Tuesday, February 27, 2018

LCHF Teriyaki Sauce And Marinade



I was talking to a co-worker the other day about eating low carbohydrate low fat (LCHF) and the on thing that they mentioned was hard for them were condiments. You know sauces such as ketchup, barbecue, teriyaki etc... Sauces in which you can add to your meats or use when grilling. I mentioned that I have recipes for quite a few sauces and or condiments on my blog, but there was one flavor or sauce that he mentioned that I did not have and that was teriyaki.

Traditionally, a teriyaki sauce as we know it here in the Unites States is a thick, tangy, sweet and some times sour sauce used for basting grilled chicken. While my local Walmart carries many different brands of teriyaki sauce, they all have one thing in common. Lots of high fructose corn syrup, which means they have a ton of carbohydrates. So in this article I am going to teach you how to make a dual purpose teriyaki sauce and marinade recipe for grilling and basting.


Teriyaki, The Sauce and The Marinade

Most commercial preparations of this condiment are labeled and sold as both a teriyaki marinade and a sauce, but the two are distinctly different. A marinade, is a thin liquid used cover a meat in order for the flavor of the marinade to be absorbed into the said meat to impart not only the flavor of the marinade but to sometimes to help tenderize the meat as well. A sauce, is a thickened liquid used to add flavor to a cooked meat or vegetable. It has more viscosity than a marinade and varies in thickness depending on the purpose of the sauce. Sauces are generally used as a finishing device added to grilled meats or vegetables during the final phases of cooking, and or may be served as a side for the meat and or vegetable. As mentioned, in this article, I will be showing you how to make both, as well as adding a quick bonus recipe for making great grilled teriyaki chicken thighs.

The Marinade

1 cup water
¼ cup soy sauce
8 drops sucralose or sweetener of your choice
½ teaspoon ginger powder
¼ teaspoon garlic powder

Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl and whip together with a wire whisk and store it in the refrigerator until ready to use.

LCHF Teriyaki Marinade
Per Cup – Calories 39, fat 0.425 grams, protein 5.6 grams, carbohydrates 3.6 grams.
Per Tablespoon – Calories 2.43, fat 0.26 grams, protein 0.35 gram, carbohydrates 0.225 grams.

The Sauce

1 cup water
¼ cup soy sauce
8 drops sucralose or sweetener of your choice
½ teaspoon ginger powder
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ to ¾ teaspoon xanthan gum

Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl and whip together with a wire whisk and store it in the refrigerator until ready to use. When using xanthan gum, make sure you give each addition of gum 2 to 3 minutes to reach it's full thickening potential before adding additional xanthan gum.

LCHF Teriyaki Sauce
Per Cup – Calories 44, fat 0.425 grams, protein 5.6 grams, carbohydrates 3.6 grams.
Per Tablespoon – Calories 2.75, fat 0.26 grams, protein 0.35 gram, carbohydrates 0.225 grams.

Chef's Note: Generally I make my sauce just slightly thicker than what is required to coat the back of a spoon. This allows the sauce to cling to the meat when it is added at the end of the cooking process. A sauce that is to thin will simply run or drip off of your meat and not impart any of it's delicious flavor. For more information on using xanthan gum, check out my article 'Xanthan Gum: A LCHF / Keto Thickener'.


Commercially Made Teriyaki Sauces

As you can see from the following information, the amount of carbohydrates per brand of teriyaki marinade and sauce varies considerably if you are to believe the labels. Even if you purchased the Kikkoman Teriyaki marinade and sauce which has the least amount of carbohydrates per tablespoon, when you start making a dish such as teriyaki chicken which calls for 1 cup of sauce (16 tablespoons) then you begin to see the enormity of the problem. The following are the nutritional values of som of the most popular commercially produced Teriyaki sauces.

Great Value Teriyaki Marinade and Sauce
Per Cup – Calories 480, fat 0 grams, protein 16 grams, carbohydrates 48 grams.
Per Tablespoon – Calories 30, fat 0 grams, protein 1 gram, carbohydrates 3 grams.

Kikkoman Teriyaki Marinade and Sauce
Per Cup – Calories 240, fat 0 grams, protein 16 grams, carbohydrates 32 grams.
Per Tablespoon – Calories 15, fat 0 grams, protein 1 gram, carbohydrates 2 grams.

La Choy Teriyaki Marinade and Sauce
Per Cup – Calories 320, fat 0 grams, protein 16 grams, carbohydrates 160 grams.
Per Tablespoon – Calories 40, fat 0 grams, protein 1 gram, carbohydrates 10 grams.

LCHF Teriyaki Sauce
Per Cup – Calories 44, fat 0.425 grams, protein 5.6 grams, carbohydrates 3.6 grams.
Per Tablespoon – Calories 2.75, fat 0.26 grams, protein 0.35 gram, carbohydrates 0.225 grams.

Soy Vay Teriyaki Marinade and Sauce
Per Cup – Calories 320, fat 0 grams, protein 16 grams, carbohydrates 128 grams.
Per Tablespoon – Calories 40, fat 1 grams, protein 1 gram, carbohydrates 8 grams.

As you can see the homemade LCHF Teriyaki sauce is by water the better ketogenic choice with once cup only containing 3.6 grams. That's almost 10 times less than Kikkoman which has the lowest amount of carbohydrates of the commercial Teriyaki sauces at 32 grams per cup. The main primary reason the sauces are so high is carbohydrates is..... You guessed it sugar and or high fructose corn syrup.


Conclusion

So there you have it guys, my version of a homemade Teriyaki marinade and sauce that I use for grilling and marinating meats and chicken. It has 89% less carbohydrates then Kikkoman, the commercial brand the least contains the least amount of carbohydrates. So I hope that the next time that you decide to fire up the grill and want to make some Teriyaki chicken, or are thinking about making some Teriyaki style beef jerky that you make your own Teriyaki sauce.

As I mentioned, you can use coconut aminos in place of the soy sauce, or you can use an organic soy sauce if you wish. If you have read any of my articles then you know I am not an “it has to be organic or it's no keto kinda of guy”. Rather I focus on carbohydrate counts first and then look at the associated ingredients. If you want to find out more information about coconut amino's then check out my article 'Soy Sauce VersusCoconut Aminos'. As always, I would like to ask that if you have enjoyed the information in this article or found it useful, please share that it with your friends and family. Don't forget to send me a friend request on Facebook, and add me to your circle on Google+.


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