How to Make Teriyaki Beef

Teriyaki (kanji: 照り焼き; hiragana: てりやき) is a cooking technique used in Japanese cuisine in which foods are broiled or grilled with a glaze of soy sauce, mirin, and sugar.

Teriyaki Sauce:
2-oz piece of fresh ginger
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup sake or dry sherry
1/4 cup mirin or sweet sherry
2 tbsp brown sugar

2 10-oz beef top sirloin steaks
1 teaspoon of cornstarch
2 teaspoons of water
Toasted sesame seed, for garnish
Thinly sliced green onion, for garnish

Make the Teriyaki Sauce:

Grate the ginger into a bowl, then squeeze the pulp between your fingers. You should have 1 Tbsp. fresh ginger juice - really nice for sauces since you don’t have all the fibers in there.

Add the soy sauce, sake, mirin, and brown sugar. Mix everything together and set aside. You will use 1/2 cup for marinating the beef and the rest for making a sauce to finish the dish.

Marinate the Teriyaki Beef:

Trim the sirloin steaks, if need be; you don’t want fatty meat for this. Take a fork and poke it all over so the marinade gets in there nice and deep. Pour over 1/2 cup of the marinade into a plastic bag, press out the air, seal it up and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Mix the Teriyaki Beef Sauce:

To prepare the sauce, mix the cornstarch with the water. Put the rest of the marinade into a saucepan and bring it to a boil. Drizzle and whisk in the cornstarch mixture. Bring to a boil to cook off the alcohol in the sake and to thicken the sauce. A big myth is that teriyaki sauces are really thick. This should actually be a thin sauce.

Prepare the Teriyaki Beef:

Remove the beef from the marinade and pat it dry with paper towels so that it gets a good sear when you cook it. In a hot sauté pan in a little vegetable oil, over med-high heat. Sear for about 3-4 minutes per side for medium-rare/medium.

Once you have turned it over and it is to the desired doneness, spoon over a couple tablespoons of the teriyaki sauce. When it hits the hot pan it will glaze the beef. "Teri" means gloss or shine, and "yaki" refers to the grilling or cooking. Flip the beef over once or twice to glaze both sides.

Pull the steaks off and put them on a plate to rest. They have to rest at least 5-10 minutes before slicing so the juices distribute. Teriyaki beef isn't just placed on a plate like a regular steak. You have to honor your guests and slice it in nice thin pieces against the grain - especially if you are going to use chopsticks.

Serve the Teriyaki Beef:

Fan the steak slices on a plate and spoon over some of the delicious "not-too-thick" teriyaki sauce. Put a little toasted sesame seed and green onion to top it. This same sauce works great for fish and chicken.

Serve with white rice or Japanese noodles and steamed vegetables.