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How to Make a Healthier Version of Your Favorite Sweet Asian Sauces
Finessing the foundation of Japanese seasoning
Before I made dinner one night, I asked my roommate if she wanted me to make enough for her as well. I was thinking teriyaki salmon, with a side of steamed vegetables, rice, and maybe some miso soup. I hadn’t been back to Japan in a while, and so I was really craving a taste of home.
I poked my head into the living room: “Hey, I’m thinking of making teriyaki salmon — do you want some?”
She paused for a moment but then shook her head .“No, it’s OK. I’m trying to be a bit healthier this week.”
Teriyaki is… unhealthy?
It wasn’t until a few weeks later when I caught my friend cooking with teriyaki that I understood where the misconception came from. Using a prepackaged bottle, she poured out a thick, gooey brown sauce and used it on top of her cooked chicken. I picked up the glass bottle and read the nutrition label, which included a lot of sugar and ingredients I don’t recognize.
How to make healthier sauces
Before living in the United States, I never used premade teriyaki sauce. If I looked for it closely, maybe I could’ve found it in a grocery store in Japan, but it never struck me as…
