How can I explain the word "teriyaki"; Japanese love teriyaki chicken How can I explain the Japanese word "teriyaki". Teriyaki is a way of cooking in which a cook burns ("yaki" in Japanese) meat with salty-sweet sauce sometimes called teriyaki source. Teriyaki sauce is compounded of soy sauce and mirin (cooking sake/alcohol), and is a magic sauce which turns meat into one with gleaming surface ("teri" in Japanese).