Tasty Teriyaki Food Lore

The folklore of any culture includes the customs and traditions that have been created to explain and understand the world. Such folk wisdom can be found in language, spiritual or religious belief systems, attire, stories, dance, music, art and food. Food is among one of the easiest ways most cultures have of showing their uniqueness and individuality. In America it is also one of the simplest ways we have of adapting to include other cultures. 

For example, Japanese Teriyaki. The word teriyaki stands for two different meanings: the sauce and how it’s made and how the meat is cooked using the sauce. In Japanese, teri means the shine and glaze created by the sugar in the sauce and yaki  means to grill or broil. The word directly translates to what food is being made and presented.

The original teriyaki sauce is a mixture of 4 ingredients: mirin, sugar, soy sauce, and sake (http://ow.ly/lw11Z) that are heated together until a thick sauce has formed and then is used as a marinade or to smother cooked meat. Traditional Japanese recipes used fish such as marlin, salmon, tuna and squid.

However, in our Westernized culture, this Japanese sauce has found its way to meats such as chicken, pork, and beef as is the case in our Westernized custom.

Arguably, one of the most popular dishes at a Japanese restaurant in this country today is chicken teriyaki. Americans love the combination of sweet and tangy flavors and Americans. Teriyaki ingredients can accommodate a variety of taste preferences. In Western restaurants, it has expanded to include ginger, green onions, sesame seeds, and even pineapple juice which tenderizes the meat. The inclusion of ingredients such as these were not become familiar to chefs until after the 1960’s when Japanese restaurants became more popular in Western culture. However, teriyaki sauce has been simmering since the seventeenth century by traditional Japanese chefs.

Here’s a simple teriyaki sauce that can be made using the following recipe:

1/4 cup dark soy sauce

1/4 cup sake wine

2 tablespoons mirin wine

1 tablespoon white sugar

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat and stir until sugar is dissolved. Use immediately or cool and refrigerate. To prepare a teriyaki dish, dip thinly sliced meat or pieces of fish or shrimp in sauce and grill or pan-fry. Coat the meat with the sauce several times during cooking.

This popular sauce is at the heart of the upcoming 59th Annual Enmanji Buddhist Temple Chicken Teriyaki and Bazaar. This event, hosted by Enmanji Buddhist Temple which serves all of Sonoma County will be held July 14th, 10am-5pm, 1200 Gravenstein Hwy. So., Sebastopol.