I lived in the New York City borough of Queens for 28 years. I recently heard Queens referred to as the most ethnically diverse county in the U.S.A. Although I never really gave it much thought, this has exposed me to a very broad range of foods long before they became trendy.
Don’t get me wrong - I am discriminating about what I eat regardless of what type of cuisine it is, but even picky eaters can usually find some things they will eat in any restaurant. One of those things for me is steak or chicken teriayaki.
For those who have never had the pleasure of dining in an authentic Japanese restaurant, the teriyaki sauce there is nothing like the stuff sold in bottles at your local market. It is much sweeter and more of a glaze imparting a shiny appearance to the meat. The taste is far superior to bottled teriyaki sauce.
Although I now live just outside Queens county, the area is still ethnically diverse and I am lucky enough to have an asian market half a mile away. Those who wish to try this may have to do some searching to get the necessary ingredients, but if you like teriyaki it is well worth the effort.
There are many ways to make a decent teriyaki sauce, but this is my favorite.
Ingredients
- Soy Sauce - My local market has about 30 kinds, mostly labeled in languages I can’t read. I use Kikkoman all purpose soy sauce. There may be better ones out there, but I have to stick with what I know until I learn more about this.
- Sake - Rice Wine. I generally prefer a drinkable sake from the liquor store over a “cooking sake” from the market.
- Mirin - Sweet Rice Wine. This is the secret to great teriyaki sauce. Found in the vicinity of the sauces in an asian market, or in the ethnic aisle of a regular market.
- Dashi - Fish Broth. I prefer a concentrate that is added to water. This may be tough to find. It is in the soup section of asian markets. If you can’t locate this don’t worry about it - this recipe tastes nearly as good without it.
- Sugar - Ordinary granulated sugar.
Sauce Preparation
This makes one quart which will be enough for a meal for four people.
- Combine 1 cup of Sake and 1 cup of Mirin in a saucepan.
- Warm it on medium heat.
- Shut off the burner. Burn off the alcohol by lighting it (I use a long barbecue lighter) and carefully rocking the pan back and forth until flames go out. If you don’t get flames then the mixture is not hot enough.
- Add 1 cup of Soy sauce, 1 cup of Dashi, and 2 Tablespoons of sugar (this can be adjusted to taste).
- Place the pan back on the burner and bring to a boil.
- Turn off the heat and allow the sauce to cool to room temperature.
Marinating
For best results, the meat should be marinated in the sauce. Place the meat in a bag or bowl and pour in half the sauce. Cover and refrigerate. I like to marinate chicken for 3 hours. I marinate beef overnight (at least 12 hours). This also tastes good on barbecued shrimp, but shrimp should only be marinated for about 30 minutes. Store the other half of the sauce until ready to make the glaze.
Glaze Preparation
The glaze is a reduced form of the same sauce. Approximately 30 minutes before you plan to start cooking the meat, place the sauce you reserved in a saucepan over medium high heat, uncovered. This should be left on the heat until it is quite thick. Note - Do not contaminate this with the sauce that was used to marinate as it will pose a health risk.
Cooking
My preferred method is to barbecue when using teriyaki. place the meat on your grill and use a brush to coat the top with glaze. After turning the meat, apply glaze to the other side.
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