Yakitori - What sauce is that?

We visited out local festival yesturday and I experienced the best Yakitori I have ever tasted. The chicken was placed on the grill and allowed to cook thoroughly, without the addition of any sauce, to start with.
When it was done, the guy dipped the sticks in a dark brown ( obviously soy sauce based ) liquid which tates like heaven.
I know the traditional : Soy sauce, Mirin , Sugar recipe, but this tasted so much different.
What do you think he was using?

It tasted like one of those fake Yakitori sauces you find on so many in supermarkets ( the one which is more like a jelly and designed to make it taste Barbequed ) but this was real.

Arggg it's killing me to try and get this right, I hope someone knows the recipe.

What type of Soy sauce should I use? ( I've used Sashimi Shouyu from Kyushu and also the branded ones like Kikkoman's regular )

Thanks in advance!

Teriyaki sauce.

I fully understand why you ask this question - I want to ask the same.

Knowing that most Japanese sauces are based on soy sauce/tamari, sugar, mirin, sake, lemon, vigegar, sesame, seafood/seaweed broth, miso, etc... Just SOMEHOW, they manage to manipulate these into very different, wonderful sauces..!

Have u tried using the Eel (Unagi's) Kabayaki sauce? I actually like that flavour a lot. I know its made from the same components but its slightly thicker and sweeter than the normal yakitori/teriyaki sauce.

You can buy it too, but its much more expensive.

Don't ask me how to make it though. :)

Mix 1/2 cup of Soy 1/2 cup of Mirin and 4 tablespoons of sugar.

Bring to the boil for 30secs to burn alcohol in mirin off.

If you boil longer soy taste gets way to strong and sweetness dissapears.

You can add more sugar if you like super sweet.

I bet the yummy grill taste (ie. the smoke, etc.)made the difference.
To improve your home sauce, you could try brown sugar or something instead of white sugar...? Maybe add some starch (ie. corn starch) to make the sauce thicker.

I live in australia and frequently buy a bottle or jar of teriyaki sauce from a local asian grocery store. you should try it too. you can fry the skewers in a pan but you get more of a smoky flavour (which I love) by using a barbeque grill.

Unfortunately I dont know the recipe though. Good luck!!

Actually I was just browsing this site and I found it had a recipe on it!!

Click here... http://www.japan-guide.com/r/e102.html

Good luck (again) ^__^

I use soy sauce, sake, sugar, fresh pureed ginger, dashi(fish broth) and chopped fresh green scallions and pinch of lime juice but it's not necessary if you use scallion. I use all. Adding a little corn starch will thicken it.

I know this sauce... My ex-boyfriend, a great sushi chef, used to make it all the time. It involves a dozen chicken wings, salted, peppered and broiled until they're almost black, and then boiled down in soy sauce, mirin and something else I can't remember... it's in a cookbook called the japanese kitchen, which I have lost and am buying again as it is a valuable resource. Go to borders or barnes and noble, find a copy and read that recipe... that's what you're looking for.

You're talking about "The Japanese Kitchen" by Kimiko Barber or by Shimbo Beitchman?