Supermarket teriyaki is mostly corn syrup, caramel color, and 'natural flavor' thickened into a shiny goo. Real teriyaki is soy sauce, sugar or mirin, ginger, and garlic reduced to a glaze. These independent makers, several with Hawaiian and Japanese-American roots, build it from actual ingredients.
Published July 2026 · Updated 7 Jul 2026
Justin Gill bottled his grandmother Judy Yokoyama's umami-heavy sauce as Bachan's in 2019. It's cold-filled, meaning bottled without a hot pasteurization step, so it tastes fresh and needs no preservatives, and it works as a teriyaki-style glaze on wings, salmon, or noodles.
Why it isn't on AmazonA cold-filled sauce from a family recipe is a small-maker choice; the hot-filled commodity bottle trades that fresh taste for a longer warm shelf life.
See it at Bachan's →Five Japanese-American families started Aloha Shoyu in Kalihi in 1946, and it's still the shoyu most island cooks reach for. Their Hawaiian teriyaki sauce and separate teriyaki glaze are built on that soy sauce with ginger and garlic, and they ship to the mainland.
Why it isn't on AmazonA Hawaii soy-sauce house that's been reducing its own shoyu into teriyaki since 1946 is a specific island product you won't match with a mass-market bottle.
See it at Aloha Shoyu →Keli's makes Hawaiian teriyaki and a ginger-garlic teriyaki glaze in small batches from family recipes that trace back to the Marshall Islands, plus a sriracha-teriyaki for heat. Sold direct on their site, though popular runs sell out.
Why it isn't on AmazonSmall-batch island teriyaki from one family's recipes moves in short runs, which is why you order it direct rather than pull it off a shelf.
See it at Keli's Hawaiian Gourmet Sauces →This seat's open on purpose — we won't pad the list to hit a number. If you ship real teriyaki & glaze direct, it's earned, not sold.
Add your brand →It's mostly thickness and sugar. A thin teriyaki marinade soaks into meat before cooking; a glaze is reduced thicker and sweeter to brush on at the end so it clings and caramelizes. Sauce is the pourable middle ground. Many makers sell more than one.
The technique is. 'Teri' means glaze and 'yaki' means grilled or broiled. The thick, sweet bottled teriyaki most Americans know is closer to a Hawaiian and Japanese-American adaptation, which is why so many of the best independent makers have island roots.
Cheap versions lean on corn syrup and caramel coloring to look rich without long reduction. A real teriyaki gets its color and sweetness from soy sauce plus sugar or mirin cooked down. Check the label: if corn syrup and caramel color lead, you're tasting shortcuts.
Unopened, most bottled teriyaki is shelf-stable. Once opened, refrigerate it, especially cold-filled, preservative-free sauces like Bachan's, which behave more like a fresh product than a chemically stabilized one. Use opened bottles within a couple of months.
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