Teriyaki Sauce (照り焼きソース)

This authentic teriyaki sauce recipe brings the perfect balance of sweet and savory flavors, using simple ingredients like soy sauce, mirin, sake, and sugar for a rich glaze ideal on grilled meats, veggies, or tofu. Made in under 10 minutes, learn how to make homemade teriyaki sauce to add delicious depth to any dish! Whether used as a marinade or finishing sauce, it’s a versatile and essential recipe for Japanese cuisine.

Whenever I chat with friends about their favorite foods or visiting a Japanese restaurant, teriyaki always comes up. There is almost always Teriayki chicken or Teriayki salmon on the menu and I often hear ‘Teriyaki chicken is one of my favourite Japanese foods’. Outside of Japan, teriyaki is seen as a staple of Japanese cuisine.

When I was younger, I too thought Teriayki was a sauce until one da my mother told me that Teriyaki isn’t actually a traditionally dish. So…

What is Teriyaki?

In Japan, teriyaki (照り焼き) refers to a traditional cooking method, not just the sauce commonly associated with it. The word “teri” (照り) means luster or shine, while “yaki” (焼き) refers to grilling, broiling, or pan-frying. Teriyaki is a technique where food—typically fish, chicken, or beef—is cooked with a shiny glaze created from a mixture of soy sauce, mirin, sake, and sometimes sugar. This glaze caramelizes during cooking, giving the dish its signature glossy finish and a balance of sweet and savory flavors.

Difference Between Japanese and American Teriyaki Sauce

Japanese teriyaki and American teriyaki differ primarily in their sauce composition and usage. As mentioned above, in Japan, teriyaki refers to a cooking technique where ingredients like chicken, fish, or beef are grilled or broiled and glazed with a simple sauce made from soy sauce, mirin, sake, and sometimes sugar, resulting in a delicate balance of savory and slightly sweet flavors. To simplicity and ease, I will be referring to Teriyaki as a sauce throughout this post. The glaze is light and complements the natural taste of the food. In contrast, American teriyaki tends to feature a thicker, sweeter sauce, often with additional sweeteners like honey or brown sugar and sometimes cornstarch for thickness. The sauce is more assertive, used both as a marinade and a glaze, and is often applied more heavily in fusion or fast food dishes.

Ingredients in Teriyaki Sauce

Authentic Japanese teriyaki sauce contains only 4 ingredients:

• Soy Sauce: It’s important to use Japanese soy sauce (shoyu) for its unique, smoother flavor compared to other soy sauces. It provides the savory umami base that defines the sauce, without being as harsh or overly salty as some other varieties.
• Sake: A Japanese rice wine that adds complexity to the sauce and helps to mellow the sweetness of the mirin.
• Mirin: A sweet rice wine used in Japanese cooking, mirin adds a mild sweetness and subtle depth of flavor.
• Sugar: Sugar enhances the sweetness of the sauce, creating a glossy glaze that caramelizes as it cooks.

Many non-traditional teriayki sauce recipes online call for ingredients like vinegars, honey, brown sugar, sesame oil, sesame seeds, ginger, garlic and thickeners like corn starch. I do not recommend adding any of these if you want to make traditional Japanese teriayaki dishes. However, there are no strict food rules so add them if you prefer it. Just note that the flavour will change quite a bit depending on what you add and how much.

Golden Ratio for Teriyaki Sauce

Most Japanese teriayki sauce call for a ratio of 2:2:2:1. My family’s golden ratio calls for 9:7:7:4. I’ve had this ratio memorized since I was 10 from my grandpa but adjust these ratios to your liking!

How to Make Japanese Teriayki Sauce

Making Japanese teriayki sauce is extremley easy and comes together in under 5 minutes.

1. Mix the soy sauce, sake, mirin and sugar.
2. Heat ingredients together until sugar is dissolved.
3. Thicken it if desired.

And thats it! Use right away or store in the refrigerator once cooled for future use.

How to Use Homemade Teriayki Sauce

Teriayki sauce can be used for so many dishes and applications. Here are some common ways to use it:

• marinade for poultry, meats, seafood or tofu
• glaze for baked, grilled, air fried or panfried meats, seafood, tofu or vegetables
• vegetable stir fries
• fried rice
• noodle stir fries

How to Store Homemade Teriayki Sauce

To store homemade Japanese teriyaki sauce, first allow it to cool completely to room temperature to prevent condensation inside the storage container. Then, transfer the sauce into a clean, airtight container, such as a glass jar, bottle, or plastic container. Glass jars or bottles are ideal because they won’t absorb flavors and are easy to clean. Store the sauce in the refrigerator, where it will stay fresh for up to 3 weeks.

Recipes with Teriayki Sauce

• Teriayki Salmon (coming soon)
• Teriayki Chicken (coming soon)
• Teriayki Beef (coming soon)
• Rice Cooker Teriyaki Chicken Rice
• Teriyaki Tofu Donburi
• Vegan Teriayki Salmon Donburi

Recipe FAQ

Enjoy!! If you make this Teriyaki Sauce recipe, let me know! Leave a comment, rating and if you decide to share it on socials, tag me on instagram @Okonomikitchen. I’d love to hear from you!

Teriyaki Sauce

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5 from 18 reviews

• Author: Lisa Kitahara
• Total Time: 5 minutes
• Yield: 1 1/2 cups
• Diet: Vegan

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Description

This authentic teriyaki sauce recipe brings the perfect balance of sweet and savory flavors, using simple ingredients like soy sauce, mirin, sake, and sugar for a rich glaze ideal on grilled meats, veggies, or tofu. Made in under 10 minutes, learn how to make homemade teriyaki sauce to add delicious depth to any dish! Whether used as a marinade or finishing sauce, it’s a versatile and essential recipe for Japanese cuisine.

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Ingredients

• 9 tbsp (130 ml) Japanese soy sauce (or gluten free soy sauce)
• 7 tbsp (100 ml) sake
• 7 tbsp (100 ml) mirin
• 4 tbsp (50 g) granulated cane sugar

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Instructions

1. Add the soy sauce, sake, mirin and sugar to a sauce pan over medium low to medium heat. Without bringing it to a boil, stir with a spoon spoon until the sugar completely dissolves. Remove from heat.
2. Pour into a storing jar and keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 months. 

To Thicken Teriayki Sauce

1. Once the teriyaki sauce mixture comes to a boil in step 1 above, reduce medium low heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until thickened to your liking.

Notes

• Sake Substitutions: Substitute for either Chinese rice wine or water for no alcohol.
• Mirin substituions: Substitute for sake and sugar in a ratio of 3:1 or water and sugar in a ratio of 3:1. 
• Helpful Equipment: storing jar
• Nutritional Information Disclaimer: Nutrition information is a rough estimate calculated on an online tool (Cronometer). 

• Prep Time: 2 minutes
• Cook Time: 3 minutes
• Category: Condiments
• Method: Stove Top
• Cuisine: Japanese

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 tbsp
• Calories: 26 kcal
• Sugar: 4 g
• Sodium: 282 mg
• Fat: 0
• Saturated Fat: 0
• Unsaturated Fat: 0
• Trans Fat: 0
• Carbohydrates: 3.9
• Fiber: 0
• Protein: 0.4 g
• Cholesterol: 0

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