Asian cooking
Asian Sauce Calculator
Teriyaki sauce is equal parts sake, mirin and soy sauce with half as much sugar: 1/2 cup each and 1/4 cup sugar make 1 cup, by Just One Cookbook. Pick teriyaki, ponzu, sweet chili, nuoc cham or a Chinese stir-fry sauce and enter how much you want.
You need
- Keeps
Enter how much sauce you want to make.
Sauce recipes at their published size
| Sauce | Makes | Ingredients |
|---|---|---|
| Teriyaki sauce | 1 cup | 1/2 cup sake; 1/2 cup mirin; 1/2 cup soy sauce (gluten-free soy sauce for a gluten-free sauce); 1/4 cup sugar |
| Ponzu sauce | 1 cup | 1 piece(s) kombu, about 6 g and 2 x 3 inches each; 1/2 cup katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes), packed; 1/2 cup soy sauce; 1/2 cup citrus juice (lemon, orange and/or grapefruit); 2 tablespoons nikiri mirin (boiled, alcohol-free mirin); 1 lemon(s), zest only |
| Sweet chili sauce | 1 cup | 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons white sugar; 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon water; 1/4 cup pickled red chili; 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon white vinegar; 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons minced fresh garlic; 2 teaspoons kosher salt; 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch; 1/4 cup filtered water |
| Nuoc cham (Vietnamese dipping sauce) | 3 servings | 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons water; 2 tablespoons sugar; 1 1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime or lemon juice; 2 tablespoons fish sauce; 1/2 clove(s) garlic, minced; 1/2 bird's eye or Thai chile(s), minced |
| Chinese brown stir-fry sauce | 6 servings | 2/3 cup low sodium chicken stock, warmed; 1 1/2 teaspoons granulated or brown sugar; 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce; 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce; 1 tablespoon oyster sauce; 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil; 1/8 teaspoon white pepper; 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine; 2 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch, mixed with; 3 tablespoons water, as the slurry |
How the calculator works
Each sauce in the list is one published recipe, written for a set amount: 1 cup for teriyaki, ponzu and sweet chili sauce, 3 servings for nuoc cham, and a dish for 6 for the stir-fry sauce. Enter how much you want and the calculator multiplies every ingredient by the same factor.
factor = amount you want / amount the recipe makes
For 1 1/2 cups of teriyaki sauce the factor is 1.5, so each 1/2 cup of sake, mirin and soy sauce becomes 3/4 cup, and the 1/4 cup of sugar becomes 6 tablespoons.
Counted ingredients, such as pieces of kombu or cloves of garlic, round to the nearest half.
The recipes
Teriyaki sauce. Just One Cookbook’s recipe is four ingredients in a simple ratio: 1/2 cup each of sake, mirin and soy sauce with 1/4 cup sugar, for 1 cup of sauce. Use gluten-free soy sauce for a gluten-free version. It keeps in the refrigerator for up to 2 to 3 weeks.
Ponzu. A citrus and soy sauce for dipping and dressing. For 1 cup, Just One Cookbook steeps a 6 g piece of kombu, 1/2 cup of packed katsuobushi, 1/2 cup each of soy sauce and citrus juice, 2 tablespoons of nikiri (boiled, alcohol-free) mirin and the zest of a lemon. It needs at least overnight, and can steep for up to a week before you strain it.
Sweet chili sauce. Hungry Huy’s version makes 1 cup from sugar, water, pickled red chili, vinegar, garlic and salt, thickened at the end with a cornstarch slurry. It keeps up to 2 weeks in the fridge.
Nuoc cham. The Vietnamese dipping sauce. Hungry Huy’s recipe for 3 servings balances 6 tablespoons of water with 2 tablespoons each of sugar and fish sauce and 1 1/2 tablespoons of lime or lemon juice. Garlic and chile are optional. It keeps about a week once mixed.
Chinese brown stir-fry sauce. The sauce from The Woks of Life’s beef and broccoli, written for a dish that serves 6. It is chicken stock seasoned with soy sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, sesame oil and white pepper, with Shaoxing wine and a cornstarch slurry added in the wok. The recipe gives no storage time, so mix it fresh for the dish.
Worked example
You are making teriyaki chicken for a crowd and want 2 cups of sauce, plus nuoc cham for 9 people.
Teriyaki, 2 cups:
- Factor: 2 / 1 = 2.
- Sake, mirin and soy sauce: 1/2 cup x 2 = 1 cup each.
- Sugar: 1/4 cup x 2 = 1/2 cup.
Nuoc cham, 9 servings:
- Factor: 9 / 3 = 3.
- Water: 6 tablespoons x 3 = 18 tablespoons, which is 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons.
- Sugar and fish sauce: 2 tablespoons x 3 = 6 tablespoons each.
- Lime juice: 1 1/2 tablespoons x 3 = 4 1/2 tablespoons.
- Garlic and chile: 1/2 x 3 = 1 1/2 of each.
Why a ratio beats a guess
Each of these sauces depends on a balance. Teriyaki is salty, sweet and a little boozy in fixed proportions; nuoc cham balances salt, sugar, sour and water. Scaling every ingredient by the same factor keeps that balance at any size, which is easy to lose when you double one ingredient and eyeball the rest.
How long each sauce keeps
- Teriyaki sauce: up to 2 to 3 weeks in the refrigerator.
- Ponzu: up to 1 to 2 months in an airtight jar in the refrigerator with sanitized tools; within 1 week if you used water in place of mirin.
- Sweet chili sauce: up to 2 weeks in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
- Nuoc cham: about a week in the refrigerator once mixed.
- Stir-fry sauce: no storage time given; mix it fresh.
Tips and common mistakes
Measure the soy sauce. It is the saltiest ingredient in most of these sauces, and a heavy pour throws the balance more than anything else.
Dissolve the sugar fully. In nuoc cham and teriyaki, undissolved sugar sinks and leaves the sauce sharper than intended.
Taste nuoc cham before serving. Limes and fish sauces vary in strength, so the recipe’s balance is a starting point.
Label the jar with the date. The keeping times above count from the day you make the sauce.
Frequently asked questions
What is the ratio for homemade teriyaki sauce?
Just One Cookbook uses 1 part each of sake, mirin and soy sauce to 1/2 part sugar: 1/2 cup of each liquid and 1/4 cup sugar for 1 cup of sauce. It keeps 2 to 3 weeks in the refrigerator.
How do you make ponzu sauce?
For 1 cup, steep a piece of kombu, 1/2 cup packed bonito flakes, 1/2 cup soy sauce, 1/2 cup citrus juice, 2 tablespoons nikiri mirin and the zest of a lemon overnight, then strain. It keeps 1 to 2 months in the fridge.
What is the ratio for nuoc cham?
Hungry Huy's version for 3 servings is 6 tablespoons water, 2 tablespoons sugar, 1 1/2 tablespoons lime or lemon juice and 2 tablespoons fish sauce, with garlic and chile if you like. It keeps about a week in the fridge.
How long does homemade sweet chili sauce last?
Up to 2 weeks in an airtight container in the refrigerator, by Hungry Huy's recipe.
What goes in a Chinese brown stir-fry sauce?
The Woks of Life's beef and broccoli sauce, for 6 servings, is 2/3 cup chicken stock, 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar, 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce, 1 tablespoon oyster sauce, 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil and 1/8 teaspoon white pepper, thickened in the wok with cornstarch.