teriyaki

American  

[ter-uh-yah-kee] / ˌtɛr əˈyɑ ki /

noun

Japanese Cooking.

1. a dish of grilled slices of beef, chicken, or fish that have been marinated in soy sauce seasoned with sake, ginger, and sugar.

---

adjective

1. prepared in this manner.

   chicken teriyaki.

teriyaki British  

/ ˌtɛrɪˈjækɪ /

adjective

1. basted with soy sauce and rice wine and broiled over an open fire

---

noun

1. a dish prepared in this way

Etymology

Origin of teriyaki

1960–65; < Japanese, equivalent to teri glaze + yaki broil

Explanation

Teriyaki is a Japanese dish of meat or seafood glazed in a savory sauce and cooked on a grill. You can find chicken or beef teriyaki on the menu at many Chinese and Korean restaurants too. In the West, teriyaki is often made with a thick, sweet marinade, and you can even buy teriyaki sauce to pour on meat, fish, vegetables, or rice. In Japan, the dish usually consists of meat or fish basted with a thinner mixture of soy sauce, rice wine, and sake, and grilled. The word teriyaki comes from teri, “to shine,” and yaki, "to grill.”

Example Sentences

For about $20, you could enjoy a baked Idaho potato heaped with teriyaki beef at the taxidermy-adorned Pioneer Saloon; or green curry chicken and Taiwanese-style eggplant at Rickshaw.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 3, 2025

Kanzen Meal’s shrimp teriyaki, spaghetti Bolognese and other products have up to 24 grams of protein .

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 28, 2025

The menu includes four vegan options: an edamame teriyaki bowl, a bean burrito bowl, a taco bowl with a pea-based meat alternative, and marinara pasta.

From Salon • Oct. 16, 2024

Instead of lettuce the base here is typically a cooked grain like rice or quinoa, which is topped with steamed or sauteed vegetables and beans then drizzled with a sauce like pesto or teriyaki.

From National Geographic • Oct. 19, 2023

Her cook prepared for Woody a special meal of teriyaki fish, its sauce enriched by the gift of sugar, and Toyo served it on one of her few remaining treasures, a fine set of porcelain.

From "Farewell to Manzanar" by Jeanne Houston