The Japanese Barbecue Sauce Brand That's Worth The Hype

In the sea of bottles that make up the condiment aisle, it's hard to know where to begin. After all, a condiment can be a lasting fixture in your fridge for months, and getting a bad one can mean that it stays there for far longer. Amazon makes choosing your sauces easier with reviews, but how trustworthy are these reviews? Is a five-star review really worth the hype?

Bachan's Original Barbecue Sauce is one such product. The thousands of glowing reviews amount to a nearly perfect five stars, with hundreds of people insisting that the sauce is versatile and delicious. A good barbecue sauce is worthy of glowing reviews, but how versatile can the tangy, sticky grilling sidekick really be? I ordered the original flavor to find out for myself.

Bachan's offers a variety of flavors, ranging from sweet and spicy to miso and yuzu. The original is a straightforward mixture of soy, mirin, ginger, garlic, and green onion, a pretty classic combination typically seen in teriyaki sauce. What makes Bachan's recipe different (and inherently barbecue) is the addition of tomato paste and vinegar, which gives the sauce an acidic tang. This marries the idea of teriyaki and barbecue, making it a sauce that can be used for both grilling and dipping. I tried a variety of recipes to test its true versatility, and like the five-star reviews insist, I was not disappointed.

To test Bachan's recipe, I brushed the sauce onto filets of salmon before baking them. The sauce is thinner than a typical barbecue sauce, but not so thin that the salmon couldn't be glazed. Once baked, the sauce caramelized onto the salmon, tasting both deeply savory (from the soy sauce's umami), and mildly sweet. This turned out to be a success, and a super-easy way to meal prep lunches for the week.

The next method I tried was tossing the sauce into a noodle stir fry. This is where the teriyaki-forward flavor came in: the thin, savory sauce coated the noodles perfectly, leaving little trace of the acidic barbecue flavor. This reminded me of yakisoba sauce, which is similar to Worcestershire. For someone looking for a yakisoba flavor, this is an easy, more versatile option.

Finally, I tried a no-cook method, wondering if the barbecue moniker could hold up to raw applications. This is where things got a little sticky (pun intended): Bachan's is not nearly as thick as barbecue sauce, so it becomes a slightly different experience. I tried this with popcorn chicken, egg rolls, and dumplings, and found that the sauce paired best with food you'd typically dip into soy sauce rather than the foods you'd eat with barbecue. For example, Bachan's would be a great accompaniment to sushi, but might not work as well with chicken tenders or french fries. The solve? Purchase one of its dipping sauces instead, which are thicker and more tangy.

The reviews are true -– this sauce is worth the hype for being flavorful, versatile, and unique. What you should know before you buy, though, is that the sauce isn't that of a typical American barbecue sauce. Instead, it recreates the flavors of Korean BBQ or Japanese teriyaki, which is less tangy, thinner, and emphasizes umami. The prominent flavors in the original Bachan's sauce are soy, sesame, ginger, and garlic, which differs from the brown sugar, mustard, and tomato bases of Kansas City and Texas sauces.

Some commenters mentioned the sauce being a good alternative to discontinued teriyaki brands that worked well in their favorite Japanese recipes (which likely contributed to the recent hype). While the sauce is a good, tangy alternative to soy sauce or teriyaki blends, it still works just as well on smoked meats, roast chicken, and grilled fish, offering a unique umami flavor. Because of that versatility, this sauce is well-worth having in your pantry as both an easy stir-fry mix in and an option for your summer cookout spread. If you're a sauce enthusiast, I'd recommend looking beyond the original flavor and trying the sweet and spicy, miso, or yuzu, which have more distinct flavor profiles beyond the classic teriyaki. If you do want a dipping sauce that works with chicken tenders, Bachan's has a line for that, too — and who doesn't love a brand that thinks of everything?