Homemade Teriyaki Sauce Recipe

Sharing is caring!

Why buy store bought when you can make this easy homemade teriyaki sauce recipe in the comfort of your own home? With just four ingredients you will have a sweet and salty sauce to pour over all your favorite fixings.

Teriyaki sauce is the base of so many delicious recipes. From meat, to veggies to tofu, and so much more. 

It is very versatile and definitely a staple item to have in your pantry.

What is teriyaki?

Teriyaki is the Japanese word used to describe a cooking method. Teri meaning glazed or shiny and yaki meaning grilled or fried. Although today it is commonly used to describe the sauce itself that is used while cooking.

Benefits of making homemade teriyaki sauce?

• Simple to make
• You only need 4 ingredients
• Control the amount of sugar you add (you can opt to make it sugar free if you wish)
• Cheaper than the store bought option

Ingredients for homemade teriyaki sauce

• 1 cup shoyu
• 2/3 cup mirin
• 2/3 cup sake
• 1/4 cup brown sugar

This recipe is the basic base recipe for this sauce.

The Hawaiian style of teriyaki sauce tends to be thicker than that of the Japanese sauce. This can be achieved by reducing the sauce longer while cooking or adding a thickener like cornstarch or potato starch.

You can also add in aromatics like ginger and garlic or even pineapples.

First let’s talk shoyu. Shoyu is a Japanese style soy sauce. Shoyu contains gluten. If you’d like a gluten free option you can opt to use tamari sauce instead.

Next mirin. Mirin is a sweet, cooking wine popular in Japanese dishes. It packs such great flavor and is a key addition to teriyaki sauce. Mirin can be found in the Asian aisle at most grocery stores. 

Don’t have mirin? You could substitute this out with marsala wine or sherry.

And of course sake. Sake is a Japanese rice based alcohol. This can also be found in the Asian aisle or the liquor aisle. If you prefer not to cook with alcohol you can opt to leave it out.

Does teriyaki sauce need to be refrigerated?

Homemade teriyaki sauce does not have the added preservatives that many store bought options do. Keeping the sauce in the refrigerator will help keep it fresher longer.

How to use homemade teriyaki sauce as a marinade?

The key to marinades is the thinner consistency to help it penetrate into the meat or whatever ingredient you are using. If you are looking to make this sauce a marinade then remove from the heat just after the sugar melts. This will keep the sauce from thickening.

How to make a teriyaki glaze?

Conversely, a glaze is a thicker, more sticky sauce. This can be achieved by reducing the sauce longer on the heat or  thickeners like cornstarch or potato starch.

Can teriyaki sauce substitute for soy sauce?

While soy sauce is an ingredient in teriyaki sauce it is more on the salty side and teriyaki sauce tends to be on the sweeter side. In a pinch you could interchange the two, however the flavor profile will change.

Some other local favorite dishes to check out:

• Honey walnut shrimp
• Chicken karaage
• Pork hash
• Beef and broccoli

How to make homemade teriyaki sauce?

https://youtu.be/dbbFhZswuP4

Set a pot over medium-high heat.

Add shoyu, mirin, sake, and brown sugar. Mix until well combined.

Heat until sugar dissolves and sauce just begins to thicken, about 15-20 minutes.

Remove from heat and allow to cool before pouring into your storage container of choice. ENJOY!

Tried this recipe? Tag me on social. I’d love to see and share it.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/keeping.it.relle

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/keepingitrelle

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/keepingitrelle

Tried and love this recipe? Please give it a rating.

Pin for later.