Teriyaki Sauce Is One Of Our Fave Ingredients, Here's How You Use It (2024)

What is teriyaki sauce?

While we might recognise the word teriyaki as referring just to the sticky, swalty (sweet and salty) sauce, it’s known as a cooking style in its native Japan. Teriyaki can be broken down into “teri” meaning the shine or lustre on whatever the sauce is drizzled onto, and “yaki,” which means “to grill”. It was invented by Japanese chefs in the 1600s, and usually consists of grilling meat, fish or vegetables whilse brushing with a glaze repeatedly.

This glaze is typically made from soy sauce, sake or mirin, and sugar. Pretty simple, hey? The sauce is then boiled until reduced, thick and syrupy before being used as a glaze. This process gets the flavours really concentrated and creates the sticky, sweet and salty flavour we all know and love. Common garnishes include fresh ginger, sliced spring onions, sesame seeds and chillies.

What does teriyaki sauce taste like?

The main things that you’ll taste when eating anything that’s been glazed in teriyaki sauce is sweetness, tanginess and stickiness. You’ll also get a big whack of salt and umami flavouring from the soy, which is why it works so well to amp up light fish or veg and bring out the umami flavours in red meat.

Is teriyaki sauce spicy?

Nope! There’s no chilli in traditional versions of teriyaki sauce, although you’ll need to check the label on any sauce you’re buying to see if it has added chilli. If you’re making your own and you like a little heat, then feel free to bung in some finely chopped fresh chillies.

How do you use teriyaki sauce?

The main use for teriyaki sauce is for glazing. So, next time you’re making a traybake, why not try using a pastry brush to brush your traybake elements with a little of the swalty sauce? Another way to use it is to brush kebabs or skewers before barbecuing or grilling. If you’re using teriyaki as a glaze, it’s important to note it should be used right at the end of cooking. This is because the high sugar content means it’s likely to burn if you heat it for too long or over a very high heat.

You can also use it to coat stir-fried meat or vegetables in a wok, where the high temperatures only heat the sauce for a short amount of time, and it becomes lovely and sticky.

Teriyaki also makes a brilliant marinade to boost the flavours of your everyday meals. You can marinate salmon, chicken or tofu in teriyaki with other elements like ginger, chilli and garlic before baking or grilling. Just make sure to drain off any excess marinade before cooking!

Where can I buy teriyaki sauce?

Thanks to its popularity, you can buy teriyaki sauce pretty much anywhere. You can pick up a bottle everywhere from major supermarkets to corner shops, Asian supermarkets and even Amazon.

How do I store teriyaki sauce?

You can store shop-bought teriyaki sauce in the cupboard until you open it, at which point you need to keep it in the fridge for up to a year. If you’re making your own, it should go in the fridge right away.

Teriyaki recipes

We've got some incredible (and not to mention mega easy) recipes using teriyaki sauce, including Spicy Teriyaki Chicken Bowls, Teriyaki Steak Stir-Fry With Peppers, Teriyaki Salmon Traybake, Chicken Teriyaki Pineapple Bowls and Crispy Teriyaki Tofu.