Simple Teriyaki Sauce (2024)

You'll never reach for the store-bought stuff again after making this incredibly tangy, rich, and sweet homemade teriyaki sauce. Enjoy a quick, flavorful glaze, marinade, or dip made with pantry ingredients like soy sauce and brown sugar. Plus, learn about the ingredients needed for an authentic teriyaki sauce, how to make it, and how it's stored.

What Is Teriyaki?

Teriyaki refers to a style of Japanese cuisine that includes cooking proteins and vegetables in a thick, sweet, and savory sauce. The word loosely translates to "glossy broil" and is synonymous with a bold, tangy flavor that is beloved the world over.

Teriyaki sauce can be used as a marinade, basting agent, or dipping sauce. It's a versatile tool in the kitchen, elevating stir-fries, steaks, and seafood dishes. It's easy to throw together with just a few pantry ingredients and packs a potently delicious punch.

Teriyaki Sauce Ingredients

Authentic Japanese teriyaki sauce combines soy sauce, mirin, sugar, and sake to create a distinctively sharp taste, with Westernized versions incorporating honey, garlic, and ginger for added edge.

Cornstarch is often added to teriyaki sauce as a thickener. Create a slurry with cornstarch and cold liquid before integrating it into the mixture.

Simple Teriyaki Sauce (1)

How to Make Teriyaki Sauce

Making our top-rated homemade teriyaki sauce couldn't be easier. Simply combine soy sauce, brown sugar, honey, spices, cornstarch, and water over medium heat, stirring throughout. Cook the sauce for five to seven minutes or until it has thickened.

Remove sauce from heat and allow time for cooling. It's that straightforward — have tantalizingly delicious teriyaki sauce ready to glaze, marinade, or stir-fry at a moment's notice with this effortless recipe.

How to Store Homemade Teriyaki Sauce

Homemade teriyaki sauce can last up to a week in the refrigerator, but be mindful of added ingredients like alliums or herbs that can shorten its shelf life. Keep leftover sauce in an airtight container for best results.

Allrecipes Community Tips and Praise

"I have no complaints with this recipe," shares home cook Ashley. "Used it to switch up leftovers. Perfect sweet-salty balance and super simple."

"Great basic stir-fry sauce!" raves Jumpiwan. "Just what I was looking for. You can go any which way from here — sweeter, spicier, thicker, or thinner, but this sauce is great just the way it is."

"This recipe saved my life tonight!" says reviewer Sherri. "My bottle of store-bought sauce got knocked off the counter and shattered. Almost every teriyaki sauce recipe I found had ingredients not in my pantry. This recipe uses ingredients I always have on hand."

Editorial contributions by Rai Mincey

Ingredients

  • 1 cup water

  • ¼ cup soy sauce

  • 5 teaspoons packed brown sugar

  • 1 tablespoon honey, or more to taste

  • ½ teaspoon ground ginger

  • ¼ teaspoon garlic powder

  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch

  • ¼ cup cold water

Directions

  1. Gather all ingredients.

    Simple Teriyaki Sauce (2)

  2. Combine 1 cup water, soy sauce, brown sugar, honey, ginger, and garlic powder in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook until nearly heated through, about 1 minute.

    Simple Teriyaki Sauce (3)

  3. Mix cornstarch and 1/4 cold water together in a cup; stir until dissolved. Add to the saucepan.

    Simple Teriyaki Sauce (4)

  4. Cook and stir sauce until thickened, 5 to 7 minutes.

    Simple Teriyaki Sauce (5)

  5. Enjoy!

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Nutrition Facts (per serving)

21Calories
5g Carbs
0g Protein
Nutrition Facts
Servings Per Recipe12
Calories21
% Daily Value *
Sodium302mg13%
Total Carbohydrate5g2%
Dietary Fiber0g0%
Total Sugars3g
Protein0g1%
Calcium4mg0%
Iron0mg1%
Potassium17mg0%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

** Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available nutrient data.

(-) Information is not currently available for this nutrient. If you are following a medically restrictive diet, please consult your doctor or registered dietitian before preparing this recipe for personal consumption.

Powered by the ESHA Research Database © 2018, ESHA Research, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Simple Teriyaki Sauce (2024)

FAQs

What is teriyaki sauce made of? ›

Teriyaki Sauce Ingredients

Authentic Japanese teriyaki sauce combines soy sauce, mirin, sugar, and sake to create a distinctively sharp taste, with Westernized versions incorporating honey, garlic, and ginger for added edge. Cornstarch is often added to teriyaki sauce as a thickener.

How to make teriyaki sauce taste better? ›

Brown sugar in place of white granulated sugar.
  1. 1 Tablespoon cornstarch.
  2. 1 Tablespoon cold water.
  3. 1/2 Cup sugar. (Brown sugar can add a depth to the flavor too.)
  4. 1/2 Cup low sodium soy sauce.
  5. (1/2 teaspoon of MSG)
  6. 1/4 Cup apple cider vinegar.
  7. 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger.
  8. 1 garlic clove, minced.
Mar 15, 2023

Can you eat teriyaki sauce without cooking it? ›

Teriyaki is meant to be a cooking sauce, not a table sauce, but it's perfectly safe to use as a dip or a condiment.

What is the best way to use teriyaki sauce? ›

Teriyaki sauce is usually added to the meat (or meat substitute) while it's being cooked on a grill or a wok. It's also often used as a dipping sauce or condiment for pork tenderloin, chicken thighs, chicken breasts, flank steak, or, of course, your meat substitutes of choice.

How to make teriyaki sauce thicker? ›

How to Thicken Teriyaki Sauce. The easiest way to make teriyaki sauce thicker is with a cornstarch slurry (which this recipe uses). Whisk together 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch with 1 tablespoon water, and add the mixture to your sauce while it simmers.

What is a substitute for teriyaki sauce? ›

A simple and effective substitute for teriyaki sauce is a combination of soy sauce and brown sugar. The soy sauce provides the salty umami flavor, while the brown sugar adds sweetness and helps to caramelize the dish. To make this substitute, mix one part soy sauce with one part brown sugar.

Do you have to thicken teriyaki sauce? ›

Teriyaki sauce that is on the thinner side is better for marinating. I like to use this recipe to marinate beef, pork or chicken. And when making a stir-fry, add it to the pan, along with a cornstarch slurry, which will thicken the sauce.

What is teriyaki sauce supposed to taste like? ›

The sweetness comes from the sweet wine and the caramelisation of the sugar, honey or syrup, which also gives the sauce its shiny glaze. The soy, ginger and garlic tone down this sweetness, resulting in a savoury, indulgent flavour that transforms even the simplest chicken, beef or vegetable dish into a real treat.

Why is teriyaki sauce so good? ›

“Teriyaki” refers to a Japanese cooking style that uses teriyaki sauce as a marinade or glaze for grilled or broiled meats – combining the Japanese words teri, meaning "gloss," and yaki, meaning "grill or fry." The sauce itself comprises soy sauce, sugar, and mirin or sake–because of its high sugar content, it melts ...

Can you use teriyaki sauce straight from the bottle? ›

A blend of traditionally brewed soy sauce for umami flavor, wine, sugar and spices, teriyaki marinade & sauce has the depth of flavor that makes it an ideal marinade or brush-on sauce, right from the bottle.

What happens if you don't refrigerate teriyaki sauce after opening? ›

The USDA agrees, stating that shelf-stable soy sauce and teriyaki sauce are safe when stored at room temperature after opening and that quality, not safety, is why these products suggest refrigeration after opening.

Can I just use teriyaki marinade as sauce? ›

If you want to turn your teriyaki marinade into a sauce you can serve with your meal, simply add 1 tablespoon of cornstarch and ½ cup of water to the other ingredients. Simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce the sauce until it thickens to your desired consistency.

Do you put teriyaki sauce in the fridge? ›

Soy Sauce: Stable at room temp for up to a month. For optimal flavor, store in refrigerator if longer than a few weeks. Teriyaki Sauce: While soy sauce is a major ingredient in teriyaki sauce, it must be refrigerated, once opened. Whole Dill Pickles: Even with the brine, pickles must be refrigerated after opening.

What is the difference between teriyaki sauce and teriyaki marinade? ›

Marinating meat provides juice flavor and a tender meat consistency (via MadamnGRecipe). In contrast, teriyaki sauce adds instant flavor gratification and has a consistency that is usually thicker than a marinade. It is used for basting or pouring over meat as it cooks.

Is teriyaki sauce supposed to be thick or thin? ›

The second is its consistency. Teriyaki sauce (at least the kind we have come to love here in the States) is thick and sweet. Soy sauce, on the other hand, is thin and watery.

Is teriyaki sauce unhealthy? ›

Is Teriyaki sauce healthy? A. While the low amount of calories in teriyaki sauce makes it healthy, the presence of sodium in the sauce in abundance makes it unhealthy. Therefore, the amount of sauce consumed daily determines whether the sauce will prove to be beneficial or not.

What's the difference between teriyaki and soy sauce? ›

Teriyaki Sauce vs Soy Sauce

Teriyaki sauce is a sweet and savory sauce made from soy sauce, sugar, and mirin. On the other hand, soy sauce is a dark, salty sauce made from fermented soybeans, wheat, and salt.

Is teriyaki sauce Sweet or Bitter? ›

Teriyaki sauce has a complex flavour; a mixture of sweet and savoury, tangy and salty. The sweetness comes from the sweet wine and the caramelisation of the sugar, honey or syrup, which also gives the sauce its shiny glaze.

Is teriyaki or soy sauce healthier? ›

Soy sauce also has less sugar than teriyaki sauce, with only 0.06g of sugar per tablespoon compared to teriyaki sauce's added sugar content [2]. The lower caloric content and sugar content of soy sauce make it a better choice for those who are watching their weight or monitoring their sugar intake.

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