Teriyaki Sauce
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This tasty homemade Teriyaki Sauce recipe is incredible! With just the right balance of soy sauce and sweetness, it’s perfectly infused with hints of fresh garlic and ginger that make it addictively good. You can use it in another recipe, as a marinade, or as a dipping sauce with your BBQ favorites!
The Best Teriyaki Sauce Recipe
This is one of those recipes that is going to have you wondering what took you so long to make your own from scratch! But don’t feel bad. It took me years to realize that I could make teriyaki sauce almost as quickly as I could pay for it.
In a nutshell, teriyaki sauce is basically just soy sauce that has been thickened, sweetened, and infused with a bit of acid, garlic, and ginger. And to make it, all you do is simmer a handful of ingredients together for about 10 minutes! That’s it!
Then once made, it’s such a versatile sauce that you can use in so many different ways. For example, instead of using store-bought teriyaki sauce to make my yummy Slower Cooker Teriyaki Chicken or Instant Pot Teriyaki Chicken, you can use this recipe! So go grab yourself a bottle of soy sauce and get to making some teriyaki!
Why You’ll Love This Teriyaki Sauce Recipe
- Quick and Easy! Making this sauce takes just 8 simple ingredients, one pot, and 10 minutes! And it keeps for up to a week in the fridge or in the freezer for months.
- Tastier Homemade! Store-bought bottled teriyaki sauce is good, but this recipe is amazing! You can taste all the layers of flavor without all the preservatives.
- Versatile Sauce! It can be used as a glaze for Salmon or pork BBQ, a marinade for chicken or tofu, or as a dipping sauce for anything you like.
- Cornstarch – This is the key ingredient and one you must use to thicken the sauce. However, you can also use arrowroot powder as a thickener in place of the cornstarch if you like.
- Soy Sauce – I always use low-sodium soy sauce to control the salt content of the sauce.
- Sake – Easy to find in all markets in the wine section. But if you just can’t find sake or Shaoxing wine or dry sherry will work.
- Mirin – It’s sold in almost all markets nowadays in the Asian foods aisle.
- Brown Sugar – Used to sweeten the sauce, it naturally has molasses in it which adds another layer of flavor. You can also use honey if you like.
- Garlic – Always use minced fresh garlic for the best flavor. Store-bought minced garlic in a jar is just not the same.
- Ginger – Freshly grated ginger root is what you want to use. But you can use ground ginger in a pinch.
- Water – Cold water works with the cornstarch to achieve the perfect sauce consistency.
This is a 2-step recipe. And once you make it, you will never see the point in store-bought ever again!
Make The Sauce
First, add all the ingredients to a saucepan and whisk them together. Now, bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Then reduce to medium heat and simmer the sauce for about 10 minutes or until it reduces by half and thickens. Then remove it from the heat.
Strain The Sauce
Once the sauce is done cooking, strain it using a fine mesh strainer to remove the chunks of garlic and ginger. Now, it’s ready to serve. You can also leave in the bits of garlic and ginger if you prefer. I actually prefer it with the garlic and ginger, but it’s up to you.
How Do I Substitute The Mirin?
If you just can’t find mirin it is possible to substitute it with white wine vinegar and sugar. To do this, for every tablespoon of mirin needed just mix together 1 tablespoon of white wine vinegar with ½ tablespoon of sugar. Basically, it’s a 2:1 ratio of vinegar to sugar.
Can I Make Gluten Free Teriyaki Sauce?
Yes! Just use low-sodium tamari in place of soy sauce and it’s now gluten-free.
Expert Tips
- Use fresh garlic and ginger. For the best results, use fresh garlic cloves and ginger root for the best flavor. It makes a huge difference.
- Make a smooth sauce. You need to whisk the teriyaki sauce ingredients together in the saucepan before cooking the sauce to make sure that the cornstarch is fully dissolved.
- Watch it cook. Keep an eye on the sauce as it cooks. You don’t want it to reduce too much and either get too thick or even burn.
Storage
The sauce will keep in the refrigerator for up to 7 days in an airtight container. You can also freeze it too for up to 3 months.
Other Delicious Recipes To Try
- Garlic Confit
- Easy Homemade Pesto Recipe
- World’s Best Cranberry Sauce
- Hollandaise Sauce
- Fry Sauce
- Teriyaki Chicken
- Honey Mustard Sauce
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Teriyaki Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- ¼ cup soy sauce (low sodium)
- ¼ cup sake (or Shaoxing wine)
- ¼ cup mirin
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger (grated)
- ¼ cup water
Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Instructions
- Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the sauce thickens and reduces by half, should take about 5 to 10 minutes.
- Strain and set aside until ready to serve.
Notes
- Use fresh garlic and ginger. For the best results, use fresh garlic cloves and ginger root for the best flavor. It makes a huge difference.
- Make a smooth sauce. You need to whisk the teriyaki sauce ingredients together in the saucepan before cooking the sauce to make sure that the cornstarch is fully dissolved.
- Watch it cook. Keep an eye on the sauce as it cooks. You don’t want it to reduce too much and either get too thick or even burn.
- The sauce will keep in the refrigerator for up to 7 days in an airtight container. You can also freeze it too for up to 3 months.
Nutrition Information
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
