Homemade Teriyaki Sauce

This Homemade Teriyaki Sauce is super simple to make at home; it’s perfectly sweet, balanced and flavorful. It’s perfect to rub onto veggies, chicken and meats.

My mom always likes to remind that when I was a lil’ kid, the only part of the chicken I would eat were the drumsticks. I’m pretty sure I felt like it was very Flinstone’s-esque of me to be eating drumsticks. Also, Medieval Times! That place gave you big turkey legs for dinner (much like most Renaissance fairs) and I thought it was the most hilarious thing ever.

What is Teriyaki Sauce?

Is a Japanese glaze that’s brushed on top of grilled veggies, chicken and meats. Teriyaki sauce is typically made up of soy sauce, sugar, sake or mirin and onions cooked together. As a result, this recipe has a bit less sugar than most teriyaki sauces since I don’t LOVE super sugary savory foods.

Like all homemade versions of things you most likely can buy at the store, the best part about making the homemade version is customization.

How to Make Teriyaki Sauce

1. Whisk together the soy sauce, water, sweet rice wine, brown sugar, honey, garlic and fresh ginger.
2. Bring it to a simmer. 
3. Let it reduce to half. We’re cooking this sauce; as a result you’ll end up with a thicker more luscious sauce.
4. Thicken (if you want to). As a result, you’ll need to add cornstarch.
5. Make a slurry. If you’re doing this, add a tablespoon of sauce to the corn starch and mix it together. And then pour it into the teriyaki sauce and cook it for an additional minute or two.
6. This easy teriyaki sauce lasts about 2 weeks in the fridge. 

Tips and Tricks

• Is teriyaki sauce gluten-free? Not all teriyaki sauces are gluten-free but this one is!
• How to thicken teriyaki sauce? Cornstarch is for sure the move. For instance, what you see pictured is me adding a bit of cornstarch. It’s totally needed though, so I’ll leave it up to you!

If you make this Homemade Teriyaki Sauce, let me know on Instagram! 

5 from 8 votes

Print Recipe

Homemade Teriyaki Sauce Recipe

Author: Adrianna Adarme

This Homemade Teriyaki Sauce is super simple to make at home; it's perfectly sweet, balanced and flavorful. It's perfect to rub onto veggies, chicken and meats.

Course: Condiment

Cuisine: American, Japanese

Prep Time: 15 minutes mins

Cook Time: 35 minutes mins

Resting Time (for the chicken): 30 minutes mins

Total Time: 1 hour hr 20 minutes mins

Serving Size: 2 cups

Ingredients

Teriyaki Sauce:

• ▢ 1 cup soy sauce
• ▢ 1/4 cup water
• ▢ 1/4 cup sweet rice wine
• ▢ 1/4 cup brown sugar
• ▢ 6 tablespoons honey
• ▢ 2 garlic clove finely grated
• ▢ 2 teaspoon fresh ginger finely grated

Teriyaki Chicken Drumsticks:

• ▢ 1 pound chicken drumsticks
• ▢ 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ▢ 1 teaspoon sesame seeds for garnish

Instructions

To Make the Teriyaki Sauce:

• In a medium saucepan, set over medium heat, whisk together the soy sauce, water, sweet rice wine, brown sugar, honey, garlic clove and fresh ginger. When the mixture reaches a simmer, bring the heat down to low and allow to reduce for 10 minutes, until the sauce reduces by about half. Transfer to a small bowl; mixture will thicken as it cools.
• Note: If you want super thick teriyaki sauce, you can use a bit of corn starch to help. Here's how: pour a tablespoon of the sauce into a small bowl. Add a teaspoon of corn starch to the small bowl and whisk until it completely dissolves. Add the corn starch mixture to the teriyaki sauce, whisking until dissolved.
• This teriyaki sauce will give you about 2 cups of teriyaki sauce. You'll most likely need about 1/2 cup of teriyaki sauce for the recipe below. This sauce keeps well in the fridge in an airtight container for up to two weeks.

To Make the Teriyaki Chicken:

• To make the teriyaki chicken, sprinkle the chicken with the baking powder. Allow to air dry in the fridge for about 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Spray a sheet of foil with cooking spray and place the chicken side by side. Transfer to the oven to cook for 20 minutes.
• At the 20 minute mark, flip the chicken and cook for an additional 15 minutes, until the skin is golden brown and crispy. Brush the chicken with the teriyaki sauce and transfer to the oven for an additional 5 minutes. Remove the chicken from the oven and top with teriyaki sauce, liberally. Sprinkle the chicken with a pinch of two of sesame seeds and serve.

Notes

To Store: 

This teriyaki sauce keeps in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. 

Equipment: 

Brush | Baking Sheet | Saucepan | Whisk | Silicon Spatula | 

Equipment

1 medium saucepan

Nutrition

Serving: 6g | Calories: 90kcal (5%) | Carbohydrates: 2g (1%) | Protein: 3g (6%) | Fat: 2g (3%) | Saturated Fat: 4g (25%) | Cholesterol: 20mg (7%) | Sodium: 30mg (1%) | Potassium: 20mg (1%) | Fiber: 1g (4%) | Sugar: 14g (16%) | Vitamin A: 12IU | Vitamin C: 1mg (1%) | Calcium: 12mg (1%) | Iron: 4mg (22%)

Did you make this recipe? Tag me today!

Tag @acozykitchen on Instagram & hashtag it #acozykitchen

Looking for more dinner recipes? Here are some favorites: 

• Pupusas with Curtido and Salsa Roja
• Creamy Baked Macaroni and Cheese
• Picadillo
• Spicy Sambal Mushroom Noodles
• Shoyu Chicken
• Pozole Verde