Homemade Teriyaki Sauce

It must be a girl thing.

But usually when I have a night at home, all by myself, to watch whatever chick-flick I want, read girly magazines, paint my nails and wear an ugly green face mask, I want to eat Chinese take out.

Like from a Chinese take out box with chopsticks (even though I can barely use the darn things).

It must be from watching WAY too many chick-flicks, were every single girl in the movie sits at home watching a chick-flick and eating Chinese take out, from the take out box using chopsticks; but yet this is what I crave, every.single.time. those Fridays roll around.

Eric on the other hand orders pizza when he has the house to himself.

THAT must be a guy thing.

But even though I have this grand vision illusion of what my Friday night, home alone must be like, I usually never order out.

Maybe it is because I like cooking, even if it is just for myself. Maybe it is because I prefer homemade ingredients. Or, maybe it is because I am cheap; but I usually make my own “Chinese take out.”

One thing I love is Teriyaki chicken. So I wanted to attempt to try to make my own version at home. I mean once you master the Teriyaki sauce, the actual chicken dish is a breeze.

So here it is.

Homemade Teriyaki Sauce.

Pan sear some chicken and stir in this sauce or use as a marinade to grill chicken this summer, or use this homemade version in lieu of bottled in your favorite recipe. Because seriously this homemade sauce blows that bottled stuff out of the water and is easy, peasy chicken squeezy!

One Year Ago: Marinated Tomato Salad 
Two Years Ago: Mom’s Lemon Peppered Chicken
Three Years Ago: Hoppin’ John Salad
Four Years Ago: Tomato Bruschetta Chicken 

Teriyaki Sauce
by Heather of Kitchen Concoctions: www.kitchen-concoctions.com 
Printable Version 
Prep Time: 5-10 minutes Cook Time: 8-10 minutes Makes: approximately 1 cup sauce

1/3 cup soy sauce
2/3 cup orange juice*
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ inch fresh ginger, grated
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons water

In a medium sized sauce pan, stir together soy sauce, orange juice, rice vinegar, garlic, ginger, brown sugar and honey. Bring to a boil and boil for 1-2 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl stir together cornstarch and water to form a slurry. Stir cornstarch slurry into teriyaki sauce. Cook for an additional 2-3 minutes or until desired thickness. 

Use sauce as desired for stir-fry, marinading or basting grilled meats and veggies, or in your favorite recipe. 

*Note: Water, vegetable/chicken broth, or pineapple juice may be substituted.

Other recipes you might enjoy: 
Stir-Fried Chicken 
Kung Pao Style Ramen Noodles 
Chicken Lettuce Wraps 
Asian Noodles 
Cherry Chicken Lettuce Wraps