This recipe for a quick homemade teriyaki sauce is just that - Quick, easy, and just right. because you, control all of the ingredients... and flavor.!
The Making of - Quick Homemade Teriyaki Sauce
Homemade teriyaki sauce is not something I often think of making. I mean, there are so many commercial brands already in the market - and just like mayonnaise, they are so convenient to use, why make it yourself?
But as I was flipping through recipes trying to come up with a dinner idea, not sure what that idea was other than it was going to be made from boneless, skinless chicken breasts, I came across a recipe for Classic Chicken Teriyaki. While BB claims not to be a big fan of teriyaki, finding the sauce too cloying and sweet, this particular recipe had a homemade sauce - was from Nobu Matsuhisa - a well-known chef - I thought I would give it a try and tweak it to our taste.
So why make your own teriyaki sauce?
You make your own teriyaki sauce so you are in control.
You are in control of how sweet it is, how salty it is, how thick it is, and what flavors you want.
As I said, BB doesn't like it too sweet - so the first thing I adjusted was the amount of sugar. Nobu's recipe called for ½ cup, I used ¼ cup and found that to be just right for our tastes. If you like a sweeter sauce, add a bit more sugar.
See easy to control.
You control what kind of soy sauce you use. I always use low-sodium soy. No need for the added salt, in my opinion, so I used that instead of full-on soy.
Same flavor, less salt.
You control how thick, or thin, it is. Let's say you want to use your teriyaki sauce as a marinade instead of a glaze.
Easy. Don't add as much, or any, cornstarch. If you want a thick glaze, add more cornstarch. Just be warned, the sauce will thicken as it cools, so be sure not to make it too thick to start with.
And of course, make sure your sauce is completely cool before using it to marinate any raw meats. You don't want to start bacteria growing on your food!
Safety first.
You control the thickness of this quick and easy Teriyaki Sauce
And then, of course, there are the ingredients.
Nobu's recipe called for chicken stock. It was good, but when I remade it I used water and found little to no difference in the flavor of the finished dish.
So water it is.
Many recipes, Nobu's included, call for, mirin a Japanese cooking wine that, when fermented, creates sugars. As I wanted to avoid an overly sweet sauce, I used rice wine vinegar and sake to emulate it.
Worked beautifully.
I added some grated ginger to the recipe. Just a touch, for balance.
Ying and yang.
This really is a Quick Homemade Teriyaki Sauce. It takes about 10 minutes on the stove. And it works on anything you want a teriyaki sauce to work on. As it ended up, I simply grilled the chicken breast on the BBQ, took all of 5 minutes, then drizzled the sauce over sliced pieces. Added some steamed rice, a green salad and voila.
Dinner! In about 20 minutes time. Now, how easy is that?
And BTW - BB loved it!
Quick Homemade Teriyaki Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- ⅓ cup low-sodium soy sauce
- ¼ cup granulated sugar or as desired
- 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sake
- 2 tablespoons Hoisin
- ½ teaspoon freshly grated ginger root
- 1 teaspoon or more, cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon or as needed, water (to form a slurry)
Instructions
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, whisk together the water, soy sauce, sugar, rice vinegar, sake, Hoisin, and ginger root. Simmer for about 10 minutes, or until slightly reduced.
- While the mixture is simmering, mix the cornstarch and cold water together to form a slurry; add slowly to the simmering teriyaki sauce until it comes to your desired level of thickness. Remove from heat.
- Use hot or at room temperature. Store, tightly covered, in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
bb says
the thing I liked most about this recipe was that it's a homemade twist on teriyaki...not too sticky sweet and just the right amount of acid. Also the color is not inky black delicious on the chicken....would love to try it on a firm whitefish