Teriyaki Sauce
Teriyaki sauce is great for barbecuing; like tomato-based barbecuse sauces, it can be used as both a marinade and a sauce for brushing on (a glaze). And the best stuff does not come from the bottle: you can make your own Teriyaki sauce at home, and it will be cheaper, fresher, and better tasting than the store-bought kind.
It should be noted that authentic Teriyaki sauce contains a sweet wine called Mirin. You would very likely not use it for anything else, so buying a bottle of this could be a waste, but feel free to do so. What I am presenting today is simply what I use for Teriyaki recipes, and no one seems to notice or mind that it is not the “real thing” from Japan itself.
The main ingredient is Soy Sauce, and you really need the good stuff to make the best impression. Yes, the cheap stuff will do. In fact, if you want to you could use all the little soy sauce packets you have saved from your Chinese Food orders from days gone by, but don’t invite me over if you do.
To this you add brown sugar, enough to make it a bit sweet and to thicken it slightly. I rarely measure, if ever, but I would guess that for one cup of soy sauce I usually use about a quarter cup or less of brown sugar. If you are using Mirin, eliminate or reduce the brown sugar.
Next I add grated ginger. Fresh ginger is wonderful stuff, and is far more flavorful and pungent than dried ginger, but it looks a bit daunting to deal with. It’s a funny-looking root with lots of knobs and twists and turns, but really it is very simple to use it. When I buy fresh ginger, the first thing I do is cut the various sections apart so I have single sections to work with. Next, I use a small spoon to scrape off the skin; this is far easier than trying to use a peeler. Then I put the ginger pieces into a small sandwich bag and throw it into the freezer. Then, when I need some ginger for a recipe, I pull one or two of the ginger pieces out, and I can grate it with a box grater. If I had not frozen it, grating would not be as easy since it is quite moist, but that does not mean it is impossible — just more work. Also, you can chop it if you like, but it is hard to get as much flavor that way, as the ginger will not dissolve. The amount of ginger you decide to add will be dependent on taste, but a piece about the size of the top section of your thumb would be a good amount to try.
Lastly, a clove of garlic or two, finely chopped or squeezed through a garlic press should be added.
And that’s it! Use this to marinade any meat or fish prior to barbecuing or baking, and use the remainder to brush on it as a glaze during the cooking. I don’t recommend it for stir-frying or any frying pan treatment, as the sauce gets a bit thick and can burn on the pan. You can also add the sauce to rice after cooking as an extra flavor.
Yours in Good Taste,
Erik Christensen