Teriyaki sauce is a common condiment used extensively in Japanese cooking. The flavourful sauce is used as a marinade or as a dipping sauce for a variety of dishes. It can also be used as dressing for salads and noodles. One of the most well-known dishes in Japanese cuisine, teriyaki chicken, uses the sauce as a basting liquid.
What is teriyaki sauce?
Teriyaki was originally a cooking method that involves grilling over a high flame, but now it's commonly used to describe the sauce. But both -- the method and the sauce -- are inseparable. Teriyaki sauce is always used in the teriyaki style of cooking.
Teriyaki sauce is a soy sauce-based condiment with sake, mirin and brown sugar. It is sometimes flavoured with ginger and garlic. The word is derived from Japanese words "tare" and "yaki", meaning "glaze" and "cook" respectively.
Teriyaki is used to baste meat and fish and sometimes to flavour hamburgers, steaks and meatballs.
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Teriyaki sauce nutrition
A 100ml serving of teriyaki sauce contains the following nutrients:
| Nutrient | Measure |
| Calories | 90 |
| Sodium | 3,850 mg (160%) |
| Potassium | 225 mg (6%) |
| Carbohydrates | 16 gm (5%) |
| Sugar | 14 gm |
| Protein | 6 gm (12%) |
| Calcium | 2% |
| Iron | 9% |
| Vitamin B6 | 5% |
| Magnesium | 15% |
| Phosphorus | 154 mg (16%) |
| Zinc | 0.1 mg (1%) |
| Copper | 0.1 mg (5%) |
| Selenium | 2% |
| Choline | 19.5 mg (4%) |
| Folate | 2% |
| Niacin | 1.3 mg (7%) |
| Riboflavin | 0.1 mg (5%) |
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Health benefits of teriyaki sauce
Teriyaki sauce has the combined benefits of soy sauce, mirin, sake, garlic and ginger. The sauce contains micronutrients like iron, vitamin B6, niacin, riboflavin, choline, selenium, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium and zinc. Here are some of its health benefits.
1. May boost the immune system
Teriyaki sauce contains immune-boosting ingredients such as garlic and ginger, which protect the body against pathogens. Soy sauce, the base for teriyaki sauce, also contains polysaccharides that improve responses of the immune system against infections. These ingredients also contain antioxidants that promote immune health.
2. May fight cancer
Garlic contains phytochemicals that can kill cancer cells. Ginger also has chemopreventive properties that prevent cancer cells from forming. In addition to this, even soy sauce exhibits tumour-preventing properties. Soy sauce contains nicotinamide, a form of vitamin B3 that has proven cancer-fighting properties.
3. Could reduce inflammation in the body
The combination of sake, soy sauce, ginger and garlic packs a powerful antioxidant punch. All four ingredients contain anti-inflammatory agents that could up antioxidant activity in the body and prevent inflammatory symptoms.
4. Could be good for stomach and digestive health
If ginger is one of the main ingredients in the sauce, it can provide modest digestive health benefits. Ginger has proven benefits against indigestion, nausea, gas and other gastric issues. The spice also protects against ulcer and stomach cancer-causing bacteria H.Pylori.
Garlic is a traditional remedy for stoking digestive fire that aids proper digestion. Soy sauce, which is a fermented condiment, can also offer probiotic benefits to gut health in the form of oligosaccharides that feed the good bacteria in the stomach.
Other possible health benefits of teriyaki sauce:
- Could boost the immune system
- Reduce joint ache
- Could promote weight loss
- Could provide some micronutrients
- May provide strength to bones
- Could help in making RNA and DNA
- May promote nerve health
Bear in mind that a small quantity of teriyaki sauce may not translate into significant health benefits, but it can be a good addition to a healthy and balanced diet.
Teriyaki sauce health risks: Is it gluten-free?
Teriyaki sauce contains a large amount of sodium. A single teaspoon contains 230mg of sodium, which constitutes 10% of our daily requirements. Anything more than a few teaspoons may be unsuitable for people who have high blood pressure.
Soy allergies can also make teriyaki sauce unsuitable for people who are vulnerable to them.
Soy sauce contains gluten. So most teriyaki sauce brands may not be free of gluten. Look for brands that use gluten-free ingredients if you have irritable bowel syndrome or celiac disease.
Teriyaki sauce recipe
Making teriyaki sauce from scratch is very simple. This recipe doesn't use sake or mirin, which may not be widely available everywhere.
- Add 1/4 cup of soy sauce, one tablespoon of honey (optional), 4 teaspoons of brown sugar, 1/4 teaspoon crushed garlic and 1/4 teaspoon crushed ginger to a cup of water.
- Cook on medium heat for around one minute.
- Add cornstarch in 1/4 cup water and add to the mixture.
- Cook till the sauce thickens.
- Transfer to a bottle or jar. Use as required.
Teriyaki sauce substitutes include soy sauce, oyster sauce, barbeque sauce or Worcestershire sauce. Although these substitutes may not mimic the exact flavour, they can replicate the appearance and the overarching sweet-sour-umami taste of teriyaki sauce.
All four sauces are used as a basting sauce for grilled meat and vegetables, or as part of dressings and marinades.
References:
1. Kataoka S. Functional effects of Japanese style fermented soy sauce (shoyu) and its components. J Biosci Bioeng. 2005 Sep;100(3):227-34. doi: 10.1263/jbb.100.227. PMID: 16243270.
2. Diez-Simon, C., Eichelsheim, C., Mumm, R., & Hall, R. D. (2020). Chemical and Sensory Characteristics of Soy Sauce: A Review. Journal of agricultural and food chemistry, 68(42), 11612–11630. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jafc.0c04274
3. Donma, M. M., & Donma, O. (2020). The effects of allium sativum on immunity within the scope of COVID-19 infection. Medical hypotheses, 144, 109934. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mehy.2020.109934
4. Lechner, J. F., & Stoner, G. D. (2019). Gingers and Their Purified Components as Cancer Chemopreventative Agents. Molecules (Basel, Switzerland), 24(16), 2859. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules24162859
5. Cao ZH, Green-Johnson JM, Buckley ND, Lin QY. Bioactivity of soy-based fermented foods: A review. Biotechnol Adv. 2019 Jan-Feb;37(1):223-238. doi: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2018.12.001. Epub 2018 Dec 4. PMID: 30521852.
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