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Take what you know about teriyaki sauce and buckle up, people. This Hoisin Teriyaki Sauce is thicker and bolder than the teriyaki you’re used to. Loaded with the tangy flavor of garlicky, slightly spicy Hoisin sauce and fresh grated ginger, it raises the bar for just how tasty a quick weeknight meal can be.

A metal pan full of chicken cooked in hoisin teriyaki sauce.

Hoisin Teriyaki Sauce

I think we all know what it’s like on those nights when dinner feels like a mountain to climb. I am blessed to make food for a living, and there have still been so many times that pizza has beckoned me, calling me by name. Exhaustion is real.

Moments like those are exactly why I keep a stash of this Hoisin Teriyaki Sauce in my fridge. It’s the ultimate dinner saver. With a batch on hand, I can chop up some chicken and sauté it with this sauce, and in just minutes I’ll have family members following the amazing aroma all the way to the dinner table.

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collage of process photos for making the ingredients into a sauce

What is Hoisin Teriyaki Sauce?

Traditional teriyaki sauce is a sweet and salty Japanese glaze for meats and veggies that is made from soy sauce, ginger, garlic, and a sweetener like brown sugar. It’s the best kind of sticky, and coats everything in a tasty sheen.

This recipe incorporates the use of Hoisin sauce. contains soy, red chiles, sugar, vinegar, and garlic and is thick in texture, typically used for dipping cooked meats. The end result is a sauce with taste and texture that is hands down better than anything you can bring home in a bottle from the grocery store.

The recipe here will give instructions for using this hoisin teriyaki sauce with chicken. But, to quote my friend Jenn (who first shared this recipe), “It’s all about the sauce.” She was right. I’ve used this with meats and veggies in various stir fry meals, but the star of the show is somehow always still the sauce.

An action shot, pouring Hoisin Teriyaki Sauce from a jar onto the chicken in a metal pan.

How to Make Hoisin Teriyaki Sauce

I’ve made this simple chicken dinner more times than I can count in the past ten years. It’s a wonderfully easy dinner that everyone in my family enjoys. But, the best part of learning how to make hoisin teriyaki sauce was discovering that it takes almost no time at all.

It’s literally just whisking together the ingredients in a pan, bringing the mixture to a boil, and then letting it simmer until it thickens. Some recipes will call for cooking the chicken first, then using the sauce you are making to deglaze the pan. This incorporates the chicken flavors into the sauce as it simmers, and lets you scrape up any of those delicious browned bits into it.

A vertically aligned image of the cooked chicken tossed with the sauce in a metal pan.

However, if you’re only making enough sauce for the current meal, I recommend doing it in this order. It’s a great suggestion that boosts the flavor. But, if you want to double the sauce so you can keep a jar in your fridge, I would cook it separately.

The leftover sauce keeps with no problems for a few weeks in the fridge. But, I don’t know anyone who would trust chicken for that length of time.

Chicken with Homemade Teriyaki Sauce

Other Teriyaki Recipes

Are you as excited about this sauce as I am yet? Well, if this still isn’t enough teriyaki for you, then I’ve got good news. I’ve got plenty more recipes for you to try.

For a light and satisfying meal, this teriyaki glazed salmon is perfect for summer. The pineapple takes it right over the top. It’s absolutely wonderful served on a simple bed of rice.

While not technically teriyaki, these sweet and sour ham balls are similarly flavored. My friend Rebecca described them as sweet, sour, and savory glory. I can’t disagree a bit.

5 from 5 votes

Hoisin Teriyaki Sauce

Avatar photoMary Younkin
Hoisin Teriyaki Sauce transforms plain chicken or veggies into something you'd swear came from your favorite restaurant.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
Servings: 4
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Ingredients 

Sauce Ingredients

  • cup light brown sugar
  • ¼ cup soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons Hoisin sauce
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • 2 teaspoons sesame oil
  • 4 teaspoons cornstarch
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ¼ teaspoon ground ginger

OPTIONAL Chicken Ingredients

  • 3 pounds chicken white or dark meat, diced into bite size pieces
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
  • kosher salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • granulated garlic

Instructions 

Teriyaki Sauce Instructions

  • In a small saucepan, whisk all the teriyaki ingredients together until well combined. Bring everything to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer just until the sauce thickens. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

OPTIONAL Chicken Instructions

  • In a skillet, over medium-high heat, warm the oil and add half of the chicken pieces. Season with salt, pepper, and garlic. Cook the chicken until the meat is no longer pink, turning the pieces as needed.
  • When the meat is cooked through, remove to a bowl next to the stove. Repeat the cooking process with the remaining chicken. When all of the cooked chicken is in the bowl, pour the teriyaki sauce over it. Toss well to coat. Enjoy!

Notes

If you accidentally over-simmer the sauce and it thickens too much, add a splash or two of water and whisk smooth again. 
Calorie count reflects the sauce on its own. The chicken is not included in the nutritional information.

Nutrition

Calories: 58 kcal | Carbohydrates: 11 g | Protein: 1 g | Fat: 1 g | Sodium: 570 mg | Potassium: 31 mg | Sugar: 9 g | Calcium: 7 mg | Iron: 0.3 mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

{originally published 11/28/11 – recipe notes and photos updated 10/16/25}

White lettering has been overlaid an image of a saucepan with freshly whisked Hoisin Teriyaki Sauce. It reads, "Homemade Teriyaki Sauce"
Chicken with Homemade Teriyaki Sauce

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Rating




39 Comments

  1. Three-Cookies says:

    Nice Japanese Chinese sauce fusion. This sauce sounds quite similar to char siew sauce which is absolutely awesome

  2. Jenn says:

    Thanks for the wonderful plug, Mary! You are fantastic for my ego 🙂 Maybe one of these days I'll actually put my sauces into a book. It always seems like fun until you sit down to do the daunting task of putting them all together!!
    Glad you enjoyed this one 🙂

  3. The Blonde Duck says:

    I wish we had more Asian food here.

  4. My Journey With Candida says:

    That looks very tasty. I didn't eat chicken for a long time because I just got sick of it. Now I am starting to eat it again.

  5. Sue/the view from great island says:

    I have to write this down asap. We have no good Asian restaurants around these parts, and we get the cravings often. This is an area of cooking I haven't explored enough, thanks for the recipe. Would this go over rice? Or how would you serve this?

  6. Mary says:

    Sue, you could definitely serve this over rice. I hope you love it as much as I did. I'm very new to this type of cooking as well, but I plan to try several more Asian recipes this year. I'm loving all the new-to-me flavors!

  7. Pam says:

    The sauce makes the dish… this one looks fabulous.

  8. Becki's Whole Life says:

    Yum – I will have to check out Jenn's site because I am totally a sauce girl(esp. with meat.) This looks nice a thick sauce from the cornstarch.

  9. SixBalloons says:

    Nice glaze to it. I bet it would be able to handle some added greens nicely like bell peppers or green onions?

  10. Tricia @ saving room for dessert says:

    yum Mary! I love these flavors and this looks yummy and tender. Hope you had a wonderful holiday – I thought about you doing all that baking! Such a brave girl. Hope it was all wonderful. I made several batches of those Lion House rolls, hope they turned out great for you too.

  11. sweetcarolinescooking.com says:

    Oh.my.gosh. That chicken sounds amazing! Particularly the glaze. I can't take my eyes off of the photo!

  12. Inside a British Mum's Kitchen says:

    One glance at that picture and I was hooked – it looks simply delicious – can't wait to try
    mary x

  13. Geni says:

    This sauce does look especially delectable. I'm in! 🙂

  14. Reem | Simply Reem says:

    That chicken with the sinful sauce… Love it.
    I can really have this with a bowl of warm rice.

  15. Monet says:

    I'm going to make this tonight! Really, it looks so good it is hard to resist. Thank you for sharing such a tempting meal with me, and thank you for your kind words on my blog! I hope you are having a happy start to your week!

  16. Words Of Deliciousness says:

    This looks so good. I love Asian food, I have to make this soon.

  17. Nami | Just One Cookbook says:

    I LOVE Hoisin sauce and it's a wonderful fusion sauce between Japanese & Chinese. Love the beautiful glossy look on the chicken!

  18. Chris says:

    Jenn is a sauce rock star, isn't she?

    Looks perfect!

  19. Vicky says:

    Can't wait to make this! If you say this is the best teriyaki sauce you've ever had I must give it a shot!

  20. Chinese Sauce says:

    Mouth watering recipe!!!