Teriyaki sauce

A pot filled with Teriyaki sauce that is cooking, forming bubbles on the surface.
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There is something about teriyaki sauce that instantly transforms a meal, salty, sweet, rich, and deeply savoury. While the bottled version is convenient, once you realise how quick and easy it is to make home made teriyaki sauce, you might never go back.

On a wooden cutting board, a green cloth napkin in the right corner, in the middle a larger blue bowl with noodles, shredded teriyaki tofu, topped with spicy cucumber salad and black sesame seeds. Further to the left, a smaller bowl with spicy cucumber salad. Below this bowl, a pair of black chopsticks.
Teriyaki tofu ramen

Last week I posted my Vegan shredded salad with teriyaki tofu with great response so I thought I would put up a post with only the teriyaki sauce, easier to search and find for all your Asian creations.

This sauce works as well in salads as in your salmon or chicken dishes. Make a big batch and put in the freezer for a quick dinner later.

On a wooden cutting board, to the right a cloth napkin with a green leaf pattern on a white background. Clockwise from left, a piece of fresh ginger, a bowl with hoisin sauce, a bowl of brown sugar,a smaller bowl of soy sauce, a smaller bowl of white vinegar and three cloves of garlic.
Teriyaki sauce ingredients

How to make teriyaki sauce

Gently fry the garlic in sesame oil, take care not to burn the garlic.

Add all the rest of the ingredients and whisk together.

Bring the sauce to a boil before lowering the heat and let simmer for 3-5 minutes until the sauce has thickened. It will get slightly thicker once cooled down.

For more detailed descriptions and measurements, check out the recipe card below.

Freezable

The sauce can be frozen in an airtight container for about three months. Defrost in the fridge for a day or on the counter top for a few hours. If you need the sauce right away, reheat on low heat and stir constantly.

A silicone cookie sheet with shredded teriyaki tofu spread out, covering almost the full sheet

Batch cooking tips

Teriyaki sauce is one of those versatile sauces I use a lot in my cooking, partly because it freezes so well and therefore easy to batch cook. Make a big batch and always have a container of it in the freezer.

Variations

Use this teriyaki sauce for all your South East Asian dishes, such as Teriyaki tofu rice bowl, Vegan teriyaki tofu or Teriyaki tofu ramen bowl. If you do not like tofu you can use the same recipes using minced meat or a vegetarian mince.

For other sauces made from scratch I have a specific post with some of my best versatile sauces to use at so many different occasions.

A pot filled with Teriyaki sauce that is cooking, forming bubbles on the surface.
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Teriyaki sauce

This sauce works as well in salads as in your salmon or chicken dishes.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time10 minutes
Total Time20 minutes
Course: Seasoning, Side Dish
Cuisine: East Asia
Keyword: teriyaki
Servings: 8 portions

Ingredients

  • 4 cloves of garlic minced
  • 8 tbsp dark brown sugar
  • 8 tbsp hoisin sauce
  • 4 tbsp dark soy sauce
  • 4 tbsp sesame oil
  • 2 tbsp fresh ginger minced

Instructions

  • Gently fry the garlic in a bit of sesame oil.
  • Add the rest of the ingredients to the sauce.
  • Whisk together and bring to boil.
  • Lower the heat and let simmer for 3-5 minutes until sauce has thickened

Notes

The recipe makes about 250 ml sauce, depending on how much you reduce it.