What Is Japanese BBQ Sauce? Find Out What Makes This Condiment So Special

Karla Walsh

It’s teriyaki-ish…and it might just be our new favorite marinade and drizzle.

<p>Bloomberg / Getty Images</p>

Bloomberg / Getty Images

Here at BHG, we’re suckers for a good sauce. We’re not too proud to admit that we rely on and adore store-bought jarred marinara, chili crisp, ranch dressing, hot honey, caramel topping, and a whole refrigerator door full of options to drizzle, dip, toss, and top recipes from breakfast to dinner to dessert.

When it came time to test the “Flavor Booster” section for the 2024 BHG Food Awards, it was tough to narrow down the options. But we didn’t want to make your shopping cart overflow, so we tasted, ranked, and whittled things down to our 14 best seasonings and sauces. One of the products that earned a coveted spot on our best supermarket products list: Japanese BBQ sauce.

Wondering “what is Japanese BBQ sauce, exactly?” and what makes it different from the BBQ sauce you might remember from childhood cookouts during summer break? Read on as we spill about what makes Japanese BBQ sauce recipes delicious, versatile, and very worthy of real estate in your refrigerator.



Meet Our Expert

Justin Gill, the Santa Rosa, California-based founder and CEO of Bachan’s



What Is Japanese BBQ Sauce?

Also known as yakiniku (grilled meat) sauce or tare sauce, Japanese BBQ sauce is a term that Justin Gill, the Santa Rosa, California-based founder and CEO of Bachan’s, says that he and his family introduced to the American market.

“Japanese BBQ sauce is a term we coined to describe our family sauce. When I decided to introduce my grandma Judy’s sauce to the U.S. market, I felt that calling it a ‘tare’ wouldn’t be very approachable. It would possibly relegate Bachan’s to the international aisle of the grocery store,” Gill says. (“Bachan” means “grandma” in Japanese, by the way.)

By branding it as “Japanese BBQ sauce,” Gill thought his squeeze bottles would have a better chance of being positioned next to the Carolina, Kansas City, and other BBQ sauce recipes that grillers and smokers are loyal to. It worked: You can now find Bachan’s at major retailers like Costco and Target; often next to their saucy siblings from brands like Stubb’s and Sweet Baby Rays.

While tare sauce and yakiniku sauce recipes are said to date back to at least the 14th century in Japan, Bachan’s is the originator of the term “Japanese BBQ sauce.” Now, it’s one of a few brands that are nationally available. Besides Bachan’s, look for the following brand names if you’d like to buy Japanese BBQ sauce:

  • Kinder’s Japanese BBQ Cooking Sauce and Glaze

  • Stick and Tine Japanese BBQ Sauce

  • Melinda’s Sweet and Spicy Japanese Barbecue Sauce

What Does Japanese BBQ Sauce Taste Like?

Japanese BBQ sauce tends to be less viscous and bolder than often-sweet American BBQ sauces, Gill says. (We adore our Dr. Pepper BBQ Sauce recipe, but can see what he’s talking about regarding the sweetness! In addition to a can of regular soda, the recipe calls for ½ cup of brown sugar, plus 1 cup of ketchup, which has 52 grams of sugar.)

“Japanese BBQ sauce boasts a more complex and umami flavor profile than many other BBQ sauces,” Gill says. “It’s a soy- or tamari-based sauce sweetened with sugar or honey, featuring mirin [sweet Japanese rice wine], rice vinegar,  tomato paste, and sometimes, fresh ingredients like ginger and green onion. We occasionally describe ourselves as ‘teriyaki-ish’ to give people a reference as to what kind of flavor to expect.”

Many store-bought BBQ sauce recipes contain corn starch to make them richer in texture, but Japanese BBQ sauce is thickener-free, making it easy to drizzle and dunk.

The interplay between sweet, savory, and salty is what makes Japanese BBQ sauce so versatile—and is what keeps us coming back for drizzle after drizzle.

Related: What Is Soy Sauce? Here’s Everything You Ever Wanted to Know

How to Make Japanese BBQ Sauce

Japanese BBQ sauce recipes should always include the following elements, according to Gill:

  • Soy sauce (or tamari sauce for a gluten-free version)

  • A sweetener, such as cane sugar or honey

  • Mirin

  • Optional: Rice vinegar, sesame oil, ginger, garlic, green onion, peppers, citrus juice

To turn your American BBQ sauce recipe or classic bottled BBQ sauce into a Japanese BBQ sauce, add a splash of mirin, and “a really good, traditionally-brewed Japanese soy sauce,” Gill suggests. If you like, stir in any of the optional ingredients above to add complexity. (Try some grated fresh ginger, minced garlic, and a squeeze of fresh yuzu.)

How to Use Japanese BBQ Sauce

In Japan, tare sauce is used for grilling, glazing, finishing, dipping, and even as the base for ramen broth, Gill says. And that’s just the beginning.

“From my earliest memories, our family’s sauce was always on the table at meals,” Gill tells us, since it was such a staple.

In addition to those time-honored uses like as a meat glaze or dipping sauce, try Japanese BBQ sauce:

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