Easy, homemade Teriyaki Sauce is a dinner-saver on busy weeknights. With a batch of this sauce at hand, you’ll have a flavor-filled dinner on the table in just a few minutes.
To quote my friend Jenn, this post is truly all about the sauce. The chicken is delicious, but the star here is the teriyaki sauce.
What is Teriyaki Sauce?
Teriyaki sauce is a sweet and salty sauce used in Japanese dishes as a glaze, marinade, and cooking sauce for meat, fish, and veggies.
Teriyaki sauce leaves a beautiful sticky glaze on whatever you cook with it – making it ideal for tender morsels of chicken.
The salty savory soy sauce coupled with rich brown sugar and spicy ground ginger give this sauce a taste and texture that’s hands down better than anything you can bring home in a bottle from the grocery store.
Another key (not so secret) ingredient in this teriyaki sauce is Hoisin Sauce.
Hoisin sauce contains soy, red chiles, sugar, vinegar, and garlic and is thick in texture. It brings a depth of flavor to this teriyaki sauce that’s so good I doubt I’ll ever make another teriyaki sauce again.
If my friend Jenn ever writes a sauce cookbook, I will be first in line to buy it. Her teriyaki sauce is perfect. It is the best teriyaki sauce I’ve ever tasted.
How to Make Teriyaki Sauce
Sure, you can buy a jar at the grocery store. And in a pinch, it will work just fine. But once you’ve tried homemade? You might never want to buy it again.
Making teriyaki sauce at home is as simple as whisking a few ingredients in a saucepan and heating it all until thickened and warmed through.
In this recipe, I make the sauce first then add it to cooked chicken.
Some recipes also call for the sauce to be used to deglaze a pan at the end of cooking the meat. This works well that way too.
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.
Serve it with rice and veggies any night of the week or, if you’re in the mood for a full Japanese spread, alongside some Tempura Shishito Peppers or sushi.
Teriyaki Hoisin Sauce
In a small saucepan, whisk together soy sauce, Hoisin sauce, rice vinegar, brown sugar, ground ginger, sesame oil, garlic powder, and water 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.
Are you as excited about this sauce as I am yet? If you can’t get enough teriyaki in your life then oh boy have I got some more recipes you need to try.
Teriyaki Glazed Salmon with Pineapple Salsa is a light and satisfying meal that’s perfect for summer. When I’m after a quick weeknight dinner I know I can’t go wrong with Teriyaki Chicken with Pineapple served over rice.
While not technically teriyaki, Sweet and Sour Ham Balls Stir-Fry is a similarly flavored meal that I made upon hearing my friend Rebecca describe it in all its sweet, sour, savory glory. I tried it and couldn’t believe how wonderful it tasted.
Cook’s Note: The recipe below makes a small amount of sauce. It’s plenty for this recipe, but I often double it if I want to have extra.
Any leftover sauce will keep for 2-3 weeks in the fridge, so it’s a great condiment to have in the fridge for a lightning fast dinner option.
Ingredients
To Make The Sauce
- 1/3 cup light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons Hoisin sauce
- 2 tablespoons water
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 4 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
To Cook The Chicken
- 3 lbs chicken white or dark meat, diced into bite size pieces
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- granulated garlic
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.
- 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
Nutrition
{originally published 11/28/11 – recipe notes and photos updated 2/3/21}
Three-Cookies says
Nice Japanese Chinese sauce fusion. This sauce sounds quite similar to char siew sauce which is absolutely awesome
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 🙂
The Blonde Duck says
I wish we had more Asian food here.
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.
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?
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!
Pam says
The sauce makes the dish… this one looks fabulous.
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.
SixBalloons says
Nice glaze to it. I bet it would be able to handle some added greens nicely like bell peppers or green onions?
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.
sweetcarolinescooking.com says
Oh.my.gosh. That chicken sounds amazing! Particularly the glaze. I can't take my eyes off of the photo!
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
Geni says
This sauce does look especially delectable. I'm in! 🙂
Reem | Simply Reem says
That chicken with the sinful sauce… Love it.
I can really have this with a bowl of warm rice.
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!
Words Of Deliciousness says
This looks so good. I love Asian food, I have to make this soon.
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!
Chris says
Jenn is a sauce rock star, isn't she?
Looks perfect!
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!
Chinese Sauce says
Mouth watering recipe!!!