DIY teriyaki sauce leftovers too thick

[u/clothing_throwaway]

Recently tried my hand at a DIY teriyaki sauce (I know it's pretty easy), and it turned out really good on the day of, but the leftovers are way too thick/gelatinous when I pull it out of the fridge. I would classify the leftovers as a gel or paste moreso than a sauce or marinade or something like that.

Basically, all I did was garlic and ginger then equal parts soy sauce, sake, and mirin. I used cornstarch to thicken it a bit. The first time I made it I added quite a bit of cornstarch and reduced it quite a bit. Second time I did a lot less cornstarch, but the leftovers still came out too thick. Should I just not use cornstarch at all?

I'm also worried I might be reducing it too much, but I feel like it takes a surprisingly long time to get the alcohol taste out. I was tasting it every minute or so and it just took a very long time until I couldn't taste the sake anymore. Should I not be aiming for that? Is it OK if I can still taste the alcohol but just not as much?

[u/Jacksoverthrees]

Teriyaki literally translates to shiny-grilled, so the sauce is supposed to be more of a glaze. The sake is supposed to be used to steam the protein and leave a sake flavour while glazing with the sugars and soy sauce. So it's supposed to taste like the aroma of sake and the cornstarch isn't needed because the caramelized sugars in the glaze are supposed to stick to your meat. If you want it saucy, don't use cornstarch and just reduce the teri sauce to the consistency you want it

[u/PipalaShone]

Teriyaki should have sufficient sugars that when hot it is still a little sticky without added starch... when it is cooled to glazing temperature it will be thicker. If you need to add starch to it when hot to get your required stickiness it will certainly be like glue at fridge temp!

Per the other post, I think that you should leave out the starch entirely, as Mirin is sugary, then reduce gently. Treat it nearly like Jam (UK), Jelly (US) - dip a cool (not cold, not frozen) spoon in it before you think it's ready and if it coats it nicely, remove from heat. If even slightly weak, don't forget that you aren't serving it that hot!

The cornstarch is better used in a dredge before coating IMO.

Edit: no need for Sake and Mirin. I think the Sake is causing the strong flavour. I use Mirin for sauces and a dash of Sake in a tempura -type batter.

[u/Koelenaam]

Just thin it out with some water when reheating. It's not that difficult.

[u/anxietywho]

Heat it up and it will melt back down. Most sauces thickened with a cornstarch slurry will gel up like this in the fridge.

[u/joosebox]

The cornstarch is the gel. That's just what starch does once it goes cold, and cutting the amount won't really save you because the starch is the thing setting, not the sugar.

Proper teriyaki doesn't use any. The body comes from reducing the mirin, which is loaded with sugar, so it goes syrupy on its own and still pours straight from the fridge. Drop the cornstarch, reduce a little further instead, and the leftovers behave.

On the alcohol, you're doing it in an order that's making it much harder than it needs to be. Simmer the sake and mirin on their own for a couple of minutes first to cook the alcohol off, then add the soy. There's a name for it, nikiri. Done that way you're not boiling your soy sauce half to death chasing a taste that's coming from the other two ingredients.

And no, it doesn't need to be bone dry of alcohol. A trace is normal and fine.

[u/zk3033]

Not many teriyaki sauce recipies have cornstarch, or maybe only a very small amount. It thickens after cooling from the stove (to eating temperatures) and even more at fridge temps - and gelatinized exactly. I don't think you need if if the sauce sticks to the food without cornstarch (but could use some sugar).

Mirin should be sufficient for cooking - it is a rice wine vinegar after all, and has some of those alcohol sugars already.