Teriyaki Sauce

Method

1. boil3 min
   high, uncovered
   mirin + sake alone, at a full boil so the alcohol flashes off — leave it in and the finished glaze tastes sharp and hot at the back of the throat, and the raw alcohol also keeps the syrup from setting properly
2. mix1 min
   off heat briefly
   + soy sauce + sugar + grated ginger + smashed garlic, stirred until no sugar grit drags on the bottom of the pan; undissolved sugar lands on the hot metal later and burns before the rest of the sauce is anywhere near ready
3. reduce14 min
   medium-low, bare simmer, uncovered
   the whole mixture down to roughly half its starting volume — around 0.66 cup. Watch the bubbles, not the pot: while there is water to boil off they are wide and lazy; when they turn small, tight and glossy the syrup has crossed about 220°F and is nearly there. Stir every few minutes so the edges do not caramelize ahead of the center
4. glaze1 min
   off heat, spoon test
   pull it the moment a cold metal spoon dipped and lifted holds a coat you can draw a clear line through with a finger. This is the whole dish: the sauce is thin at the moment it is correct, because sugar syrup roughly doubles in body as it cools. Cook it to glaze-thickness in the pan and you will have candy — tacky, bitter, unspoonable — by the time it hits room temperature
5. rest5 min
   room temperature
   let it settle and thicken, then strain out the garlic and ginger solids so they do not keep leaching and turn the sauce muddy in storage = teriyaki. If it set too firm, whisk in a spoonful of hot water; if it stayed loose, return it to low heat for two more minutes rather than reaching for starch