An Asian-inspired sweet and tangy sticky soy glaze that's perfect for dipping, ribs, bbq, wings, seafood, chicken, and pork. Deliciously sweet, spicy, sticky, and tangy!
This sweet and tangy sticky soy glaze is such a hit! It's so versatile, you can use this on seafood, pork, poultry, tofu, and veggies. This delicious Asian sauce only requires 5 minutes of cooking time! It's so fast and easy to make and keeps in the fridge for two weeks sealed in an airtight container.
I used this sauce to make these sticky Instant Pot Asian Ribs the other day and it was AMAZING! Check out the recipe below:
You can also use this as soy garlic wing sauce like I did with these Korean Fried Chicken wings!
This sweet and tangy soy glaze will be thick, syrupy, and stick-to-your-fingers good! Get some extra napkins ready because you'll need them!
Pairing Suggestions:
- sticky Asian ribs
- Asian style wings
- stir fry sauce
- dipping sauce for chicken nuggets, egg rolls, fish sticks, kabobs
- seafood glaze
- Asian bbq sauce
- Asian style meatballs
Tips for making Sweet and Tangy Soy Glaze:
Add all the ingredients in a sauce pot and boil for 5 minutes. It should start to bubble up on itself and thicken up as the sauce reduces. Keep a close eye on it as it can reduce too much and start to burn. You'll know when it's ready it coats the back of a spoon.
The soy glaze will thicken up more as it cools so don't reduce this too much. It will look thinner when it's hot so I suggest spooning a little bit onto a plate and letting it cool down. The consistency should be thick like honey once it's cooled. The photo below is when the sauce has cooled. You can see how thick it is when running a spoon through it.
You can also let the soy glaze drizzle off a spoon after it's cooled. If it's reduced enough, it should slowly drip off the spoon like the photo below:
I hope you enjoy this recipe! Please share, rate, and comment below. I’d love to hear from you!
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Recipe
Sweet and Tangy Soy Glaze
☑ Ingredients
- 3 cloves garlic - chopped
- 1 inch piece of ginger - thick slices
- ¼ cup honey
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 3 Tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons hoisin sauce
- 1 Tablespoon sesame oil
- ½ teaspoon Korean red pepper flakes - optional for spicy
- ½ teaspoon fennel seeds - optional
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients in a pot and boil it uncovered for 5 minutes or until it's reduced to your liking. Keep stirring to make sure it doesn't burn. Remove the ginger slices. Serve with on the side or use as a glaze. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
✎ Recipe Notes
Nutrition
*Nutritional information is an estimate, calculated using online tools.
Colleen
We love this delicious sauce on chicken wings and I'm going to use it for ribs next. Thanks for the great recipe!
MJ
What a great sauce! Decided to coat some chicken wings with it and they were so good!
Amy
I love how versatile this glaze is - it's just so delicious!
Kasra
So I was wondering If i could rub it on Duck mid oven baking it; would it become a good glaze? because i want to make the duck as Umami flavored and spicy as possible!
Jamie
Hi Kasra! I haven't tried that before so can't say for sure. If you do try this, be careful that the soy glaze doesn't burn. It contains sweetener which can easily burn. Let me know how it goes!
Sarah
Hit the spot! I keep buying sauces that never get finished, but now that the cane sugar is off the menu, I really need something good tasting. Wow!! This is a great recipe and it had the perfect amount of flavor. I had to make a double batch for my family of 6 to get enough on their broccoli and cauliflower rice. Thank you for giving it to us!
Jamie
That's great to hear Sarah! I'm so glad your whole family loves this soy glaze!
Minna
Hi! I’m wondering you’ve tried freezing this? I use sweet soy glaze all the time and would love to make a batch of my own.
Ashley
This glaze is my go-to. It has so many uses.
I love to cook some chicken or shrimp on the grill and then drizzle some of the glaze over the top. I don't have any Korean red pepper flakes, but do add some Calabrian chilli sometimes for heat. Easy and tasty.
Jamie
That sounds delicious using this soy glaze on the grill! Thanks for sharing Ashley!
mavee125
This sweet and tangy soy glaze is absolutely perfect! It will definitely be my new favorite sauce from now on. So glad that I tried it using my favorite Asian ingredients. Tried to use a low-sodium soy sauce as an alternative and it will definitely give you a kind of rich taste with a lighter touch.
Mindi Penrod
Love this sauce. I tried it twice but had to sub out honey since I ran out. Brown sugar works as a decent sub.
Jamie
Thanks for sharing Mindi! Brown sugar is a great idea!
Bruce
Great sauce! This is exactly what I was looking for and I plan to keep some on hand from now on. Love the mix of flavors, sweet, a little bit of spice, umami, it has everything I was hoping for and blends together wonderfully. Thank much!
Jamie
Thanks for sharing Bruce! Happy you liked it! 🙂
ChristiHu
This is my new favorite go-to sauce. Tonight I’m adding it to a noodle/chicken/green bean/hot pepper stir fry. Thank you!
Jamie
Thank you Christi! I'm so happy to hear that! Great idea adding it to noodles and chicken. It goes so well with everything doesn't it? 🙂
Stephanie
I think I might be doing something wrong. I followed the directions but after boiling 7 mins it still wasn't thick so I put some on a plate. It still wasn't thick so I put it back on the heat for 3 more minutes of boiling. It seems a tiny bit thicker but nothing like yours. Help please, I willing to start over. Thank you in advance
Jamie
Hi Stephanie, sorry to hear that! I'd be happy to help. Are you by chance covering the pan when boiling the glaze? If so the condensation will drip back into the pan so that can explain why after 7 minutes the glaze didn't thicken. Also to get more information, did you make any alterations to the recipe?
Ella
This happened to me as well when I was making this sauce for my sister. I’d recommend to make a slurry(1:1 cornstarch to water) to thicken the sauce. I put in small increments until it thickened to my liking. Hope this helps!
Liz
This is such a great soy glaze! I'm going to use this on tempeh tonight. Thanks for the recipe!
Jamie
Thank you Liz! That's a great idea using it with tempeh. It goes well with everything! 🙂
Allyssa
Thank you so much for sharing this sweet and tangy sticky soy glaze! It taste amazing, very easy to make and really helpful!
Jamie
Thanks Allyssa! So happy to hear that.
Melanie
The Korean red pepper flakes really make such a difference - I added slightly more, as I really love it spicy! If you are okay with heat, I highly recommend this - it makes for such a tasty, spicy sauce. We will be making this recipe again!
Sally
I recently became a vegan, and have been finding food very bland! I came across your glaze recipe and made a tofu and veggie stir fry. The flavor was superb! I am so happy!
Jamie
Thanks Sally! Glad to hear!
Marissa
I cannot get over how delicious this sauce is! I have made it quite a few times now and forgot to leave a comment previously. It has so many uses, and will be my go-to recipe from now on! Thank you!
Jamie
Thanks Marissa!
Sammi
Hi Jamie,
I came across this recipe when I was searching for a fried chicken recipe. I made this glaze and also your KFC, and wow - what a tasty meal it was!
I am excited to try more of your recipes - the whole family loved these two!
Many thanks,
Sammi
Jamie
Thanks Sammi! So happy you tried it with the fried chicken. It's such a great glaze for wings. 🙂
Ben
I've been using this glaze in place of the Hello Fresh Sweet Soy Glaze, when replicating their Szechuan Beef Noodles. It's perfect for that dish - hopefully people will find this from this comment if they're looking for a replacement recipe.
Barbara
Made this sauce this morning and it’s fabulous. I’m recreating a hello fresh recipe my daughter made. Will be keeping this sauce on hand , it’s so versatile.