Easy Teriyaki Sauce

chicken teriyaki

i grew up in southern california…i know… i’m technically from the oc!  during my childhood, i do remember going to the annual japanese obon festivals.  at these events they would cook chicken teriyaki and the yummy smell would be everywhere!  i grew up in a japanese american family so, my mom always made teriyaki sauce from scratch.  my recipe has evolved over the years.  it started with the basic one that my mom gave me, which is one cup sugar to one cup soy sauce.  these measurements are so easy, that it makes those store bought bottles of the sauce ridiculous to buy!  i’ve added a few more ingredients and tweaked the sugar to soy sauce ratio.  i like my sauce a little sweeter and when boiled i like it thicker sauce too.  but, if you don’t have the recipe while cooking, just remember the one to one ratio and you’ll be good to go.  and if you like it sweeter, just err to the sweet side and put a smidge less soy sauce than sugar.  oh yeah, i really believe that fresh ginger makes this recipe complete, so don’t leave it out.  you can also add black or white sesame seeds if you prefer. here is the recipe and thanks so much for dropping by!

1 cup sugar

2/3 cup soy sauce

1 tbs fresh grated ginger (can add more)

1/4 cup sweet rice wine, Mirin (found in asian markets or amazon: sweet rice wine )

first, you’ll need a grater.  this is my old one that my grandma gave me and i love it. but, after researching japanese graters on amazon, it looks like i may have to invest in a new ceramic one. if you don’t have one, here is a link from amazon.  grater

then you peel the skin off the ginger with a paring knife.

then grate the ginger on the grater, you’ll get this lovely minced ginger that is now ready to add to the sauce.

now mix the soy sauce, sugar, and mirin.  if you don’t have mirin in your local store here is an amazon link: mirin, you can also use a sweet white wine instead.

mix all the ingredients together…sugar, soy, mirin, ginger and chicken. you can marinate and refrigerate the chicken for a couple of hours in the sauce or you can cook it right away. since, it bakes in the sauce it pretty much soaks in the marinade.  bake at 350 for about 15-20 minutes.  you kind of want the chicken a little on the raw side if you plan on grilling it on the bbq.  if you don’t want to grill it, then continue baking for another 5 minutes.  grill on heat high to medium and you are basically searing the chicken to get the smoky taste and grill marks.  you don’t want to grill it too long since it will dry out the chicken.  to make a thick teriyaki sauce, take the remaining sauce and place it in a sauce pot and cook on the stove top until it boils and gets thick. be careful not to burn the sauce. enjoy with a side of japanese sticky rice!