Teriyaki Sauce
The name explains the method: teri means gloss, yaki means grilling. A classic teriyaki does not thicken with starch but with sugar, reduced together with soy sauce and mirin until it clings. That is why there are only four ingredients and roughly ten minutes of cooking.
- Prep
- 5 min
- Cook
- 12 min
- Total
- 17 min
- Servings
- 8
- Level
- Easy
- Per serving
- 65 kcal
Ingredients
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What to use instead
Soy sauce contains wheat. For a gluten-free version use tamari, which actually gives an even deeper flavour.
Makes: about 250 ml
Shopping list
The ingredients for the servings you chose — copy them or send them to a messenger. Tick what you already have at home: only the rest goes on the list.
Method
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Step 1: Burn off the alcohol
Bring the sake and mirin to the boil in a small pan and hold it for 2 minutes. Skip this and a harsh alcoholic edge stays in the sauce and drowns everything else.
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Step 2: Dissolve the sugar
Add the soy sauce and sugar and stir until no grains remain. Any crystals left on the base will scorch later.
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Step 3: Reduce for 8–10 minutes
Keep it at a gentle simmer, uncovered. The sauce should shrink by about a third, which concentrates the sugar enough to make it shine and cling.
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Step 4: Test the consistency
Dip a spoon and lift it: the sauce runs off in a ribbon and leaves a thin dark film on the metal. Remember it thickens noticeably more as it cools.
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Step 5: Add the aromatics
Drop in the ginger and garlic for the final minute, then strain. Long boiling turns ginger bitter and garlic aggressive.
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Step 6: Glaze at the very end
Cook the chicken or salmon through first, then add 2–3 spoonfuls of sauce. Two minutes is enough for it to reduce to a lacquer; any longer and the sugar burns.
Tips & variations
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Tip
Wash the pan straight after glazing: caramelised sugar sets like glue once cold but lifts in a minute under warm water.
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Variation
For a thick dipping sauce, slake a teaspoon of cornflour in a spoonful of cold water and stir it in at the end. Not classic, but handy for noodles.
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Swap
Soy sauce contains wheat. For a gluten-free version use tamari, which actually gives an even deeper flavour.
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Storage
A month in a bottle in the fridge — salt and sugar preserve it well. Give it a shake before use.
Nutrition
| 1 serving | Whole dish 8 servings | |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 65 kcal | 520 kcal |
| Protein | 2 g | 16 g |
| Fat | 0 g | 0 g |
| Carbohydrates | 13 g | 104 g |
Approximate values calculated from standard ingredient data.
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