Sauce, teriyaki, ready-to-serve

Teriyaki sauce is a glossy, sweet-savory glaze built from soy sauce, sugar, and often ginger or garlic, associated with Japanese-American grilled and stir-fried dishes. It's brushed onto chicken, salmon, or beef before grilling to form a sticky lacquer as it caramelizes, simmered down as a glaze for stir-fried vegetables, or used as a dipping sauce for skewers. Its thicker, syrupy body clings to meat and vegetables rather than running off the way a thin soy sauce would, and it also works well as a marinade base left to soak into chicken thighs or salmon fillets before cooking.

A tablespoon (18 g) has 89 calories, and its sugar content stands out at 14.1 g per 100 g, higher than most soy-based condiments, alongside 12% DV protein and 15% DV magnesium. Once opened, refrigerate the bottle to keep it fresh for cooking. With 3830 mg sodium per 100 g, it works well brushed onto grilled chicken or salmon, or tossed with stir-fried broccoli and bell peppers in place of plain soy sauce, and because of the added sugar it also caramelizes and browns faster under a broiler than plain soy sauce would, so it's worth watching closely near the end of cooking.