Homemade Teriyaki Sauce
Got mirin? If you’ve dallied with Japanese cooking the answer is yes. Here’s a useful way to apply that half-bottle moldering on the back shelf of the pantry. Even if you have to buy mirin, this is still better than the store bought teriyaki sauce, and you can adjust the seasonings to your preferences. Makes about a cup.
Ingredients:
½ c good soy sauce
1/3 c mirin
2 T rice vinegar
1 t sesame oil
2 T brown sugar
1 T finely chopped garlic
1 t finely chopped or grated ginger
1 t cornstarch
Water
Method: Bring the first 4 liquid ingredients to simmer in a small saucepan, add garlic and ginger and brown sugar, cook over low heat 10 minutes to dissolve sugar and develop flavors. Separately, mix cornstarch in a little water until completely dissolved; add to liquid in pot and simmer until slightly thickened. Cool or use immediately. Keeps a couple of weeks, tightly covered.
Uses: As a marinade for beef or chicken. As a cooking sauce for same. As a table sauce, heated. Really, you can’t go wrong with teriyaki any time you want to “japonify” your simply prepared food.
