I went to a grocery store to get some teriyaki sauce to put on rice. When I asked the cashier where it is, they looked confused and did not understand what I was talking about. I thought they didn't understand my accent so I showed them in Japanese but they were still confused.
I read online that most teriyaki sauce in Japan is actually handmade from soy sauce, sugar, sake, and something called mirin.
I thought that was why they were confused, so I asked them where the mirin was, but they still didn't understand what I meant.
Can someone tell me what I'm doing wrong please?
Thank you.
by roeidana
12 comments
How did you pronounce mirin? Maybe you said it wrong?
Nobody puts any sauces on rice and teriyaki is reserved for a small handful of traditional dishes, easily made at home. There is no store bought teriyaki sauce, not anything common at least.
The obsession with teriyaki is a western thing and it’s by far not as popular in Japan.
Have you tried okonomiyaki sauce instead? That, a bit of old bay seasoning from the US, rice, and salmon… 🤤
She was probably confused because Japanese people don’t typically use the term “teriyaki sauce.” They generally refer to the specific type of food (yakisoba, yakitori, okonomiyaki, takoyaki, etc) followed by the words “tare” or “sauce” (何々のタレ or 何々ソース). “Teriyaki sauce” is largely an American-Japanese food term. In Japan I have literally only seen it in reference to McDonald’s teriyaki burger and on U.S. military bases.
Btw, every Japanese supermarket I have ever been to has an aisle containing sauces, oil, mirin, cooking sake, etc. Also, Japanese people don’t put “teriyaki sauce” on rice.
They might also be confused about why you’re putting teriyaki sauce on rice
“Teriyaki” is not originally a Japanese word that refers to a type of sauce.
In Japan, the term “teriyaki” refers to a cooking method.
It’s a word that means grilling (yaki) in a way that produces a sheen (teri).
The concept that a dish becomes teriyaki just by pouring teriyaki sauce over it, even without a grilling process, is an idea from outside Japan.
The amount of people defending teriyaki sauce and how to cook it lol
That is indeed weird OP especially if you showed them the item online. Mirin is very common.
Also do whatever you want with your rice! I‘m half Japanese and as a kid I loooooved the unagi sauce on rice, as I thought unagi is hairy lol so all I wanted was unagi sauce on rice
Assuming this isn’t a weird troll, you’re probably better off asking for “amadare” (甘だれ), lit. “sweet sauce.” It’s thick and dark brown and very similar to Westernized “teriyaki sauce.”
Have you ever tried to find a teriyaki dish at a restaurant in Japan? The only place you’ll find it is McDonald’s / Burger King / Mos Burger with their Teriyaki Burgers. Most people in Japan have no idea what teriyaki is and the ones who do know think it’s an American burger.
On a side note, if you’re craving for teriyaki chicken, I recommend going to 7-eleven’s frozen section and getting the boxed yakitori. It has a similar taste to the teriyaki chicken dish I usually had in the US.
That’s not a thing here.
If you want American teriyaki sauce Costco has it. It says “American” style teriyaki on it also. It’s yoshida brand.
Just make it yourself:
1 part brown sugar, 1 part soy sauce.
Add garlic if you want. You can just skip sake/mirin to make it easier.
Heat in pan until it’s as thick as you want it, there’s really no reason to buy it!