Teriyaki sauce, and Portland
By electra | March 13, 2009
照り焼き sauce. Roy and I (Electra) finally looked it up. The “teri” in teriyaki means “shiny” or “shining.” The “yaki” means “cook/grill/heat over flame in some fashion.” I think this is because the sugar in teriyaki sauce will caramelize, making the meat etc. glisten. Of course, 照る the verb actually means shine as in give off light.
How interesting!
Another note: When we first got here, we searched the grocery stores for teriyaki sauce. We couldn’t find it anywhere. No one offered it. Much later I realized that it’s because it is made from a simple combination of 2 parts soy sauce, 2 parts mirin (rice cooking wine) and 1 part sugar. When Japanese people arrive in America and see teriyaki sauce for sale at a grocery store, they probably think “why the heck would I pay money for teriyaki sauce?!”
Incidentally, Roy and I are planning to be in Portland this summer. We are flying into Seattle on either July 22nd or 23rd, and flying out of Seattle on August 15th or 16th. We’re on a waitlist right now, which is why we don’t know the exact dates.
Thought you should know!
Topics: Electra, Japan, Roy, United States of America, food, living | No Comments »