Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe·Leave a review

This is post number 52. FIFTY. TWO. We’re coming up on a year and I hardly know what to do with myself! No, that’s a lie. I COMPLETELY don’t know what to do with myself.

I’ve been in a bit of a slump since coming back from Arizona. In the days before we left, I threw my routines to the wind in order to get packed, get a blog post up, etc. And I haven’t fully settled back into myself since (case in point: I’m finishing this post at 1:30 am. Also the parenthesis got a little away from me).

I had a very basic routine going: work on the blog on Mondays and Tuesdays, work on (and attend) class stuff on Wednesday and Thursday. And then I realized that stuff (like email) was piling up like crazy and the phone bill was overdue and everything felt like I was two steps behind.

So I’m yanking myself back on track. Some things help: meal planning on the weekends, in order to not go insane during the week (it’s ridiculously hard to decide between quesadillas and pasta with cheese at 9 pm). Making a ~~pot of~~ some coffee and settling down on the floor with a mug and my version of a bullet journal. Actually utilizing said journal. Sunshine. Heading to a coffee shop when I absolutely can’t concentrate at home. Cooking for pleasure, by which I mean cooking something I want to eat. And then eating it.

I’ll let you know when I’ve found myself (spoiler: probably never. but we’ll see how close I can get). In the meantime, here’s a beautifully simple recipe for you.

Easy Homemade Teriyaki

Teriyaki sauce is an absolute staple. It’s one of those things that can turn any protein or vegetable into something special. You can buy it, sure, at any Asian store or in the “ethnic” aisle of your local grocery. But it’s cheaper to make your own, and you can be assured there’s no extra preservatives or anything. It’s super quick in a food processor, but if you don’t have one, you only need to chop 2 ingredients.

Note that this recipe is for a thinner sauce to be used more as an ingredient or marinade, rather than a dipping sauce (although of course you could use it as such). If you’re looking for the thicker sauce used as a condiment in some restaurants, try this recipe.

There are two kinds of rice wine in this recipe. Resist the urge to use only one kind! Mirin is a sweet Japanese rice wine that has a distinct and unusual flavor. If you skip it, you’ll miss out on the subtle sweetness that it brings to the sauce. (If you’re curious about the difference, check out this exhaustive glossary at Woks of Life.)

What can you do with teriyaki? Almost anything!

Simmer it with a couple of tablespoons of water and cornstarch to make a sticky glaze
Seal in a bag with fish, chicken, or other protein for a delicious marinade
Use as is to top white rice, veggies, or anything that needs a nice kick of sweet Asian flavor!

Thanks for sticking around for almost a year!

Recipe from Food Network.