Skip to Content

Soy Glaze Recipe

Soy sauce has been around since ancient China.

This condiment is used in many Asian countries, and even comes with its own word — “hoisin”.

However, there is no need to buy pre-made soy sauce or hoisin sauce at stores anymore.

You can create your own homemade version of these sauces by blending up ingredients from scratch.

But what if you want an extra special ingredient for your next dish?

If you’re looking for a delicious soy glaze recipe, then look no further than here! We’ve got all the information you’ll need on creating that classic soy sauce taste without having to wait for shipping time.

Plus, we go over everything else about how to make a soy glaze and why you should try it out sometime soon.

What Is A Soy Glaze?

A glaze adds moisture and richness to foods while also serving as a base for other spices.

Glazes are usually made using sugar, water, vinegar, and sometimes salt.

The mixture will often be cooked down until thickened into syrup form before being poured onto food items like meats, fish, vegetables, and more.

This type of glazing is common when preparing meats and poultry.

For example, a chicken breast may be rubbed with butter, seasoned with pepper, garlic, and paprika, then roasted with a drizzle of honey and a glaze of brown sugar, water, and Worcestershire sauce.

A glaze can add both texture and flavor to meat recipes.

It brings together the natural sweetness of fruits such as apples and pears with savory flavors such as cumin, curry powder, and chili peppers.

Glazes aren’t just limited to meats though.

They can be applied to sweet treats such as cakes, pies, cookies, and pastries too! Think chocolate cake glazed with peanut butter and jelly.

Or maybe you’d prefer caramel sauce to coat your ice cream sundae instead.

Either way, they are tasty additions to any dessert.

So now that you know what a glaze is, let’s take a closer look at what makes them so great!

What Is In A Soy Glaze?

A soy glaze is like any other kind of glaze.

However, instead of using sugar, honey, or another sweetener, a soy glaze uses soy sauce as the base.

The main difference between a regular glaze and a soy glaze are two things:

  • The type of liquid used in each. Regular glazes use water while soy glazes use soy sauce.
  • The ratio of salt to liquid used in each.

In order to get a good soy glaze, you want to start off with a decent amount of soy sauce.

For example, a 1/4 cup (60 mL) of soy sauce will work well when making a glaze for 2 cups (500 mL) of pasta, but a full 3/4 cup (175 mL) of soy sauce will be better suited for 4 cups (1 L) of noodles.

Additionally, a little bit of salt goes a long way when trying to achieve a salty flavor with a soy glaze.

In fact, some people prefer their soy glaze to have just enough salt so they don’t feel like they need anything more.

This may sound counterintuitive, but if you put too much salt into your soy glaze, it could make the sauce bitter.

So, unless you really enjoy eating salty food, stick to small amounts of salt when making your soy glaze.

How Do You Make A Soy Glaze?

To start off, let’s discuss what exactly makes a soy glaze so tasty.

First, you will be using some sort of liquid, whether it be oil, water, wine, vinegar, or something else entirely.

Next, you’ll add either brown sugar, agave syrup, molasses, honey, or maple syrup to give the sauce more sweetness.

And lastly, you’ll combine those two things together until it reaches the right consistency — usually somewhere between thick and thin.

Once you have all three of these components mixed together, you are ready to use them as a topping.

For example, you could put them over meatloaf, chicken, fish, or anything else that needs a little bit of flavor boost.

You can also use it as a dipping sauce for meats, vegetables, bread, or almost any other type of food that would benefit from a sweet, salty, tangy, or spicy kick.

The possibilities are endless when making a soy glaze.

What Is The Best Soy Glaze Recipe?

A good soy glaze will add some extra flavor to any meal.

The best part about making your own is that you get to pick exactly which flavors you like most.

If you have the right ingredients, then you can easily come up with something new every day.

The great thing about soy glazes is that they are extremely versatile.

In fact, the basic recipe below works well as a dipping sauce to use with almost anything.

If you don’t feel like using a dip, you can pour them onto roasted vegetables or meats before grilling them.

They also work incredibly well when drizzled on top of pancakes or waffles.

  • 1 cup rice vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • 3 tablespoons cornstarch
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ⅓ cup water
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 5 crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1 tablespoon sesame oil
  • 1 pound chicken breast
  • Salt and pepper to taste

While the above recipe is simple enough to follow, there are still plenty of ways to customize it based on personal preference.

Here’s where things start getting interesting.

What Is The Easiest Soy Glaze Recipe?

There are lots of different ways to use soy sauce as a cooking ingredient.

For example, you could add some to marinades before they sit overnight.

Or maybe you want to dip chicken wings into soy sauce while grilling them.

Soy sauce works well in any kind of cooking situation because it’s salty enough to balance other flavors but not so much that it overwhelms them.

But sometimes people like to put their own spin on things.

That’s when making your own soy sauce becomes useful.

If you don’t have access to store-bought versions of soy sauce, then you might be tempted to just grab whatever bottle of soy sauce you see lying around instead of trying something new.

But there’s nothing wrong with that idea as long as you know where to start.

The easiest way to get started is to choose a basic recipe that uses both salt and sugar.

Then you can adjust the amount of each according to how strong of a flavor you want to achieve.

When making your own soy sauce, do avoid using high fructose corn syrup (HFCS).

Instead, opt for honey or maple syrup to sweeten your sauce.

So let’s take a closer look at what makes up a good soy sauce recipe.

  • 1 cup white vinegar
  • ½ cup water
  • ¼ cup granulated sugar
  • 3 tablespoons kosher salt
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 1 tablespoon black pepper
  • Whole peppercorns
  • 10 whole star anise
  • Lemon peel
  • Fresh ginger root

To make your own soy sauce, you will first combine all of the above ingredients in a large pot.

Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat and stir until the sugar dissolves completely.

Once the mixture reaches a rolling boil, turn off the heat and allow it to cool down completely.

Afterward, strain the liquid through cheesecloth or a fine mesh strainer lined with dampened paper towel.

The resulting sauce will be thin and cloudy, which means it needs more thickening agents added to it.

You may also decide to skip the step of boiling the mixture altogether.

In which case, simply pour the cooled liquid into jars and seal them tightly.

However, keep in mind that doing so will cause the bottles to become too acidic within six months.

In addition to being able to serve as a dipping sauce, soy sauce is great for marinating meats and vegetables.

Just mix together two parts soy sauce, one part olive oil, and a little bit of minced onion.

Make sure to season the meat and veggies with salt and pepper beforehand to ensure that they cook evenly during the process.

What Is The Most Popular Soy Glaze Recipe?

The most common soy glaze recipe involves making your own soy sauce.

There’s nothing wrong with doing so, but if you don’t have much experience cooking, you might be hesitant to start off with something as complicated as that.

Fortunately, there’s another way to get the same result.

Instead of making your own soy sauce, you can use store-bought hoisin sauce instead.

Hoisin sauce is very similar to soy sauce, except that it doesn’t contain any wheat flour.

So when blended together, they form a nice thick glaze that perfectly complements meat, poultry, and vegetables.

While it may not be quite as versatile as using your own homemade sauce, this option still works well enough.

If you prefer to cook more often, though, then you should consider trying our second best soy glaze recipe below.

1. Soy Sauce Recipe

  • Combine 1 cup water and 2 tablespoons salt into a large pot.
  • Bring mixture to boil while stirring constantly until salt dissolves completely.
  • Add 3 cups low sodium vegetable broth, reduce heat to medium high, cover, and let simmer for 5 minutes.
  • Stir in 4 teaspoons cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons cold water.
  • Continue to stir slowly until mixture becomes clear and slightly thicker (about 5-10 minutes).

2. Homemade Chicken Stock

  • In a stockpot, bring chicken carcasses, bones, onion, carrots, celery, garlic, bay leaves, peppercorns, and parsley stems to a boil.
  • Reduce heat to low, add 8 quarts water, and continue to simmer for 30 minutes.
  • Remove carcass pieces with tongs, strain liquid through cheesecloth, cool, and freeze for later use.

What Are Some Other Soy Glaze Recipes?

So, now that we know what makes up a soy glaze, let’s take a closer look at some other traditional soy sauces as well as some modernized versions.

  • Hoisin Sauce – This thick, sweet, red-colored sauce is made using fermented soybeans and rice wine vinegar (or shaoxing). The result is a unique texture that adds a lot more depth to food compared to regular soy sauce alone. If you find yourself craving something savory but don’t have any meat left, give this a shot!
  • Tofu Miso Glaze – Tofu miso glaze is another option when making a vegetarian meal. Instead of relying solely on tofu, this type of glaze uses mushrooms and sesame oil to add richness and moisture to the dish.
  • Ponzu Sauce – Ponzu sauce is similar to a soy glaze — both contain soy sauce and citrus juice. However, ponzu sauce doesn’t rely on sugar like a glaze does. Instead, the addition of mirin allows for a sweeter and less salty finish. A good side dish to pair with this is grilled vegetables.
  • Balsamic Reduction – Balsamic reduction is also known as balsamic syrup. To make this simple syrup, combine equal parts water and white distilled vinegar with 1/4 cup sugar and reduce until syrupy. Use this mixture sparingly, so as not to overpower your dish. It’s best served warm.
  • Barbecue Glaze – Barbecue glazes are usually made with brown sugar, ketchup, molasses, and mustard powder. Just mix them together and heat them on medium low before serving. These glazes work great with ribs, chicken, and pork chops.

How Do You Use A Soy Glaze?

You may be wondering why a soy glaze would work so well as a seasoning on top of something like chicken wings.

Well, the best way to get the most flavor out of any food is really just by using more of it.

That’s where a soy glaze comes into play.

Because it contains soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, sugar, ginger, garlic, sesame oil, and other spices, it will add a lot of depth and complexity to whatever you put it on.

Of course, you could always just sprinkle it onto anything that needs a little bit of help.

For example, dipping fresh vegetables in it makes them crispy while still maintaining their natural flavors.

The same goes for steak.

If you don’t have much liquid on hand (which is not often), you can also pour a small amount of water directly onto your meat before pouring on the soy glaze.

What Are Some Tips For Making A Great Soy Glaze?

Making a good soy glaze involves several different components, so knowing which ones work best will help you get the right results every single time. Here’s what goes into a good soy glaze:

  • A base liquid (beef stock, chicken broth, vegetable stock, etc.)
  • Grapeseed oil (or other cooking oils)
  • Vegetables like carrots, onions, garlic, ginger, scallions, peppers, and more
  • Flavor enhancers such as agave nectar, brown sugar, molasses, honey, maple syrup, rice vinegar, tamari, sesame oil, chili paste, miso, sake, fish sauce, oyster sauce, mushroom ketchup, teriyaki sauce, or any combination thereof
  • Tofu
  • Herbs and spices like salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, onion powder, cinnamon stick, ground cloves, star anise, cardamom pods, fennel seeds, coriander seed, bay leaves, peppercorns, mustard seeds, and/or turmeric
  • Other seasonings including red wine vinegar, tomato paste, anchovy paste, Worcestershire sauce, black bean sauce, Sriracha hot sauce, or any combination thereof
  • Sweeteners such as granulated white sugar, brown sugar, palm sugar, coconut sugar, turbinado sugar, honey, cornstarch, evaporated cane juice, agave nectar, or any combination thereof
  • Salt

How to Make Soy Glaze Recipe

As mentioned above, the main components of a soy glaze include a basic liquid, vegetables, herbs, spices, tofu, sweeteners, and seasoning.

Let’s break down each component individually before going through the steps for actually making the soy glaze.

1. Choose Your Base Liquid

The first step is choosing the base liquid.

The type of liquid you choose depends largely upon what kind of dish you plan on using the soy glaze on.

If you’re making a meatloaf, then a beef stock may be better suited for the job.

On the other hand, if you’re making some sort of stir fry, then a chicken stock would probably be better.

Either way, just remember that whatever liquid you decide to use, it needs to have enough body to add depth to the dish.

You don’t want to end up with something watery.

2. Add Vegetables

Next, add veggies to the base liquid.

You’ll definitely want to start off with a couple of medium sized chunks of carrot, celery stalks, green bell peppers, onion, parsley stems, leeks, shallots, chile peppers, jalapeño peppers, or any other variety of fresh vegetables you’d like to incorporate.

These veggies will provide texture to the overall mixture, but they also give the soy glaze a nice color to boot.

3. Chop Up Some Herbs and Spices

Now that you’ve added your veggies to the mix, it’s time to chop up some herbs and spices.

If you want to stay within the parameters of this recipe, you won’t necessarily have to go overboard.

However, you can certainly add additional flavors to the soy glaze based on personal preference.

For instance, a sprinkle of paprika could really jazz things up depending on the food you’re preparing.

4. Toss in Seasoning

You’ll likely want to add a little bit of salt and pepper as well.

Salt helps bring out the savory side of the soy glaze while pepper brings out the spicy element.

Next, add whatever seasoning blends you prefer.

There are literally hundreds of ways to spice up the soy glaze, so feel free to experiment to find your favorites.

5. Add Sweetener

Finally, add your sweetener of choice.

While this particular soy glaze doesn’t call for much in terms of sweetness, feel free to add as much as you’d like.

After all, there’s nothing wrong with giving your soy glaze a boost of flavor if you think it might be lacking.

What Are Some Common Mistakes People Make When Making A Soy Glaze?

The first mistake that most beginners have is not paying attention to the order of steps they take during their process.

For example, in our recipe below, we start by stirring together all the dry ingredients before adding them to the liquid ingredients.

However, the opposite order works best because if you add the liquid ingredients to the dry ones first, the mixture will clump together and become difficult to stir later on.

Another thing that people tend to overlook is temperature control.

While mixing up the ingredients, keep track of the heat level so that you don’t scorch anything.

Once you’ve mixed up everything and poured it into the pan, put the lid on and turn off the stove until everything cools down enough to handle properly.

It’s also important to note that using too much water or oil will affect the end result.

If you use more water than necessary, the end product won’t be as thick as expected.

And if you use too much oil, you risk burning the mixture after putting it through the blender.

Soy Glaze Recipe

Soy sauce has been around since ancient China. This condiment is used in many Asian countries, and even comes with its own word — “hoisin”.
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
Course: Sauce
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Soy Glaze Recipe
Servings: 4
Calories: 269kcal

Equipment

  • Saucepan

Ingredients

  • 4 tsp sesame oil
  • 4 tbsp garlic minced
  • 4 tsp ginger minced
  • ½ c all-purpose soy sauce
  • 6 tbsp honey
  • 6 tbsp dark brown sugar
  • 2 tbsp oyster sauce
  • 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

Instructions

  • In a saucepan, combine water, white wine vinegar, rice vinegar, brown sugar, soy sauce, and ground ginger. Bring to a boil. Cook for about 30 minutes with medium-low heat reduction, or until reduced by half.
  • Allow glaze to cool for at least an hour while it thickens.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 269kcal | Carbohydrates: 59g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Sodium: 254mg | Potassium: 91mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 44g | Vitamin A: 1IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 45mg | Iron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Follow me