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Teriyaki Sauce Recipe

4.99 from 65 votes
teriyaki chicken with rice on plate
Teriyaki sauce is so very simple to make and tastes absolutely delicious on beef, chicken, pork, veggies, and more! It only takes a few ingredients and 10 minutes to make up a batch you can use again and again!
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
0 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
Servings:8 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 cup low sodium soy sauce
  • ½ cup water
  • ½ cup rice vinegar
  • 1 cup sugar, see note
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger, see note
  • ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, or 1-2 teaspoons sriracha sauce, to taste
  • 2 teaspoons minced garlic
  • 3 tablespoons corn starch, + ¼ cup water or soy sauce, see note
  • ½ teaspoon sesame seeds

Instructions

  • In a medium sauce pan, combine soy sauce, water, rice vinegar sugar, ginger, red pepper flakes (or sriracha sauce), and garlic and give it a good stir.
  • Bring heat up to medium, whisking occasionally until sauce comes to a boil.
  • Stir corn starch into water (or soy sauce) and whisk into boiling sauce. Continue to stir as sauce thickens.
  • Stir in sesame seeds. Serve with your favorite Asian-inspired dish or allow to cool before storing in airtight container in fridge for later use (see notes for "leftovers"). Enjoy!

Notes

About that sugar: this is my favorite - though maybe not the most super duper healthy version as it calls for 1 cup of sugar - teriyaki sauce.  Just remember this makes a pretty big batch of sauce and you'll be dividing it between many servings so maybe that 1 cup isn't quite as intense as it seems! To lighten this up a bit, feel free to scale back the sugar to your own preference. 
The ginger: I definitely recommend using the ground ginger if you have it on hand, BUT I want to let you know that I have run out before (gasp) and made this sauce without the ginger and it was still fantastic! 
Corn starch slurry: I used to thicken this teriyaki sauce by dissolving the corn starch into 1/3 cup soy sauce, but in an attempt to make it a smidge healthier I've recently been swapping out the soy sauce and using water instead and it tastes delicious with just a slightly less intense flavor. So either works, water or soy sauce - just go with your gut on this one. 
Leftovers: this sauce keeps well in an airtight container up to two weeks in the fridge, or even longer in the freezer. To reheat, stir over medium-low heat on stove top, or microwave in a heat-safe, uncovered container in 30 second increments. 

Nutrition

Calories: 131 kcal, Carbohydrates: 31 g, Protein: 2 g, Fat: 1 g, Saturated Fat: 1 g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1 g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1 g, Sodium: 1065 mg, Potassium: 66 mg, Fiber: 1 g, Sugar: 26 g, Vitamin A: 19 IU, Vitamin C: 1 mg, Calcium: 10 mg, Iron: 1 mg
Course: Sauce / Condiment
Cuisine: Chinese
Author: Tiffany