The $10 Small-Batch Japanese BBQ Sauce Customers Can't Stop Raving About

Barbecue sauces populate endless inches of shelf space in America's supermarkets, plus take top billing at state fairs, barbecue competitions, and farmers markets. We all want the 'cue magic, which often means keeping an open mind and being unafraid of innovation or incremental changes in a trusted saucy equation. That's why one small-batch Japanese barbecue sauce is getting a whole lot of attention. Bachan's Original Japanese Barbecue Sauce has racked up an overall 4.6 stars out of around 7,700 customer ratings on Amazon as of the time of writing. Within that number, over 5,900 of the customers gave it a five-star rating, equating to 76%. Roughly 450 of them have taken the time to write actual reviews, and there's definitely a lot of raving going on. It's overwhelmingly of the good sort — and for good reason. 

The sauce is quite literally made in small batches using a generational family recipe. As the Japanese term for "grandma," the name "bachan" bears witness to the authenticity of its origins and ingredients. The founder, Justin Gill, creates the same sauce he learned at the hands of his bachan, Judy Yokoyama, a Japanese-American woman born in California in 1936. Though suffering displacement in a Japanese internment camp during World War II, Yokoyama and her extended family later lived together, working at the family's landscaping business and sharing recipes, including the one for her Japanese barbecue sauce. During holidays, Gill and his father would go door to door selling the sauce, which strengthened Gill's conviction that the recipe was something very special. Plenty of people now agree. 

Compared to some specialty sauces, Bachan's Original Japanese Barbecue Sauce sells at an affordable cost of less than $10 for a 17-ounce bottle. But price is far from the only draw; customers are raving about the quality, its deep savory-sweet flavor, and the fresh clean ingredients and packaging. It's a non-GMO vegan sauce with no preservatives, additives, or flavorings, and it comes bottled in BPA-free containers. Despite a growing fan base, the sauce is still meticulously created in small batches and taste-tested at the kettles for family approval.

One key to Bachan's taste is the lack of added preservatives and flavors, which is made possible by a "cold fill" sterilization process that kills container bacteria using extreme cold, rather than extreme hot, temperatures. The salty, sweet, umami-centric ingredients are based on a Japanese-style tare, a universal sauce used for glazing, marinating, and dipping. These ingredients include a traditional non-GMO soy sauce brewed by centuries-old methods, an aged mirin rice wine imported from Japan, a mellow month-aged organic rice vinegar, and fresh (not dehydrated), organic ingredients such as garlic, ginger, and green onions. 

Keep in mind that Japanese barbecue sauces like this rarely use thickening agents, so expect the consistency to be thinner, similar to a teriyaki sauce. In addition to being an excellent grilling sauce for meats, there are many everyday uses for Bachan's Japanese Barbecue Sauce. It excels in a wide variety of dishes, including fried rice, salad dressings, sushi, grilled veggies, eggs, and more. In addition to its popular Original sauce, Bachan's now offers additional renditions such as Hot & Spicy, Miso, Hella Hot (which we reviewed), and Sweet Honey.