Teriyaki sauce is a popular Japanese cooking sauce that can be used to marinate and cook a variety of meats and vegetables. Great Value’s teriyaki marinade provides an easy and budget-friendly way to add delicious teriyaki flavor to your dishes.
What is Teriyaki Sauce?
Teriyaki sauce is a Japanese cooking sauce that consists of soy sauce, rice wine, sugar, and other ingredients like ginger and garlic. It creates a sweet, salty, and umami glaze or marinade. The word “teriyaki” refers to the cooking technique where foods are broiled or grilled with the sticky, sweet sauce.
Teriyaki sauce can be used as both a marinade and a glaze when cooking. As a marinade, the sauce helps tenderize and add flavor to proteins like meat, fish, poultry, or tofu. As a glaze, teriyaki sauce provides a caramelized, sticky coating to foods as they cook.
Common ingredients found in teriyaki sauce include:
- Soy sauce – for saltiness
- Rice wine vinegar or sake – for sweetness
- Sugar or honey – to balance flavors
- Ginger – for some spice
- Garlic – for aroma
- Sesame oil – for nutty flavor
- Cornstarch or mirin – to thicken the glaze
The specific ingredients and ratios vary between recipes, but the end result is a glossy, umami-rich sauce that works wonderfully in marinades and glazes.
About Great Value Teriyaki Marinade
Great Value’s teriyaki marinade can be found at Walmart stores. It provides an easy, budget-friendly way to add teriyaki flavor to your cooking.
The main ingredients in Great Value teriyaki marinade are:
- Water
- Soy sauce (water, wheat, soybeans, salt)
- Corn syrup
- Vinegar
- Pineapple juice concentrate
- Ginger
- Spices
- Natural hickory smoke flavor
With these simple ingredients, this teriyaki marinade can lend foods a sweet and salty teriyaki flavor profile. It provides an easy shortcut for home cooks looking to quickly marinate proteins or glaze vegetables without making teriyaki sauce from scratch.
How to Use Great Value Teriyaki as a Marinade
Using Great Value teriyaki marinade as a marinade is an easy way to infuse proteins like chicken, beef, pork, fish, or tofu with delicious teriyaki flavors.
Here are some tips for using Great Value teriyaki as a marinade:
- Select your protein – Chicken, beef, pork, fish, shrimp, or extra-firm tofu all work well.
- Cut your protein into smaller pieces or slices to maximize the marinade coverage. Strips, cubes, or thin fillets work best.
- In a bowl or sealable plastic bag, pour in the teriyaki marinade until the protein is well-coated. Use approx 1/4 cup marinade per 1 pound of protein.
- Let the protein marinate for 30 minutes up to overnight in the refrigerator. Longer marinating times result in more flavor penetration.
- Discard used marinade. Do not reuse marinade that has touched raw proteins due to food safety.
- Cook marinated proteins by baking, broiling, grilling, sautéing, or air frying. Brush on a bit more teriyaki glaze towards the end of cooking.
Marinating protein in Great Value teriyaki imparts delicious sticky, sweet and salty flavor. The soy sauce and pineapple juice concentrate in the marinade help tenderize and moisturize the proteins too.
Teriyaki Marinade Times
For best results, marinate proteins for:
- 30 minutes to 2 hours for thin cuts like chicken breast or fish fillets
- 2 to 4 hours for thicker cuts of chicken, beef or pork
- Overnight for maximized flavor penetration
Teriyaki Marinade Ratios
Use approximately:
- 1/4 cup teriyaki marinade per 1 pound of protein
- 1/3 cup teriyaki marinade per 2 pounds of protein
- 1/2 cup teriyaki marinade per 3 pounds of protein
Make sure proteins are well coated in the marinade for best coverage.
How to Use Great Value Teriyaki as a Glaze
Great Value teriyaki also works wonderfully as a glaze or basting sauce to coat foods while cooking. The sugars caramelize to create a delicious sticky coating.
To use teriyaki as a glaze:
- Cook protein using desired method – grilled, baked, broiled. Brush extra marinade over protein during last 5-10 minutes of cooking.
- Stir fry or sauté vegetables like carrots, broccoli, peppers, onions, etc and toss with teriyaki glaze at the end.
- Roast vegetables or bake fish and baste with teriyaki glaze several times during cooking.
- Brush teriyaki glaze over finished proteins, stir fries, or veggies right before serving.
The teriyaki will thicken and caramelize into a flavorful, sticky coating on foods. Be sure to brush on just thin coats of the glaze to prevent burning.
Teriyaki Marinade Food Safety Tips
When working with raw proteins and marinades, be sure to follow food safety guidelines:
- Marinate proteins in the refrigerator, not on the counter.
- Marinate in a sealed bag or covered bowl.
- Discard used marinade after use on raw proteins.
- Do not baste raw proteins with the same glaze you’ll use on cooked foods.
- Wash hands, utensils, bowls immediately after working with raw proteins.
Following these tips will help avoid cross-contamination and foodborne illness when marinating.
Recipe Ideas Using Great Value Teriyaki
Here are some delicious recipe ideas that showcase how to use Great Value’s teriyaki marinade:
Teriyaki Chicken Thighs
Boneless, skinless chicken thighs marinated overnight in the teriyaki sauce then baked until caramelized and sticky.
Teriyaki Glazed Salmon
Fresh salmon fillets broiled with a sweet and salty teriyaki glaze for the last 5 minutes of cooking.
Korean Teriyaki Beef
Thin strip steak marinated in a blend of teriyaki and Korean gochujang sauce, then quickly seared.
Teriyaki Tofu Stir Fry
Crispy baked tofu cubes tossed in a veggie stir fry with teriyaki sauce to glaze.
Teriyaki Shrimp & Pineapple Skewers
Shrimp and pineapple chunks grilled on skewers with a sticky, sweet teriyaki coating.
Teriyaki Glazed Pork Chops
Pork chops browned then baked with a teriyaki glaze until caramelized and tender.
Teriyaki Veggie Bowls
Broccoli, carrots, peppers and onions roasted or stir-fried then tossed with the thick, sweet teriyaki glaze.
Storing Leftover Teriyaki Marinade
To store leftover teriyaki marinade:
- Transfer to an airtight container.
- Refrigerate for up to 5-7 days.
- Use on fresh proteins or veggies.
- Discard if marinade smells off or shows mold.
Only reuse marinade that has not touched raw proteins. Used marinade should always be discarded.
Can You Freeze Teriyaki Marinade?
Yes, teriyaki sauce and marinade can be frozen for longer term storage. Here are some freezing tips:
- Freeze marinade in an airtight container, leaving headspace to allow for expansion.
- Seal container well to prevent freezer burn.
- Freeze for up to 3 months.
- Thaw completely in fridge before reusing.
- Use within 5-7 days after thawing.
- Do not refreeze after thawing.
Freezing allows you to buy teriyaki in bulk or make big batches to have on hand whenever you need it!
Homemade Teriyaki Marinade
You can also easily make homemade teriyaki marinade if desired. Here is a basic recipe:
Homemade Teriyaki Marinade
- 1 cup soy sauce
- 1/2 cup rice vinegar or mirin
- 1/4 cup brown sugar or honey
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
- 1/4 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp cornstarch or water to thin (optional)
- Whisk together all ingredients in a bowl or measuring cup.
- Use as a marinade or glaze. Keeps refrigerated for 1-2 weeks.
Adapt this basic recipe by adding extra pineapple juice, spices, chili sauce, etc to suit your flavor preferences!
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you marinate for too long in teriyaki?
Yes, it is possible to over-marinate proteins in teriyaki sauce. The sugars and acids in the marinade can start to chemically “cook” the proteins after too long, resulting in mushy textures.
As a general rule, do not marinate for more than 24 hours. 12 hours or less is ideal for most cuts of protein.
What proteins go well with teriyaki?
Teriyaki marinade and glaze pair well with:
- Chicken – thighs, breasts, wings, drumsticks
- Beef – flank steak, skirt steak, sirloin
- Pork – chops, tenderloin
- Fish – salmon, tuna, shrimp
- Tofu
Both white meat and red meat benefit from the tenderizing effect of teriyaki.
What vegetables go well with teriyaki?
Teriyaki glaze is delicious on these vegetables:
- Broccoli
- Carrots
- Bell peppers
- Zucchini
- Onions
- Green beans
- Mushrooms
- Pineapple
- Snap peas
- Cauliflower
Try roasting, sautéing, or grilling veggies then tossing with the thick, sweet teriyaki glaze.
Is teriyaki sauce gluten free?
Most bottled teriyaki sauces contain soy sauce, which is made from wheat. So these are not gluten free.
However, you can make gluten-free teriyaki sauces by substituting tamari or coconut aminos for the soy sauce. Be sure to check labels for gluten-free certification.
Conclusion
Teriyaki marinade and glaze can add big, delicious flavor to proteins, stir fries, and roasted vegetables. Great Value offers an inexpensive bottled teriyaki that’s versatile for both marinating and glazing.
Marinate thinner cuts of proteins for 30 minutes up to overnight for best flavor penetration. Then discard used marinade. For glazing, brush teriyaki over cooked foods during the last minutes of cooking or right before serving.
Following proper food safety, properly storing leftovers, and getting creative with homemade recipes allows you to get the most use out of a bottle of teriyaki. Incorporate this flavorful sauce into your weekly meal prep for an easy way to infuse foods with sweet, salty, sticky teriyaki flavor.
