In a pinch, I’ll use the pre-made Kikkoman’s Teriyaki Sauce bottle with the lei on the front and the orange top. However, teriyaki sauce is SO EASY (only four ingredients) and takes less than five minutes, that it’s really quicker to make it, than a trip to the store. And a look at some of the ingredients in the store-bought sauce- sodium benzoate and succinic acid- shows you are better off making your own.

Of the four ingredients needed, there are two most cooks might not have at home- sake and mirin. Both of these are available at most local grocery stores, but in a pinch Mirin (a sweet rice wine) can be substituted with dry sherry or sweet marsala. Sake can be substituted with a dry white wine, or dry sherry. It’s worth having sake on hand (it goes well with Asian dishes to drink) and Mirin is shelf-stable, so once you buy it, it keeps for a while. Teriyaki sauce, once made, will keep for a month in the refrigerator.

I re-made my Sticky Chicken with Chicken Thighs, instead of legs. I also sprinkled them with Chinese Five Spice, marinated them with Teriyaki, then grilled them, brushing them with the Sticky Sauce. They turned out awesome! The plus to Teriyaki is it’s a Marinade AND a Sauce. Win-win! It can be used to marinate chicken, beef, pork and hearty fish like salmon.

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