Kikkoman Gourmet Teriyaki sauce and Soy Vay Veri Veri Teriyaki sauce are similar, but one definitely outshines the other as my favourite. The differences are not huge, but enough to make my choice easy.
What is teriyaki sauce? It is a soy-based sauce. Soy sauce itself is made from wheat, water, salt and soybeans. But teriyaki sauce also has sugar, spices and sometimes wine. So it is sweeter than straight soy sauce. It has enough saltiness in it to make you thirsty, like soy sauce does .
Teriyaki sauces have a high sodium content. The Kikkoman Gourmet Teriyaki has 450 grams of sodium and the Soy Vay Veri Teriyaki has 490 grams. Compare that to straight Kikkoman soy sauce though, which has 920 grams of sodium.
Neither the Soy Vay Veri Veri Teriyaki or the Kikkoman Gourmet Teriyaki has any saturated fats or trans fats, although the Soy Vay lists 1 gram of total fat.
Teriyaki sauce is a standard condiment in my home. I use it primarily for grilling meats and vegetables. I sometimes also use it straight on rice since I prefer the sweeter flavour over very salty soy sauce. I also like it as a dipping sauce.
A piece of grilled salmon marinated in teriyaki sauce is absolutely delicious. Since salmon is a sweeter fish to begin with, the teriyaki sauce just enhances the meat for my tastes. Vegetables take on totally different taste sensation grilled with a light brushing of teriyaki .
When I marinate the meat on teriyaki sauce, I put it in the refrigerator for at least a few hours before I cook it. That gives the meat time to thoroughly absorb the flavours. When it comes off the grill with slightly crispy and darkened edges from the teriyaki sauce marinade, it is almost as good as a dessert.
I prefer not to marinade the vegetables though . Instead I lightly brush the vegetables with teriyaki sauce while they cook over the fire. The flavour is not so overwhelming that way and it allows the natural vegetable flavours to mingle with the teriyaki sauce.
I have tried a number of Teriyaki products over the years. If you don’t have time to make your own teriyaki sauce, which is the best tasting of all, the stores offer a variety of choices.
Kikkoman makes a good basic Teriyaki sauce. They also have a Kikkoman Gourmet Teriyaki. It contains naturally brewed soy sauce, sugar, water, morin, which is a sweet rice wine, vinegar, garlic powder, salt, spices, and modified food starch..
The Soy Vay Veri Veri Teriyaki contains preservative free soy sauce, sugar, soy oil, sesame seeds, fresh ginger,, garlic granules, fresh garlic, sesame oil, onion powder and ginger powder. Soy Vay claims they are the only commercially available teriyaki company that has the fresh garlic, sesame seeds and ginger and no preservatives. I do like the idea of no preservatives wherever possible and nothing beats fresh ingredients to improve the taste.
A number of years ago I was told to try a new variety of Teriyaki sauce. I like trying new things and am very open to experimenting with new products. The name of the new teriyaki sauce was Veri Teri Teriyaki made by a company called Soy Vay. The clever company name was created as the story on the bottle says, “Our company came to be when a Jewish boy and a Chinese girl began talking about a common interest: cooking. We soon realized that by combining the best of our families’ cooking secrets, we could create new and unique tastes.
I much prefer the Soy Vay Veri Veri Teriyaki over the Kikkoman Gourmet Teriyaki. The Soy Vay variety has little chunks of the fresh ingredients in it. That little added feature makes for a richer taste experience. The smell is really rich too. I have to shake it to make sure all the bits in the bottle are nicely mixed before I pour it out. I don’t mind that at all though because the Soy Vay Veri Veri Teriyaki does not use gums, stabilizers or artificial ingredients to keep the sauces they create from separating. If you like teriyaki sauce, definitely give the Soy Vay Veri Veri Teriyaki sauce a try.
