Pantry Staples Teriyaki Sauce Recipe

For most Americans, teriyaki sauce is something that comes out of a jar. But if you're sick of spending money on mediocre jarred sauce, this incredibly quick and easy teriyaki sauce recipe from recipe developer Erin Johnson is just what you're looking for. This recipe only takes 10 minutes to make and requires a handful of pantry staples. "I love teriyaki sauce and like being able to control the amount of sugar in it," Johnson says. "Making my own is the perfect way to do that!

Teriyaki sauce is a staple in Japanese cuisine and, while it is usually used to marinate fish or poultry, there's really no stopping what you can use this salty, tangy sauce for. You could drizzle some over stir fry or jazz up some plain ol' white rice. All you need to make this recipe is 10 minutes, five ingredients, and the desire to make your own teriyaki sauce. Let's get started!

To make this teriyaki sauce, you'll need soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, brown sugar, and 1 teaspoon each of grated ginger and minced garlic. You'll also need mirin, which is a type of Japanese rice wine. If you've never used mirin before or can't find it at the grocery store, don't worry. "If you can't find the mirin, just increase the rice wine vinegar to ¼ cup," Johnson says.

Mix all the ingredients together in a saucepan. Stir everything together well in order to dissolve the sugar. Bring the saucepan to a boil and then remove the pot from the heat. Don't worry about stirring the sauce the entire time it's on the stove. "Once the sugar is dissolved you can really just let it simmer," Johnson says.

After boiling the sauce and removing it from the heat, you have the option of straining it to remove the garlic and ginger pieces. This is an optional step and it's completely fine to leave the garlic and ginger pieces in your teriyaki sauce.

And that's it! Making homemade teriyaki sauce can be that simple. Johnson recommends serving this sauce with any protein, such as tofu, salmon, shrimp, chicken, or beef. "When you use the sauce to marinate or cook protein, the sauce will reduce further and will caramelize and get sticky," says Johnson.

Your teriyaki sauce should last in the refrigerator for at least a week if stored in an airtight container.