Easy Sticky Teriyaki Sauce and Marinade in just 10 minutes! Whip up a bold umami condiment that's not only a sauce but also a marinade, adding Asian flavors to your dishes. This thick and tasty sticky teriyaki sauce recipe is perfect as a stir-fry sauce or glaze.
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This homemade teriyaki marinade is your new kitchen companion. Sweet and salty simple ingredients that elevate the taste of any dish. Whether it's a stir-fry, a glaze or marinades, this simple sauce and easy marinade can do it all.
Sweetened with honey or maple syrup, and featuring low-sodium tamari for a gluten-free option, and also Paleo-friendly with coconut aminos and apple cider vinegar.
Teriyaki sauce enhances the flavor of your favorite proteins, veggies, or even as a dipping sauce for skewers or chicken wings. Only 5 minutes to prep and 10 minutes to cook and thicken.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Best homemade teriyaki marinade or sauce: tastes better than store bought and without all the additives.
- Control natural sweetness: adjust sweetness according to your taste with no artificial sweeteners like brown sugar. It's naturally sweetened with honey or maple syrup.
- Umami flavor: sweet, salty, and bold umami flavor, adding an Asian flare. Adjust the sodium level to your liking to get that savory-salty-sweet flavor you love. Low-sodium tamari is gluten-free and there's loads of ginger and garlic that can be adjusted to your taste.
- Paleo friendly: if using coconut aminos and apple cider vinegar.
- Super versatile: use it as a stir-fry sauce, brush it onto fish, chicken, turkey or roasted vegetables as a glaze. Pour it over white rice, fried rice, noodles or zoodles (zucchini noodles). Pair with green onions, cabbage, carrots or mushrooms. Use as a marinade on your favorite protein like skinless chicken thighs or pork tenderloin. Perfect as a dip for skewers or as a drizzle on lettuce wraps or bowls.
- Thick sticky sauce or versatile marinade: leave out the arrowroot powder and it goes from a sauce to a marinade.
- It only takes 5 minutes to prep and 10 minutes to cook and thicken.
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Recipe Ingredients
Here are the ingredients you'll need to make Teriyaki Sauce and Teriyaki Marinade:
Ingredient Notes:
- Tamari: is a great wheat-free substitute for regular soy sauce. It's usually gluten-free (check the label) and has a similar taste.
- Honey or maple syrup: adds natural sweetness. You may taste the honey in the sauce.
- Apple cider vinegar or rice vinegar: are fairly interchangeable in this teriyaki recipe. They cut the sweetness and liven up the sauce with brightness and tang.
- Ginger and garlic: adds loads of flavor and deepens the umami savoriness of the honey teriyaki sauce.
Tip: it's best to use fresh garlic and fresh ginger in this recipe. They bring out a lot of bold deep fresh flavor that you just won't get from ground ginger or garlic powder.
- Arrowroot powder: works really well to thicken the sauce. It has no taste so it will not alter your food, and it leaves a glaze finish on food.
See recipe card below for all ingredients and quantities.
Substitutions and Variations
- Coconut aminos is a little sweeter, and a great alternative to tamari. Use a little less honey or maple syrup to balance the flavors, or try gluten-free low-sodium soy sauce.
- Try some fresh pineapple juice or orange juice for a little bit of extra sweetness.
- Add red pepper flakes for a hint of spice. A teaspoon of sesame oil to deepen the flavors or some sesame seeds for texture. Make it your own teriyaki sauce with pantry staples.
- The best flavor comes from using fresh garlic and fresh ginger in this easy recipe. They bring out a lot of bold deep fresh flavor that you just won't get from ground ginger or garlic powder.
- Use this recipe as a thick sticky sauce or next time leave out the arrowroot powder and you have a versatile marinade to elevate your select protein.
How to Make Teriyaki Sauce
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, add the water, tamari, honey, apple cider vinegar, ginger and garlic.
- Bring to a high simmer, continuously whisking or stirring to combine. If it begins to foam and threatens to spill over, immediately remove the pot from heat and allow the foam to subside.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 8-10 minutes, allowing to thicken.
- If the sauce is thin, add a slurry of arrowroot: combine 2 teaspoons of arrowroot powder with 2 teaspoons of water, mix well. Add the slurry at the end of cooking, mix and remove from heat. It will thicken as it cools.
How to Make Teriyaki Marinade
- In a small bowl or mason jar, add the water, tamari, honey, apple cider vinegar, ginger and garlic.
- Mix well. Use to marinate your favorite protein.
Expert Tips
- Stay at the stove when cooking the sauce to prevent foaming. The trick is to lift the pot off the heat as soon as the foam rises, allow the sauce to settle down in the pot, lower the heat slightly, then replace the pot on the stove at a simmer, stirring often.
- This bold teriyaki sauce can also be the best teriyaki marinade recipe. Just mix all the ingredients without the arrowroot or cornstarch, and use as a marinade. The best part, it's not necessary to cook and thicken.
- If you like your sauce a little more salty, increase the low-sodium tamari and decrease the water. For example, a half cup of tamari and a half cup of water. Adjust the sweetness by adding or removing a tablespoon of honey. I like to use a lot of ginger. If you're not a big fan then start with one teaspoon; same for garlic.
Common Questions
Authentic teriyaki sauce is made up of sugar, ginger soy sauce, mirin and/or sake (alcohol made from fermented rice). It was traditionally used to marinate vegetables, tofu, fish or meat before cooking. My Americanized version is made with natural sweeteners, gluten-free tamari or low sodium soy sauce, apple cider vinegar and loads of garlic and ginger. It can be used as a marinade or thickened with arrowroot flour to use as a topping or glaze to stir-fry, vegetables, meats, tofu or fish.
Teriyaki sauce is thick and bold and used to instantly flavor dishes such as stir-fry, roasted vegetables, chicken, beef or fish. It coats the food in a glaze and bring big flavors to the dish. It's also used as a condiment to add to your finished dish. A teriyaki marinade it much thinner as it hasn't been cooked down or thickened. It slowly absorbs into meat, fish or tofu for an extended period of time before cooking, roasting or grilling. Usually a minimum 2 hours for meat, 1 hour for tofu and 30 minutes or less for delicate fish to absorb the bold flavors.
Absolutely! The thin consistency of this homemade sauce makes it perfect for dipping skewers during grilling season or drizzling on wraps.
Brush on meats, stir into a savory stir-fry, or drizzle over rice and veggies for an instant flavor upgrade.
Yes! Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week or freeze for three months.
Certainly! Raw honey adds a distinctive sweetness to the best teriyaki sauce recipe.
Recipes to Pair With Teriyaki Sauce
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📖 Recipe
Easy Sticky Teriyaki Sauce and Marinade
Equipment
- 1 small sauce pan and whisk
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup (158 ml) filtered water
- ⅓ cup (79 ml) low-sodium tamari , coconut aminos, or soy sauce, gluten-free
- 2 tablespoons honey or pure maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar or rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh ginger
- 2-4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons arrowroot powder or cornstarch with 2 teaspoons water, for sauce
Instructions
Teriyaki sauce:
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, add water, tamari, honey, apple cider vinegar, ginger and garlic.
- Bring to a high simmer, continuously stirring to combine. If it begins to foam and threatens to spill over, immediately remove the pot from heat and allow the foam to subside.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 8-10 minutes, allowing to thicken.
- If the sauce is thin, add a slurry of arrowroot: combine 2 teaspoons of arrowroot powder with 2 teaspoons of water, mix well. Add the slurry at the end of cooking, mix and remove from heat. It will thicken as it cools.
Teriyaki marinade:
- In a small bowl or mason jar, add the water, tamari, honey, apple cider vinegar, ginger and garlic.
- Mix well. Use to marinate your favorite protein.
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