Teriyaki

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Teriyaki (照り焼き, テリヤキ), in the Western sense, is a Japanese cooking sauce for fish or meat. The meat is cut or sliced, then broiled or grilled in a sweet soy sauce marinade. The word teriyaki derives from the word teri, which refers to a shine or luster given by the sauce, and yaki, which refers to the cooking method (grilling or broiling). In the traditional way of cooking, the meat is either dipped in, or brushed with, the sauce multiple times before completion.

Teriyaki sauce is traditionally made by mixing and heating four ingredients: Mirin, sugar, soy sauce, and sake (or occasionally another alcohol). These may all be in equal quantities or varied by the recipe. The sauce is boiled and reduced to the desired thickness before it is used to marinate meat. The meat is then grilled or broiled. Sometimes ginger is added, and the final dish may be garnished with green onions.

In other cultures, teriyaki is often misrepresented; the term may be used for any dish made with a teriyaki-like sauce, or with added ingredients such as sesame or garlic (uncommon in traditional Japanese cuisine). Many of the bottled teriyaki sauces on the market are actually a version of the spicier Korean bulgogi sauce, which contains the aforementioned ingredients. Grilling a meat first and pouring the sauce on afterward is another non-traditional method of cooking teriyaki.