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I did a deep-dive on Asian condiments in culinary school, and Teriyaki Sauce was one of my favorite recipes to develop. I nailed down the 7 super-simple pantry ingredients you need to bring this popular Asian condiment to life, and you probably already have most of them on hand. If you can’t find Mirin (Japanese cooking wine), I tested a few successful substitutes that are listed below.
You’ll love this Teriyaki Sauce Recipe
This easy Teriyaki Sauce recipe can transform the most boring dishes into something fun and delicious. Whether you have a package of chicken breast in the freezer or a head cauliflower rolling around in your crisper drawer, Teriyaki Sauce is here to spice things up.
I love this recipe because it’s super simple, made with mostly pantry ingredients, and comes together fast. That means a homemade meal on the table on the busiest weeknights, and you’ll love it.
I love the combination of chicken (skillet-poached or leftover rotisserie chicken), baked rice, and roasted broccoli. Or try my freezer-friendly teriyaki chicken bowl. Stir-fries, fried rice, and pork chops are also delicious with a drizzle of teriyaki. Grab your chopsticks: dinner is done!
Table of Contents
What is teriyaki?
”Teriyaki” is technically a Japanese cooking method. It means to grill or broil foods with a sugar-mirin-soy sauce glaze, and teriyaki sauce derives it’s name from this technique. Teriyaki sauce often includes additional ingredient such as garlic, chili flakes for spicy, and cornstarch or other thickening agents.
Teriyaki Sauce Ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
- Mirin: Mirin is a Japanese cooking wine that is widely available at grocery stores, Target, and Walmart. If you can’t find it, substitute 2 tablespoons dry white wine OR rice vinegar AND 1 teaspoon sugar for the 2 tablespoons mirin in this recipe.
- Ginger: Store the whole root in the freezer, as-is and grate it when you need it. Some grocery stores also sell tubes of grated ginger in the produce area and it works perfectly here (I usually pick up a tube of the garlic paste, too, if I’m going to make teriyaki sauce).
- Red pepper flakes: Maybe omit these if you’re feeding children (I always do) or add more if you love heat.
How to Make Teriyaki Sauce
- In a small saucepan, combine soy sauce, sugar, water, mirin, ginger, garlic, and red pepper flakes, if using. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium and simmer.
- To make the cornstarch slurry, remove 2 tablespoons teriyaki sauce to a small bowl and whisk in cornstarch.
- Return to the saucepan and continue simmering until the sauce thickens slightly, about 5 to 8 minutes (you should have 1 cup sauce). Remove from heat and cool the mixture to room temperature, or cover and refrigerate for up to one week (a mason jar works well). Bring to room temperature before using.
Teriyaki Sauce tips and variations
- Yield: This Teriyaki Sauce Recipe makes about 1 cup teriyaki sauce. Feel free to double the recipe to feed more or have leftovers.
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Sweeteners: Substitute brown sugar for the white sugar. Stir in a teaspoon of honey, maple syrup, agave, or pineapple juice to the finished sauce.
- Garlic: Substitute ¼ teaspoon garlic powder for the fresh garlic clove if desired (or add garlic powder to taste).
- Teriyaki Chicken: For every 2 chicken breasts (about 1 ½ pounds), use ¼ cup teriyaki sauce. Marinade at least 30 minutes at room temperature or up to 4 hours in the refrigerator. Grill or sauté the chicken breasts and serve with extra teriyaki sauce on the side.
- Hibachi Steak: Plain old meat and potatoes get a major flavor overhaul with this Hibachi Steak Cheesecake Factory copycat recipe. Juicy flank steak served with grilled wasabi potatoes and a delicious teriyaki sauce make this homemade version better than anything from the restaurant.
- More homemade sauces: For more Asian-inspired sauces, discover my easy Ginger Sauce, Vietnamese Nuoc Cham, Stir Fry Sauce, or Thai Peanut Dressing.
Serving suggestions
Teriyaki sauce is an extremely versatile condiment! Try Teriyaki sauce recipe with chicken, shrimp, pork, steak, meatballs, noodles, veggies, and as a dipping sauce for appetizers. It’s great as a marinade, a stir fry sauce, and on turkey burgers with lettuce and grilled pineapple.
Storing leftover homemade teriyaki sauce
Store leftover homemade teriyaki sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. And I know what you’re thinking: “Everything in this ingredients list is shelf-stable! Why isn’t this dressing shelf-stable, or why can’t it last for a month?” Ingredients interact when they are combined, and without stabilizers and preservatives, it’s just as perishable as any other “leftover.” I’m a ServSafe-certified Food Safety Manager, and I love to follow the rules to keep you safe.
Frequently Asked Questions
Teriyaki sauce is made from a combination of soy sauce, sugar, mirin, ginger, and garlic. Some recipes add red chili flakes for spice, cornstarch for thickness, or honey as a finishing sweetener.
Choose a gluten-free soy sauce such as tamari (always check your labels).
This homemade teriyaki sauce recipe uses cornstarch as a thickener. You could also use flour or arrowroot powder.
Unlike westernized versions that are sweetened with honey and flavored with garlic and ginger, traditional Japanese teriyaki sauce is made with sake (Japanese rice wine), soy sauce, mirin, and sugar.
“Teri” in teriyaki means luster or shine, and “yaki” means grilled or broiled.
Put your teriyaki sauce to work
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Teriyaki Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 tablespoons mirin (see note 1)
- 2 teaspoons fresh ginger grated (from one 6-inch piece, see note 2)
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1/4 teaspoon red chili flakes optional (see note 3)
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, combine soy sauce, sugar, water, mirin, ginger, garlic, and red pepper flakes, if using. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium and simmer.
- To make the cornstarch slurry, remove 2 tablespoons teriyaki sauce to a small bowl and whisk in cornstarch. Return to the saucepan and continue simmering until the sauce thickens slightly, about 5 to 8 minutes (you should have 1 cup sauce).
- Remove from heat and cool the mixture to room temperature, or cover and refrigerate for up to one week (a mason jar works well). Bring to room temperature before using.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Mirin: Mirin is a Japanese cooking wine that is widely available at grocery stores, Target, and Walmart. If you can’t find it, substitute 2 tablespoons dry white wine OR rice vinegar AND 1 teaspoon sugar for the 2 tablespoons mirin in this recipe.
- Ginger: Store the whole root in the freezer, as-is and grate it when you need it. Some grocery stores also sell tubes of grated ginger in the produce area and it works perfectly here (I usually pick up a tube of the garlic paste, too, if I’m going to make teriyaki sauce).
- Red pepper flakes: Maybe omit these if you’re feeding children (I always do) or add more if you love heat.
- Yield: This recipe makes about 1 cup teriyaki sauce.
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Made this tonight and it was delicious. Will make it again. Thank you for sharing. Used ginger powder because I didn’t have fresh ginger and still turned out great.
You’re welcome, Jay! Take care! – Meggan
So delicious! Very quick and easy! Thank you for a wonderful recipe!
Thanks for trying it, Cherissa! – Meggan
Perfectly delicious 😋
So happy you enjoyed it, Susan! – Meggan
So easy to make & really tasty
So happy you loved this sauce, Tracy! Take care! – Meggan
Fantastic blog post.Really thank you! Much obliged.
Easy and Delicious!
Im not sure how but it ended up being way too sweet and had to throw it out, maybe I measured the sugar wrong who knows. 🙁 I gave it five stars because I didn’t want to mess up your rating.
Prep time of 3 minutes including peeling and grating the ginger?? How fast are you??
Once brought to a boil even simmering hence will hold the heat. There is no way it will take as long as 10 minutes for it to thicken once the cornstarch mixture is added back in. It will thicken within 4-5 minutes. Allowing it to simmer for the extra 5-6 minutes however will allow the flavours to incorporate and mingle.
I love the recipe. The use of mirin is a nice touch. On that note though you’re not doing the average home cook any favours by getting them to find mirin and then misleading them with the timings. Also it is pretty important to constantly stir the sauce while simmering in order to incorporate the cornstarch and keep your teriyaki from burning. This is a sweet sauce and is very prone to burning especially at the bottom of the pan and if left simmering for 10 minutes unattended. After the 4-5 minutes it will start to bubble and boil again too but keep the heat where it is and continue stirring.
Admittedly I am writing this note before actually trying your method. So I will try what you have suggested and see if my 25 years as a chef have somehow failed me.
I know my comments might come off as being a bit harsh but it is the truth. I’m just either the first person to read this recipe that has extensive knowledge or the first of a bunch to say something.
Hi Ian! Thank you so much for taking the time to comment. Honestly I think your job as a chef is one of the hardest and under-appreciated in the world… although I hope that hasn’t been your experience. Regarding the ginger, I would remove the peel with a spoon and have it done in 30 seconds or less, and then grating 2 teaspoons on a microplane should take 2 minutes tops. But, maybe I’m just fast and I will definitely adjust the prep time. I appreciate the feedback! I am going to make the sauce again following the timing you have suggested and see what happens. Whenever I get questions like yours (or requests for substitutions or changes) I like to test the recipes again. By doing this, I find mistakes and other areas where recipes could benefit from more details or clarification. I’m sure you’re right about the timing on the sauce and I know for sure at least one time I burned it… but I left it unattended for 30 minutes boiling while something happened with one of my kids. But either way, I think the timing is more nuanced than I describe in the recipe. And you’re right, I need to pass this along to the readers. You aren’t harsh… let’s say refreshingly honest! Because you are a chef I love it. If you were some random person on the street arguing with me about food safety it’s just boring, but you obviously know what’s going on. So thank you. I will definitely work on the recipe (testing it out and explaining more details about the process). I’m so grateful to you, you have no idea. Thank you so much!
Meggan, I am curious to know if you have tried your recipe with Ian’s changes. I also saw where someone used ground ginger instead of fresh and was wondering what the difference will be and how much ground I should use. I just don’t have a real need to keep fresh ginger on hand as I don’t use it often. I LOVE Teriyaki but the store bought one that’s thick enough to my liking always seems too spicy for my teenage children (although, I enjoy it)
Super delicious, I didn’t have mirin or fresh ginger so I substituted lemon juice and ground ginger. I kept everything else the same and it came out fabulous. I used it to make a creamy teriyaki salad dressing
If you don’t have “Mirin” (Japanese sweet cooking wine) you can substitute White Wine and Sugar:
1 and 2 tablespoons of sugar to 1/2 cup of white wine.
This is an awesome subsitution!!! Thank you so much. I’ve always wondered if there was something we could use instead. I will add it to this post and any others with Mirin. Thank you again!
1 and 2 tablespoons? What? Do you mean 1 cup and 2 tablespoons? I’m confused.
I think this person meant 1 OR 2 tablespoons of sugar to 1/2 cup white wine, vermouth, or dry sherry. The reason the exact amount of sugar isn’t specified is because it depends on the sweetness of the wine you’re cooking with. If you’ve had Mirin in the past and know what it tastes like, it’ll be easier for you to know much sugar to add. I would start with 1 tablespoon, and you can always add more if your teriyaki sauce isn’t sweet enough. I hope this helps! Thanks! Sorry for the confusion. -Meggan