1. In a medium sauce pan over medium heat, combine soy sauce, ginger, garlic and white pepper
2. In a small jar, combine cornstarch and water and shake well
3. Add cornstarch slurry to teriyaki sauce mixture
4. Bring to a rolling boil, stirring with a whisk
5. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature
6. Enjoy

The teriyaki sauce recipe as we have come to know it originates of Japanese culinary tradition dating back to the Edo period circa the 17th century as a versatile, delectably savory sweet condiment that was originally created as a means of preserving fish in a soy sauce and mirin (sweet rice wine) mixture. Derived of two words: "teri" meaning shiny or lustrous and "yaki" meaning grill or broil – think of a teppanyaki grill – which is actually a relatively modern, post-war – stile of cooking and with "teppan" essentially meaning metal plate and "yaki" which still means grill or broil.

Over time, while many recipes still call for the addition of mirin, the 20th century home – and primarily North American – cook discovered this easy make glossy condiment with few ingredients including soy sauce, brown sugar, fresh ginger and fresh garlic could be made at home with relative ease and sweetness tailored to their own palate. Moreover, a teriyaki sauce recipe without the addition of the cornstarch slurry is a quick marinade for steak and other proteins.

A teriyaki sauce recipe pairs well with rice, chicken, beef, pork, noodles and some fish – in fact – a teriyaki sauce recipe is close to an eel sauce recipe – unagi – used in Japanese sushi though eel sauce is somewhat saltier and where teriyaki uses brown sugar as its sweet base, the eel sauce typically uses white sugar.

Master the simplicity that is the teriyaki sauce recipe and a multitude of delicious options are always at hand and easily prepared in only a few minutes.

We are cooking now, please wait for it to come out. It will be delicious.