[Homemade Yakiniku Sauce]

A long time ago, my relative's grandmother used to make her own homemade yakiniku (Japanese BBQ) sauce. Although it had been a very long time since I last tasted it, I suddenly remembered it and thought, "I really want to eat that flavor again."

The base was soy sauce. It was packed with plenty of grated onions and apples, with a powerful punch of garlic. There was an exquisite sweetness within the sharp spiciness, and a key feature was the generous use of white sesame seeds. It had a slightly thick, rich texture, and just pouring it over plain pork pan-seared in a skillet turned it into an exceptional delicacy. It was highly popular not only at our family dinner table but also at summer barbecues. Therefore, referencing several recipes for homemade yakiniku sauce that I found on the internet, I decided to try making it myself, adjusting the ingredients to get as close as possible to the taste in my memory.

By changing the tools you use, you can finish the sauce with your preferred texture. For instance, if you want to retain the crunchy texture of the onions, dicing them finely with a knife is recommended, while using a copper grater from Oya Seisakusho is ideal for grating apples, ginger, and garlic into a smooth paste.

Once all the ingredients are grated, place them into a saucepan and combine them with seasonings such as soy sauce. Put it on the heat, bring it to a boil, then lower the heat and let it simmer thoroughly to reduce. When I tasted a little bit of the finished yakiniku sauce, to my delight, it turned out somewhat close to "that flavor!" After allowing it to cool down, I transferred it into a tall Petri dish from Koizumi Glass Factory and placed it in the refrigerator.

Since I had missed lunch and was feeling quite hungry, I decided to use this sauce right away. I pan-seared pork and green onions until they were fragrant and beautifully browned, coated them generously with the freshly made sauce, and turned it into a luxurious rice bowl. Taking a bite and then drizzling even more sauce on top enhanced the flavors of the garlic and aromatics even further, making it so delicious that I could not stop my chopsticks.

Because homemade sauce does not use preservatives, the standard guide is to store it in the refrigerator and use it up within about a week. Although it can be used from the day it is made, letting it rest thoroughly in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 days takes away the sharp edges of the garlic and ginger, allowing the grated vegetables and honey to blend into the whole batch, which creates a mellower and deeper richness. Being able to enjoy the change as the flavor develops is one of the true pleasures unique to homemade cooking.

This versatile sauce created in this way is perfect for yakiniku, of course, but it can also be transformed into a deeply flavorful dressing by combining it with oil and vinegar. Furthermore, in the upcoming season, it looks like it would pair beautifully when poured over chilled tofu (hiyayakko) topped with aromatic herbs. It is easy to make and widely versatile, so please give it a try.

Ingredients:
○ Onion 1/4 piece
○ Apple 1/4 piece
○ Garlic 2-3 cloves
○ Ginger 1 thumb-sized piece
Soy sauce 50ml
Mirin 50ml
Sake 50ml
Honey 1 tbsp
Doubanjiang (chili bean paste) 1/2-1 tsp (adjust to your preferred spiciness)
White sesame seeds 1-1.5 tbsp

Instructions:
1. Grate all the ingredients marked with ○. Finely dice any parts of the onion that could not be grated.
2. Put the soy sauce, mirin, sake, honey, and doubanjiang into a saucepan, and add all of the grated ingredients from step 1.
3. Place the saucepan on the heat and lower the heat once it comes to a boil. While stirring occasionally, let it simmer thoroughly on low heat for about 6 to 8 minutes to reduce. The guide is to simmer until the moisture evaporates and it develops a slightly thick, rich texture.
4. Once it reaches your preferred thickness, turn off the heat, add the white sesame seeds, and mix the whole batch thoroughly to complete.

Oya Seisakusho's Copper Grater
https://www.shokunin.com/en/oya/
Koizumi Glass's Schale 90x90
https://www.shokunin.com/en/koizumi/schale.html
Nakamura Douki's Yukihira Pot S
https://www.shokunin.com/en/nakamuradouki/yukihira.html
Ichiyougama's Menbachi 16cm
https://www.shokunin.com/en/ichiyou/menbachi.html

References
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/茶托
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/ソーサー
https://rafuju.jp/mag/glossary/saucer/
https://yokoyamaart-museum.note.jp/n/ned2da8be3f20
https://letterpresslabo.com/2024/04/24/heiwapaper-vol65/