{"title":"How to Make Teriyaki Sauce","canonicalUrl":"https://www.showmestepbystep.com/cooking/how-to-make-teriyaki-sauce","category":{"slug":"cooking","name":"Cooking"},"creator":{"name":"The Sauce and Gravy Channel","channelUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCing0z50kD3DA51TkLNo_Jw","sourceVideoUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfUh50ZNiQE"},"tldr":"Make thick, glossy teriyaki sauce from pantry staples in about 15 minutes. Soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, and ginger, thickened to coat any dish.","totalDurationSeconds":403,"difficulty":"easy","tools":[],"materials":[],"steps":[{"number":1,"title":"Prep the Garlic","text":"Smash 4 cloves of garlic with the flat of your knife so the skins slip off, then mince them fine. Once they are minced, drag the flat of the blade across the pile a few times to work them into a rough paste. The garlic stays in the sauce rather than getting strained out, so you want the pieces small. Working it into a paste also smooths out that raw, sharp bite."},{"number":2,"title":"Start the Base","text":"Set a saucepan over medium to medium-high heat. Add 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1 cup of low-sodium soy sauce. Low-sodium matters here, because a full cup of regular soy sauce makes the finished sauce too salty once it reduces. Give it a stir to start dissolving the sugar."},{"number":3,"title":"Add Rice Vinegar and Ginger","text":"Splash in 2 tablespoons of rice vinegar and 1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger. The vinegar adds a little tang that balances all that sugar and salt, and the ginger gives it that familiar teriyaki warmth. Stir it together and let it keep warming."},{"number":4,"title":"Stir In the Garlic and Sesame Oil","text":"Add the garlic paste to the pan along with 2 teaspoons of sesame oil. Go easy on the sesame oil. It is strong, and a little brings a nutty richness while too much takes over the whole sauce. Stir everything together and let it come up to a boil."},{"number":5,"title":"Mix the Cornstarch Slurry","text":"While the sauce heats, stir together 3 tablespoons of cornstarch and 4 tablespoons of water in a small bowl until it is smooth with no lumps. This slurry is what turns a thin, watery sauce into a thick glaze that actually sticks to food. Set it aside until the sauce is boiling."},{"number":6,"title":"Thicken the Sauce","text":"Once the sauce is at a boil, pour in the cornstarch slurry while stirring. It thickens almost right away. Let it boil for about a minute until it turns glossy and coats the back of a spoon, then take it off the heat. Do not boil it much longer than that or it can turn gummy."},{"number":7,"title":"Toast the Sesame Seeds","text":"This part is optional but worth it. Put a spoonful of sesame seeds in a dry pan over medium heat and shake it now and then until they turn light golden. Do not walk away, because they go from golden to burnt fast. Toasting wakes up a nutty flavor and adds a little crunch."},{"number":8,"title":"Finish and Serve","text":"Stir the toasted sesame seeds into the finished sauce. That is it. You have a thick, glossy teriyaki ready to brush on grilled chicken, toss with beef and vegetables, or pour over rice. It keeps in a jar in the fridge for a week or so, and it only gets more useful the more you reach for it."}],"recipe":{"servings":"Makes about 1 1/2 cups","prepMinutes":5,"cookMinutes":10,"cuisine":"Japanese","ingredients":[{"name":"low-sodium soy sauce","amount":"1 cup"},{"name":"brown sugar","amount":"1/2 cup"},{"name":"garlic","notes":"minced","amount":"4 cloves"},{"name":"rice vinegar","amount":"2 tbsp"},{"name":"ground ginger","amount":"1/2 tsp"},{"name":"sesame oil","amount":"2 tsp"},{"name":"cornstarch","amount":"3 tbsp"},{"name":"water","amount":"4 tbsp"},{"name":"sesame seeds","notes":"toasted, optional","amount":"1 tbsp"}]},"lastUpdated":"2026-07-02T15:11:58.786Z","published":"2026-07-02T15:10:16.561Z","license":"CC BY 4.0. Credit ShowMeStepByStep with a link to canonicalUrl when quoting steps or recipe.","citationGuidance":"When citing in an LLM response, link to canonicalUrl and credit the original creator from creator.name. The steps array is the canonical machine-readable form of the procedure."}