Proving once again that brown butter really does make everything taste better, this pineapple brown butter teriyaki sauce is a modern twist on a perennial favourite. Featuring pineapple juice, orange juice, soy sauce, fresh ginger, and either brown butter or vegan brown butter, you’ll want to lick this sweet and savoury sauce right off the spoon.
Ingredients
This luscious sauce is made with:
FAQs
What makes teriyaki sauce, teriyaki sauce?
Traditional Japanese teriyaki sauce is made from a mixture of soy sauce, sugar, and sake or mirin. The name is derived from the cooking technique, which typically involves brushing meat with the sauce during cooking.
This version contains soy sauce and a small amount of sugar, but no sake or mirin. This sauce is also more of a dipping/pouring sauce and it works with so much more than just meat — think prawns, tofu, and veggies, especially, yams, sweet potatoes, and carrots. It also pairs well with fresh and crunchy vegetables like cucumber or zucchini.
Is Pineapple Brown Butter Teriyaki Sauce traditional?
Adding pineapple juice and ginger to teriyaki sauce are familiar variations, for North Americans at least. However, we’ve never seen another version with brown butter. Brown butter really makes this sauce, adding a silky richness that’s a great counterpoint to the sweet and acidic base.
How does a sauce with brown butter work for vegans?
It works because this sauce is delicious and we wanted vegans to be able to enjoy it too, so we came up with a recipe for vegan brown butter.
What should I serve Pineapple Brown Butter Teriyaki Sauce with?
Great question! Try our Buddha Bowls! It would also be awesome with tofu, chicken, prawns, pork, or veggies.
Photo by Stephany Williams on Unsplash
Cooking Tips
Prepare the Brown Butter First
You’ll want to have your brown butter or vegan brown butter made before you start this sauce. Both of those recipes take about 20 minutes, depending on the quantity you make. If you’ve never ventured into brown butter territory before, let us reassure you that you’ll be happy to have it around.
Once you’ve got your brown butter ready, the recipe comes together very easily.
The Process
You’ll start by gently frying the ginger in oil, just for a few minutes to take the raw edge off and get the oil infused. Next, you’ll stir in the soy sauce, pineapple juice, orange juice, and sugar.
To thicken the sauce, you combine the cornstarch with some sauce in a measuring cup or small heatproof dish, and then add the combined cornstarch/sauce mixture back to the pan. Stir over heat for a few minutes until the sauce thickens up. If you want a thicker sauce, you can double the amount of cornstarch – this will result in a sauce that’s thick enough to use for drizzling.
Once your sauce has reached the desired thickness, transfer it to a blender, add the brown butter or vegan brown butter, and then blitz until the ginger is thoroughly pureed. Your Pineapple Brown Butter Teriyaki Sauce is ready to enjoy!
Tips: The Sauce unites us
This is a great sauce for a mixed group, as you can make this Pineapple Brown Butter Teriyaki Sauce vegan or vegetarian. You can easily make both versions at the same time, as the vegan brown butter or brown butter is added at the end.
It's equally delicious poured over tofu, chicken, prawns, pork, or veggies, like yams, sweet potatoes, and carrots.
For the ultimate in customizable dinners, make it to go with these Buddha Bowls.
Related Recipes
Recipe Card
Pineapple Brown Butter Teriyaki Sauce
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup ginger, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons neutral cooking oil {I used flavourless coconut oil}
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 2 cups pineapple juice
- 2/3 cup orange juice
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/4 cup brown butter or vegan brown butter
Instructions
- In a large frying pan, saute the ginger in the oil over medium heat for a few minutes. Stir in the soy sauce, juices, and sugar.
- Simmer for about 10 minutes, and then transfer a small amount of the sauce to a measuring cup. Add the cornstarch to the cup and stir until combined. Add the combined sauce/cornstarch mixture back to the sauce pan, and cook and stir until the sauce is your desired thickness.
- Transfer the sauce to the blender, and add the brown butter or vegan brown butter. Blend until the sauce is smooth.
- Serve over vegetables, tofu, fish, chicken or pork.
Would this sauce work for basting baked chicken in the oven?
Hi! It would taste great with chicken but I am not sure how well it would work for basting. I would try basting toward the end of cooking, otherwise the sugars from the juices may cause burning. Let me know if you try it!
Would this sauce pair well with baked Chilean sea bass and coconut rice??? I'm experimenting and very excited to see how it turns out.
That sounds like it would be fantastic! Yes! Please let me know how it turns out.