Quick Answer

How do you make teriyaki buffalo sauce?

Combine teriyaki elements (soy sauce, mirin or sake, sugar/honey, ginger) with a buffalo sauce base (Frank's + butter). Start with the teriyaki base: 3 tablespoons soy sauce + 2 tablespoons honey + 1 tablespoon rice vinegar + 1 teaspoon fresh ginger. Combine with 3 tablespoons Frank's and 4 tablespoons butter. Simmer briefly until the sugar dissolves and the sauce is slightly thickened. The soy sauce's umami deepens the buffalo base; the ginger adds a fresh, slightly sharp note; the honey bridges the two flavor systems.

Why Teriyaki and Buffalo Work Together

These two sauces appear opposite but share compatible elements:

  • Shared acidity: Teriyaki uses rice vinegar; buffalo uses distilled vinegar (from hot sauce). Both are acid-based sauces that balance their sweetness and fat with tang.
  • Compatible sweeteners: Teriyaki relies on sugar/mirin for sweetness; this sweetness complements buffalo's heat reduction mechanism.
  • Umami depth: Soy sauce's glutamate content adds savory depth that makes buffalo sauce's relatively simple vinegar-cayenne base more complex.
  • Heat and ginger pairing: Fresh ginger and cayenne pepper are natural companions in Asian cuisine — they amplify each other's heat and add complementary aromatic qualities.

Teriyaki Buffalo Sauce

Prep Time 5 min
Cook Time 8 min
Total Time 5 min
Servings Makes enough for 2 lbs wings

Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons Frank's RedHot Original
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 3 tablespoons soy sauce (low-sodium preferred — the sauce can be very salty otherwise)
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar (or mirin for traditional teriyaki sweetness)
  • 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1/4 teaspoon sesame oil (optional — a few drops, very strong)
  • 1 teaspoon cornstarch dissolved in 1 tablespoon water (optional — for thickness)

Method

  1. Combine soy sauce, honey, rice vinegar, ginger, and garlic in a small saucepan.
  2. Simmer over medium heat for 2–3 minutes until honey dissolves and sauce is fragrant.
  3. Add Frank's RedHot. Stir to combine.
  4. If using cornstarch: add dissolved cornstarch and stir until sauce thickens (1–2 minutes).
  5. Remove from heat.
  6. Whisk in cold butter gradually until emulsified.
  7. Add sesame oil if using — start with just a few drops; it's potent.
  8. Taste and adjust: more Frank's for heat, more soy for salt/umami, more honey for sweetness.

Tips

  • Low-sodium soy sauce is important — regular soy sauce + Frank's (which is already salty) produces an overly salty finished sauce.
  • Sesame oil is optional but a few drops add an authentic teriyaki character. More than a few drops and it dominates the sauce.
  • This sauce is thicker than standard buffalo due to the soy and optional cornstarch — it coats well but is stickier than tossing sauce.

Uses and Applications

Teriyaki buffalo's Asian-fusion character opens applications that standard buffalo doesn't fit naturally:

  • Wings: The toss-style application works well; the sauce is thicker than standard buffalo so use slightly less to avoid over-saucing
  • Stir-fry: Teriyaki buffalo is an excellent stir-fry sauce — the soy, ginger, and garlic base works perfectly in a wok with chicken, broccoli, and peppers; the hot sauce adds heat that standard teriyaki lacks
  • Rice bowls: As a sauce for buffalo chicken rice bowls with Asian toppings (pickled ginger, sesame seeds, edamame, cucumber) — the teriyaki character makes Asian bowl components feel cohesive
  • Grilled salmon: Brush on salmon in the last 2 minutes of cooking — teriyaki-buffalo on fish is a classic Japanese-American fusion combination
  • Noodle dishes: Toss cooked noodles (soba, ramen, or rice noodles) with teriyaki buffalo sauce, sliced grilled chicken, and edamame for an Asian noodle bowl with heat
  • Lettuce wraps: Buffalo teriyaki chicken in butter lettuce cups with shredded carrots, cucumber, and a hoisin drizzle — a clean, flavorful appetizer

💡 The Korean-Buffalo Variation

For a Korean-inspired variation: replace the teriyaki base with gochujang (Korean chili paste) + soy sauce + honey + sesame oil. Combine 2 tablespoons gochujang + 2 tablespoons soy sauce + 2 tablespoons honey + 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil + 2 tablespoons Frank's + 4 tablespoons butter. This Korean-buffalo hybrid uses gochujang's fermented chili character (earthy, funky, moderately spicy) with Frank's cayenne heat, creating a sauce that's more complex and umami-rich than either component alone. This variation is the natural answer to guests asking for "something between Korean fried chicken and buffalo wings."

Frequently Asked Questions

Several buffalo wing sauce brands make teriyaki-buffalo hybrid flavors. Wingstop's 'Teriyaki' is a sweet, soy-based sauce rather than a true teriyaki-buffalo hybrid. Buffalo Wild Wings 'Asian Zing' uses gochujang and other Asian flavor components with heat. Moore's 'Teriyaki Wing Sauce' is commercially available. For closest to homemade: look for sauces that list both soy sauce AND hot sauce in the ingredients — the combination is what produces the genuine hybrid character. Many commercial 'teriyaki' sauces are very sweet without heat; many buffalo sauces have no umami depth. Homemade allows control over both dimensions.