Make Teriyaki sauce at home using simple ingredients like soy sauce, ginger, and garlic to add an umami flavor to your favorite dishes!
We love using it to make Teriyaki pork, Teriyaki chicken, Teriyaki salmon, or even on chicken wings!
Ingredients in Teriyaki Sauce
Teriyaki sauce is a sauce that is rich, thick, and filled with umami flavors.
Soy Sauce – Most teriyaki sauces have a base of soy sauce and water however, I love adding orange juice (or pineapple juice) for extra flavor. While I often use low-sodium soy sauce, this recipe tastes best with regular soy sauce.
Garlic/Ginger – Garlic and ginger add great flavor to this sauce. Freeze ginger and grate it with a box grater right from frozen for sauces and stir fries. Fresh ginger is best, but in a pinch, replace it with ¼ teaspoon ground ginger.
Sweetness -Brown sugar is the sweetener of choice, but in a pinch, white sugar or honey will work.
Variations – For added flavor, try adding sesame seeds, green or minced white onions, and citrus zest.
How To Make Teriyaki Sauce
Once you make homemade Teriyaki sauce, you won’t buy bottled anymore, the flavor is so much better. If using this mixture as a teriyaki marinade, you can skip the cornstarch and thickening.
- Combine Ingredients: Mix soy sauce, water (or orange juice), garlic, ginger, and brown sugar in a saucepan per the recipe below.
- Simmer to blend flavors: Bring to a simmer and continue to simmer for a couple of minutes or until all of the brown sugar is dissolved.
How to Thicken Teriyaki Sauce
Thickening this homemade teriyaki sauce recipe is optional. If you’re using it as a marinade, simply boil it to blend the flavors and then cool completely.
If using it as a sauce for a stir fry, as a baste or glaze, or to drizzle over a bowl of rice, it can be thickened. Make a slurry with equal parts cornstarch & water. Whisk the slurry into the boiling Teriyaki sauce until it thickens.
Teriyaki Favorites
What’s your favorite way to use Teriyaki Sauce? Leave us a comment below!
Teriyaki Sauce
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup soy sauce
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup orange juice or pineapple juice or additional water
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon ginger minced
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
Slurry
- 2 tablespoons cold water
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, combine soy sauce, 1 cup of water and/or juice, garlic, ginger, and brown sugar.
- Turn the heat to medium and simmer the mixture while whisking for 2 minutes until the brown sugar has dissolved.
- To thicken the sauce, in a separate small bowl, combine water and cornstarch to create a slurry.
- While the sauce is at a low boil, slowly whisk in the slurry a little at a time until it reaches the desired consistency.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Dip, Sauce
Cuisine American, Asian© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
They have different flavors. Soy sauce is the base of teriyaki sauce, but the saltiness is cut with brown sugar and other ingredients like ginger. Teriyaki sauce can be thicker, while soy sauce is a thin watery addition to dishes like fried rice.
Teriyaki is a Japanese cooking method. It involves grilling or broiling with a combination of sugar and soy sauce (and often mirin), and it’s often made with fish. This recipe is oven baked and then broiled for that crisp texture and flavor.
Both sauces have vastly different flavor profiles and consistencies, so soy sauce wouldn’t work well as a substitute. In a pinch, mix up this easy teriyaki sauce recipe!
1.) Create a slurry by mixing equal parts water and corn starch until no lumps remain.
2.) Pour the slurry into the teriyaki sauce bit by bit while whisking, until the desired thickness is reached.
The absolute bomb sauce, it was so delicious, we loved it!!
I’m on a low sodium diet. What’s the reason for not using lower sodium soy sauce?
Otherwise, this recipe sounds yummy!
Low sodium soy sauce will change and dilute the flavor of the teriyaki sauce, but it will still be delicious!
I am assuming this keeps in the refrigerator and if so, any idea of a good rule of thumb for how long?
It can be kept in an airtight container int he fridge for up to 2 weeks.
Amazing recipe! I have been making it for my family and I don’t know how to cool lol. Has impressed many, including my 6 year old that requests it time and time again!
This is some wonderful tasting sauce! So easy to make, will never go back to store bought! Y’all must try this, you won’t be disappointed ❤
your teriyaki sauce is the absolute BEST!!!! my son and i love stir fry at home and i have tried many different sauce recipes always having to change or adjust recipe. we like them but i knew there was a better recipe out there….somewhere. Hallelujah!!! i found yours…WE LOVE IT and only change i make is to double the recipe so have leftovers.
thanks i will be back to your site forsure
sincerely
“Laura Loves to Cook”
I am so happy to hear you and your son loved this recipe Laura!
Can you use ground ginger instead of minced?
And if so .. how much?
Hi Bob, we have only made this recipe as listed. But if you want to sub in ground ginger it is more potent than fresh so I would start with a pinch (generally you will use ¼ teaspoon of dried ginger for every tablespoon of fresh) and then add more to taste. Enjoy!
My teriyaki sauce was a rich caramel color but after marinating it turn to a tan color and didn’t caramelize like picture.
I hope it still tasted delicious Charnell! Did you thicken the sauce using a cornstarch slurry and allow it to simmer? Did you make any changes or substitutions to the recipe?
This is a recipe that I followed closely (made the orange juice version). It was wonderful.
I had left over Medium Rare steak that I sliced, so I didn’t marinate my meat.
I stir fried thinnly sliced Green Peppers and Sweet Onion and Julianned Carrots, then added the thinnly sliced steak and poured on the Sauce.
It was so good.
I did have a little left over sauce to which I added some sliced Thai Peppers. WOW, HOT, but it was a fun addition, but not for everyone.
Yum, that sounds delicious George! Thanks for sharing.
I made this tonight and served it over vegetables and rice. It was delicious! I was out of orange juice, so I made it with pineapple juice and added a little more brown sugar after tasting it. This is a definite keeper and I look forward to trying it with orange juice next time.
Oh yum! That sounds delicious, Lorna. Thanks for sharing your substitutions.
Thank you for this recipe. This is now a staple in our household. I have made it many many times and my kids love it. Only question if I make it extra how do I store it and for how long is it good?
So happy you love this teriyaki sauce as much as we do! I would store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
This is what you are looking for!! I used water but I can see why the orange juice would be perfect for this, I added a tbsp honey since they kikoman soysauce saltiness was still showing through a tad to much, added roasted sesame seeds. Added onion powder and onion garlic lol onion powder was because I thought it was the garlic powder, still perfect. Added some chili flakes for a lil kick <3
This was super easy!
What’s are the storing instructions?
Hi Denise, I would store this sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
Excellent! I have finally found my go to recipe for stir fry sauce. I used pineapple juice instead of OJ, as suggested. Delicious! Thank you!
Yum, great substitution Kate! That would be delicious.
This was amazing! I added more orange juice than water because I let it cook down a bit too much. Also I used 1/4 cup brown sugar. I only had powdered ginger so I tasted as I cooked it. My truly extra addition was a few shakes of red pepper flakes and chili powder to give it some extra kick. My daughter loved this and wants me to make it frequently. Thanks for a great recipe.
You’re welcome Shelley! So happy to hear how much your daughter loves this sauce!
Do I need to mince the garlic, or leave the garlic cloves whole?
I would mince the garlic, Dominic.
Made it exactly as it says on the recipe. It’s delicious. Used half orange juice and half water. Used it to marinate my chicken for shish kebabs. Thank you for this. Love it!
We love this sauce, I was out of orange juice the last time I made it so I used some pineapple instead. It was a huge hit!