginger). I’m glad others have liked it, but it isn’t something well be making again.
It is a great sauce and very versatile. You can add a lot of different things in this sauce like Sriracha or Rice Wine Vinegar or Fish Sauce.
I would like to say that the recipe itself bugs me because it says to use water with “3 teaspoons of corn starch”.
3 teaspoons = 1 Tablespoon. I just don’t really understand why you didn’t just say 1T.
Maybe it’s just a prefrence and I’m splitting hairs here and being “nitpicky”
I’d rather just scoop 1 tablespoon over 3 teaspoons.
I consider myself a pretty good cook. If you don’t have all the ingrediants in your pantry shame on you. This sauce was excellent though and will become a staple in our house.
It’s store-bought teriyaki sauce that I didn’t have in my pantry, Jeff, not the ingredients to make my own. Glad you enjoyed the sauce, thanks for the feedback!