‘Where was this the other day when i ran out’: People are realizing teriyaki sauce is only 2 ingredients—and it may be cheaper to make at home

Rachel Appley (@hey.im.rach) wants the internet to think of her as their "holistic bestie." Her content includes a series of videos titled, "In case your mom didn't teach you."

In these clips, she shows off little hacks that seem to be small bits of familial knowledge that can be passed down from generation to generation.

This now includes a two-ingredient homemade teriyaki sauce she demonstrates how to prepare. The clip raked in over 1.2 million views as of Sunday morning.

An easy recipe

Rach's video begins with her recording herself standing in front of a stovetop. She holds a pot in her hand while pouring a bunch of soy sauce into it.

According to Rach, if you emulate this, then you're already halfway done making homemade teriyaki sauce.

@hey.im.rach If you’re feeling fancy you can add ginger, garlic, etc. Sky’s the limit! ✨ I love you forever! Xoxo, your tiktok mom ???? • • #teriyaki #cooking #tiktokmom #fyp ♬ Baby I'm Yours - Arctic Monkeys

Next, the only thing you need to do is add some brown sugar. Following that, you fire up the stovetop and place that pot over a flame.

"In case your mom didn't teach you. Soy sauce and brown sugar for homemade teriyaki sauce," Rach writes.

To finish the sauce, you only need to stir that brown sugar until it dissolves. This causes it to bind with the soy sauce and thicken it—creating a more viscous teriyaki texture.

Does this really work?

You don't need to search too high and low to find a slew of different homemade teriyaki sauce recipes on the web. All Recipes features this "simple teriyaki sauce" that certainly isn't simpler than the one Rach put on display. However, like the TikToker's concoction, it also includes brown sugar and soy sauce. The Goat Berry kitchen also adds water, honey, ground ginger, garlic powder, cold water, and cornstarch.

The latter addition is probably used as a thickener more than anything. Let's say you want that teriyaki sauce flavor, but don't want the five grams of carbs per serving from the aforementioned All Recipes joint. Or maybe you're just watching your sugar intake for medical reasons.

Since you're making the sauce at home, you can add in the low/no-calorie sugar substitute of your choice. Just remember, however, that brown sugar "clumps" better than an artificial sweetener. If you like your teriyaki sauce a bit stickier, then add some cornstarch. Or, again, you could try some of these low-carb substitutes for that.

But Rach's declaration that homemade teriyaki sauce is two ingredients is definitely a real recipe. This Keto-friendly TikToker even showed their own two-ingredient variant that swapped out the brown sugar with this "natural" honey alternative.

Is it cheaper to make?

This probably depends on the ingredients you already have in your home. Also, the type of teriyaki sauce recipe you plan on following is important. The reason why is simple: the more ingredients you'll need, the less likely they'll be in your home. This means the more likely you are to head outside and spend your hard-earned cash.

Kikkoman Teriyaki Sauce retails for $2.50 per 10-ounce bottle on Amazon. If organic is your thing, 365, the Whole Foods brand, sells for a bit more at $4.19/10 oz.

One of the lowest-priced soy sauce offerings online is Amazon's Happy Belly soy sauce. A 15-ounce bottle retails for $1.79. Then, there are 2 lbs of Happy Belly brown sugar for $2.52.

That bag of brown sugar is going to last you a long, long time. So theoretically, you'll be putting in some elbow grease to save yourself about a buck per 15 ounces of teriyaki. And if you're not planning on constantly making the stuff, you may not need to purchase brown sugar. Just nab a couple of packets of Sugar in the Raw the next time you're in a coffee shop or convenience store.

You're in control

While it may be more convenient to purchase a ready-made teriyaki sauce, there are some added benefits to cooking up your own. For starters, aspiring gastronomists can dictate what does and doesn't go inside of their food. Don't want added food dyes? Or maybe you have an allergy to succinic acid so you've avoided some pre-made teriyaki sauces.

However, if you make it yourself, you have much more freedom to add and subtract as many ingredients as you please. Bonus: it doesn't seem to cost that much more than buying it.

TikTokers love custom soy sauce

Several viewers shared their own sauce recipes. One user shared how to make another popular Chinese food variant: "Add garlic, crushed red pepper, ginger, rice vinegar, regular sugar, brown sugar, soy sauce, chili garlic paste. You have general tso’s."

Another replied that they wished they had seen her TikTok sooner, writing, "Where was this the other day when i ran out teriyaki sauce for my stirfry."

Feel like making your own BBQ sauce to slather on your favorite protein? This other TikToker shared their favorite ingredient amalgamation: "Brown sugar, ketchup and Worcestershire for bbq sauce!"

The Daily Dot has reached out to Rach via TikTok comment.

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