Teriyaki Sauce
310kcal5.5g protein0.4g fat50.9g carbs~$1.44/ serving*Estimates computed from the ingredient list; cost uses average US supermarket prices. Not a substitute for packaging measurements or your receipt.
Contains soy · usually contains gluten · only in an optional ingredient: sesame
Restrictions
ContainssoyIt is in an ingredient you cannot leave out.
Usually containsgluten (soy sauce → Tamari)The usual version has it. One without it exists — it is the one named here.
Only if you add itsesame (sesame seeds)Leave that ingredient out and the dish does not have it.
Diets
VegetarianVegan · without onePescatarianNo pork
Worked out from the ingredient list. It knows nothing about brands, shared equipment or cross contamination, and it is not a certification — if you have an allergy, you still have to read the label.
Ingredients
Servings:
| ½ cup |  soy sauce |
| ½ cup |  mirin |
| ¼ cup |  sake |
| 3 tbsp |  sugar |
| 1 tsp |  ginger (grated) |
| 1 clove |  garlic (smashed) |
Optional
Not counted above. The dish works without them.
| 1 tbsp |  honey |
| 1 tsp |  cornstarch (slurried in cold water) |
| 1 tbsp | water (for the slurry) |
| 1 tsp |  sesame seeds (toasted) |
| 1 tbsp |  scallion (sliced thin) |
Steps
- Boil3 minhigh, uncoveredmirin + 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
- Mix1 minoff 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
- Reduce14 minmedium-low, bare simmer, uncoveredthe 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
- Glaze1 minoff heat, spoon testpull 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
- Rest5 minroom temperaturelet 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