Teriyaki Sauce
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Make the best homemade Teriyaki Sauce with this easy 6 ingredient recipe! This delicious Japanese sauce is sweet and salty, and perfect for making stir fries, glazing chicken, or topping Hawaiian burgers. Make the sauce at home in just 10 minutes, and store it in the fridge for up to 2 weeks to add flavor to tons of recipes!
Table of contents
Teriyaki sauce is a versatile Japanese sauce that can be used in a number of different ways and recipes. Over the years, I’ve made stir fry, noodles, hot dogs, skewers, and many other recipes featuring this sweet and salty sauce.
Today I’m here to share my go-to homemade teriyaki sauce recipe. It’s easy to make with only 6 ingredients and just 10 minutes of time. You can store it in the fridge for up to 2 weeks, so it’s a great make-ahead sauce for meals throughout the week.
Ingredients
- Soy sauce – I like to use a low-sodium soy sauce. I’ve found that using traditional soy sauce makes the teriyaki sauce too salty for my taste. If you’re making this sauce gluten free, you’ll want to use tamari, or gluten-free soy sauce.
- Mirin – you can also use sake, which is traditional in authentic Japanese teriyaki sauce recipes. The difference between mirin and sake is that mirin is sweeter with a lower alcohol content than sake. You can also use rice vinegar, but it will be more sour and acidic than mirin. You can find mirin in the Asian section of the grocery store, usually near soy sauce and bottled teriyaki sauce.
- Brown sugar – to sweeten the sauce.
- Fresh garlic and ginger – to add wonderful flavor to the sauce, I recommend crushing fresh garlic cloves and grating a knob of fresh ginger. If you already have a jar of garlic ginger puree in the fridge, you can use 2 teaspoons of that instead of the fresh garlic and ginger.
- Cornstarch – this ingredient is used to thicken the sauce.
Instructions
- Add soy sauce, mirin, brown sugar, garlic and ginger to a pot on the stove over medium-high heat. Bring the sauce to a rolling simmer, then simmer the sauce for 4-5 minutes.
- In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and cold water. Add this mixture to the simmering sauce and whisk everything together. Reduce the heat on the stove to medium heat and simmer for 3-4 minutes. Remove the sauce from the heat and set it aside to cool.
Recipe notes
- The sauce will thicken as it sits and cools. If you want a thicker sauce, increase the amount of cornstarch and water both to 3 tablespoons.
- To make gluten-free teriyaki sauce, use tamari instead of soy sauce. Always check the label on the mirin to make sure it’s gluten free. The Mirsukan brand pictured above is gluten free.
- This recipe can easily be doubled. Simply click the 2X button in the recipe card below. The ingredient amounts will automatically double to make a double batch of the sauce.
- Store the sauce in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks in an airtight container.
Ways to use it
This teriyaki sauce recipe can be used as a meat marinade, a glaze for grilled meats, a dipping sauce, a topping for burgers or hot dogs, or as a sauce for stir fry or noodles. It’s truly versatile and delicious in so many ways! Try using it in these three ways.
- As a marinade – prepare the teriyaki sauce as instructed. Let it cool completely in the fridge. Use half of the sauce (about ¾ cup) to marinate 2 pounds of chicken breasts or chicken thighs. Marinate the chicken for at least 30 minutes, or up to 8 hours before removing from the marinade and grilling the chicken.
- As a glaze for grilled meats – season boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs with salt and pepper. Grill the chicken. During the last 1-2 minutes of cooking time, brush the teriyaki sauce over the chicken. This method can also be used for grilled shrimp or salmon.
- As a stir fry sauce – add 1 tablespoon oil to a large skillet on the stove over medium-high heat. Add 3 cups diced vegetables, like bell peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, onions, or sugar snap peas and stir fry for 3-4 minutes. Add 1 pound diced chicken (or to make a veggie stir fry add 2 more cups of veggies) and cook for 5 minutes. Pour all of the teriyaki sauce from this recipe into the skillet, toss until the chicken and veggies are coated and continue cooking for 1-2 minutes. Serve the stir fry with cooked rice or noodles, topped with diced green onions and sesame seeds.
Or try using the sauce in any of these recipes.
More sauce recipes
Try these other delicious homemade sauce recipes to amp up the flavor of your next meal!
Teriyaki Sauce
Ingredients
- ½ cup low-sodium soy sauce
- ½ cup mirin, or sake
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 4 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons water
Instructions
- Heat a saucepan on the stove over medium-high heat. Add the soy sauce, mirin, brown sugar, garlic and ginger to the pan, whisk to combine. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 4-5 minutes.
- In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch and water. Add this to the boiling sauce and whisk together. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 3-4 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and set aside to cool. The sauce will thicken as it sits and cools. If you want a thicker sauce, increase the amount of cornstarch and water both to 3 tablespoons.
Notes
- To make gluten-free teriyaki sauce, use tamari instead of soy sauce. Always check the label on the mirin to make sure it’s gluten free. The Mirsukan brand pictured above in the blog post is gluten free.
- This recipe can easily be doubled. Simply click the 2X button above. The ingredient amounts will automatically double to make a double batch of the sauce.
- Store the sauce in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks in an airtight container.
- For instructions on how to make a stir fry with the sauce, or how to use it as a marinade, refer to the blog post above.
Nutrition Facts
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