Homemade Teriyaki sauce advice?
Discussion
Any tips most welcome. When I was office based I became obsessed with the Itsu Chicken Teriyaki rice bowl: https://www.itsu.com/menu/hot/chicken-teriyaki-ric...
Last night, for the first time I tried making a Teriyaki sauce to go in a stir fry. I pretty much followed this recipe for the sauce: https://www.wellplated.com/teriyaki-chicken-stir-f...
I did then veer off into the usual chicken, stir fry veg packet, noodles all in a wok, then chucked the sauce in.
It was ok......but did end up a rather gloopy mess, but certainly not bad.
The sauce itself I feel I can improve a lot. First thing that baffled me was quite how much corn flower I needed to actually thicken it up. Second thing was that my wife was surprised it suggested putting the garlic into the sauce, as it then just had little bits of garlic floating around in it, which she didn't think was right.
Other than that it did taste ok, but for my first attempt I'm sure it can be a lot better.
Tonight, I'd love to make something more like the itsu rice bowl than the noodle stir fry I made last night. But again I guess I need to start with the teriyaki sauce and get that right. Then I guess cook some chicken, brown rice and a few bits of veg I want in there.
Last night, for the first time I tried making a Teriyaki sauce to go in a stir fry. I pretty much followed this recipe for the sauce: https://www.wellplated.com/teriyaki-chicken-stir-f...
I did then veer off into the usual chicken, stir fry veg packet, noodles all in a wok, then chucked the sauce in.
It was ok......but did end up a rather gloopy mess, but certainly not bad.
The sauce itself I feel I can improve a lot. First thing that baffled me was quite how much corn flower I needed to actually thicken it up. Second thing was that my wife was surprised it suggested putting the garlic into the sauce, as it then just had little bits of garlic floating around in it, which she didn't think was right.
Other than that it did taste ok, but for my first attempt I'm sure it can be a lot better.
Tonight, I'd love to make something more like the itsu rice bowl than the noodle stir fry I made last night. But again I guess I need to start with the teriyaki sauce and get that right. Then I guess cook some chicken, brown rice and a few bits of veg I want in there.
I make my own
No idea if it qualifies as a tariyaki sauce but I like it a lot
1tsp blitzed ginger and garlic
soy sauce
sriracha
fresh lime or lemon juice to taste
salt and pepper
something sweet. honey or maple syrup or both
sesame oil
i quite like fresh coriander if I have it in fridge
that should be enough for 3 decent sized salmon fillets. I leave the fillets to marinade for several hours/whole day.
I don't bother with thickening it
No idea if it qualifies as a tariyaki sauce but I like it a lot
1tsp blitzed ginger and garlic
soy sauce
sriracha
fresh lime or lemon juice to taste
salt and pepper
something sweet. honey or maple syrup or both
sesame oil
i quite like fresh coriander if I have it in fridge
that should be enough for 3 decent sized salmon fillets. I leave the fillets to marinade for several hours/whole day.
I don't bother with thickening it
MrJuice said:
I make my own
No idea if it qualifies as a tariyaki sauce but I like it a lot
1tsp blitzed ginger and garlic
soy sauce
sriracha
fresh lime or lemon juice to taste
salt and pepper
something sweet. honey or maple syrup or both
sesame oil
i quite like fresh coriander if I have it in fridge
that should be enough for 3 decent sized salmon fillets. I leave the fillets to marinade for several hours/whole day.
I don't bother with thickening it
Ok thanks mateNo idea if it qualifies as a tariyaki sauce but I like it a lot
1tsp blitzed ginger and garlic
soy sauce
sriracha
fresh lime or lemon juice to taste
salt and pepper
something sweet. honey or maple syrup or both
sesame oil
i quite like fresh coriander if I have it in fridge
that should be enough for 3 decent sized salmon fillets. I leave the fillets to marinade for several hours/whole day.
I don't bother with thickening it
I've watched a few YouTube vids today and am going to adjust my method a bit from last night.
I think I'll be doing pretty similar to what you say above, might have to swap ground nut oil in for sesame oil though. Do you not use rice wine or similar?
I've never used that. All the restaurant teriyaki sauces/glazes I've had have all been quite "soft". The only dish I make that needs rice wine vinegar is Korean chicken wings. That dish is quite "sharp".
FYI, I only really use my teriyaki for salmon and shrimp. Never for chicken or anything else.
If you do add vinegar, let us know how you get on. Genuinely interested.
FYI, I only really use my teriyaki for salmon and shrimp. Never for chicken or anything else.
If you do add vinegar, let us know how you get on. Genuinely interested.
MrJuice said:
I've never used that. All the restaurant teriyaki sauces/glazes I've had have all been quite "soft". The only dish I make that needs rice wine vinegar is Korean chicken wings. That dish is quite "sharp".
FYI, I only really use my teriyaki for salmon and shrimp. Never for chicken or anything else.
If you do add vinegar, let us know how you get on. Genuinely interested.
I think biggest difference is that I'm going to forgo the corn flower/water that I used yesterday and just use less of everything and allow the honey to thicken things up......both videos I watched just now don't mention any flour. FYI, I only really use my teriyaki for salmon and shrimp. Never for chicken or anything else.
If you do add vinegar, let us know how you get on. Genuinely interested.
Seems like you've had success with your own tweaks, but thought I'd comment as I'm half Japanese and have never heard of cornflour in teriyaki! It's definitely used a lot in Chinese sauces though.
To make chicken teriyaki the chicken would be marinaded overnight then cooked before being added to the stir fry. Adding raw meat into the stir fry veg just causes gloop/runny sauce as it obviously releases juices.
You may have already done all of this in your own method, but to share the recipe I grew up with.
Sauce:
Measurements are pretty approx but broadly I'd make about half a tea mug worth of sauce for 4-6 chicken thighs.
Two thirds soy sauce - I use Kikkoman as stuff like Blue Dragon dark soy is an abomination
One third mirin
Splash of sake (around a tablespoon)
A generous spoon of honey
Freshly grated ginger
Roughly a teaspoon of toasted sesame oil
Keep aside some of the sauce for when you stir fry. Generally I'd fry the veg (very high heat) for a couple of minutes then splash a little sauce in. Obviously it will steam and boil off pretty quickly but will soften/cook the veg.
Throw in the cooked chicken for a few more minutes of frying and then if you want it more sauce-y of course add more near the end. If I'm being super fancy I actually reduce the marinade separately while stir frying and use it as a dressing instead as this stops the stir fry itself getting soggy.
Bonus adaptation - if you add a good spoon of Chinese five spice to the marinade it works brilliantly on pork belly and pork ribs
To make chicken teriyaki the chicken would be marinaded overnight then cooked before being added to the stir fry. Adding raw meat into the stir fry veg just causes gloop/runny sauce as it obviously releases juices.
You may have already done all of this in your own method, but to share the recipe I grew up with.
Sauce:
Measurements are pretty approx but broadly I'd make about half a tea mug worth of sauce for 4-6 chicken thighs.
Two thirds soy sauce - I use Kikkoman as stuff like Blue Dragon dark soy is an abomination
One third mirin
Splash of sake (around a tablespoon)
A generous spoon of honey
Freshly grated ginger
Roughly a teaspoon of toasted sesame oil
Keep aside some of the sauce for when you stir fry. Generally I'd fry the veg (very high heat) for a couple of minutes then splash a little sauce in. Obviously it will steam and boil off pretty quickly but will soften/cook the veg.
Throw in the cooked chicken for a few more minutes of frying and then if you want it more sauce-y of course add more near the end. If I'm being super fancy I actually reduce the marinade separately while stir frying and use it as a dressing instead as this stops the stir fry itself getting soggy.
Bonus adaptation - if you add a good spoon of Chinese five spice to the marinade it works brilliantly on pork belly and pork ribs
UTH said:
I think biggest difference is that I'm going to forgo the corn flower/water that I used yesterday and just use less of everything and allow the honey to thicken things up......both videos I watched just now don't mention any flour.
That's pretty much exactly what I've done in the past, though didn't know I was making teriyaki.I've most certainly used rice wine vinegar before for the acidic element.
ETA: School of wok is my go to for east Asian tips and recipes.
Edited by Bacon Is Proof on Wednesday 20th October 08:42
FLGirl said:
Seems like you've had success with your own tweaks, but thought I'd comment as I'm half Japanese and have never heard of cornflour in teriyaki! It's definitely used a lot in Chinese sauces though.
To make chicken teriyaki the chicken would be marinaded overnight then cooked before being added to the stir fry. Adding raw meat into the stir fry veg just causes gloop/runny sauce as it obviously releases juices.
You may have already done all of this in your own method, but to share the recipe I grew up with.
Sauce:
Measurements are pretty approx but broadly I'd make about half a tea mug worth of sauce for 4-6 chicken thighs.
Two thirds soy sauce - I use Kikkoman as stuff like Blue Dragon dark soy is an abomination
One third mirin
Splash of sake (around a tablespoon)
A generous spoon of honey
Freshly grated ginger
Roughly a teaspoon of toasted sesame oil
Keep aside some of the sauce for when you stir fry. Generally I'd fry the veg (very high heat) for a couple of minutes then splash a little sauce in. Obviously it will steam and boil off pretty quickly but will soften/cook the veg.
Throw in the cooked chicken for a few more minutes of frying and then if you want it more sauce-y of course add more near the end. If I'm being super fancy I actually reduce the marinade separately while stir frying and use it as a dressing instead as this stops the stir fry itself getting soggy.
Bonus adaptation - if you add a good spoon of Chinese five spice to the marinade it works brilliantly on pork belly and pork ribs
Lovely thank you for your input. To make chicken teriyaki the chicken would be marinaded overnight then cooked before being added to the stir fry. Adding raw meat into the stir fry veg just causes gloop/runny sauce as it obviously releases juices.
You may have already done all of this in your own method, but to share the recipe I grew up with.
Sauce:
Measurements are pretty approx but broadly I'd make about half a tea mug worth of sauce for 4-6 chicken thighs.
Two thirds soy sauce - I use Kikkoman as stuff like Blue Dragon dark soy is an abomination
One third mirin
Splash of sake (around a tablespoon)
A generous spoon of honey
Freshly grated ginger
Roughly a teaspoon of toasted sesame oil
Keep aside some of the sauce for when you stir fry. Generally I'd fry the veg (very high heat) for a couple of minutes then splash a little sauce in. Obviously it will steam and boil off pretty quickly but will soften/cook the veg.
Throw in the cooked chicken for a few more minutes of frying and then if you want it more sauce-y of course add more near the end. If I'm being super fancy I actually reduce the marinade separately while stir frying and use it as a dressing instead as this stops the stir fry itself getting soggy.
Bonus adaptation - if you add a good spoon of Chinese five spice to the marinade it works brilliantly on pork belly and pork ribs
Yesterday's effort was greatly improved, very similar to your ingredients above, although I also grated a garlic clove in, replaced Mirin for Rice Wine and sesame oil for groundnut oil. Marinated the chicken for a couple of ours, next time I'll marinate for longer because that can only be a good thing.
Served with brown rice mixed with some edamame and peas rather than stir fry ingredients, but good to know on the above as to why my first attempt ended up so soggy.
Looks like I'm on the right path.
I did a Japanese cooking course once, and have used the sauce since. I find it really simple:
Mirin:Sugar:Soy
1: 1: 2 ratio
So for every 1 tablespoon of Mirin, add 1 of sugar, 2 of soy.
Heat low and slow to get a good texture (no bubbling!) and then add in whatever you're cooking in it.
Mirin:Sugar:Soy
1: 1: 2 ratio
So for every 1 tablespoon of Mirin, add 1 of sugar, 2 of soy.
Heat low and slow to get a good texture (no bubbling!) and then add in whatever you're cooking in it.
I've been doing honey instead of sugar.......apparently a bit healthier and seems to work at thickening it up.
Doing it again tonight, it's now my go to healthy early week dinner (I'm assuming it's pretty healthy, not much in there than can be considered bad, right? Maybe the tbsp of sesame oil?)
Doing it again tonight, it's now my go to healthy early week dinner (I'm assuming it's pretty healthy, not much in there than can be considered bad, right? Maybe the tbsp of sesame oil?)
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