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Sauce

Don's Teriyaki Sauce for Meat

A sauce made from soy sauce, water, vinegar, whiskey, sugar, garlic, and ginger.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 7 ingredients
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Why it works: Clove and ginger match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,038 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

Don's Teriyaki Sauce for Meat

Ingredients

Directions

Make the marinade

  1. Place all ingredients in a blender or processor.

Marinate and broil

  1. Marinate meat overnight.

  2. The thinner the meat, the less time you need to marinate.

  3. Beef or chicken work well with this.

  4. Drain meat, broil to desired doneness.

  5. Works with about 3 lb steak, more or less chicken, depending on parts.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

67Calories
1 gProtein
0 gFat
15 gCarbs

Counts 5 of 7 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 5 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Soy Sauce1 tbsp (15ml)9
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Vinegar1 tbsp (15ml) distilled3
Ginger1 tsp grated fresh (2g)2
Waternot in our table0
Whiskeynot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Clove + gingertop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together6,038 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  2. Garlic + gingertop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together6,402 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  3. Clove + garlictop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together11,368 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

  4. Vinegar + garlictop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together9,115 recipes

    Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

  5. Sauce + sugartop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,147 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Soy sauce
Supplies salt and savoury flavour that seasons the meat through the marinade.
Sugar
Adds sweetness and helps the surface brown and caramelize under the broiler.
Vinegar
Adds acidity that brightens the flavour and slightly loosens the meat's surface.
Garlic
Contributes pungent aroma that infuses the meat during marinating.

The step that matters

Drain meat, broil to desired doneness. The sugar in the marinade darkens quickly under high heat, so the meat can scorch on the outside before the inside cooks. Draining off excess liquid helps the surface brown rather than steam, and watching the meat closely lets you control the final doneness.

Swap the garlic

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sauce, vinegar, sugar, clove, ginger):

  1. Cinnamonfits better
  2. Allspicefits better
  3. Cardamomfits better
  4. Garlicthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against sauce, vinegar, sugar, clove, ginger. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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