Japanese cuisine has becoming more and more popular is the Philippines over the years with plenty of Japanese restaurants or restaurants serving Japanese fusion dishes popping up in the city. I admit that I’m not the biggest fan of Japanese cuisine at first, the first time I tried sushi (authentically made Japanese sushi at that) I almost spit it out and had to power through eating the relatively expensive dish I ordered. And in the end, I had to share it with my friend who did like sushi because I only managed to eat half of the sushi that’s on my plate.
Ramen is a little more bearable for me but just like when I first tried sushi, I had to power through finishing my bowl because I wasn’t at all used to the hotness of the broth. But I can say that the ramen was delicious. So I think that with Japanese cuisine, it’s either a hit or a miss for me. But the ultimate Japanese dish that I fell in love with is their Teriyaki dishes. I once tried a teriyaki pork recipe in a Japanese restaurant and it was the one of the best savory flavors I’ve ever tasted.
It’s not too salty or hot for my palette but it just has enough sweet and salty combination that I think most Filipino people would find delicious. I can say that out of all the Japanese dishes (not that I tried every one of them), their teriyaki dishes capture the ideal Filipino taste that’s most common in Filipino recipes but has its own Japanese flavors for Filipinos to want to discover more of the cuisine.
I highly recommend this for people who want to dip their toes into Japanese cuisine as an introductory dish as it’s quite similar to flavors that the majority of the Filipino palette are used to.
Fast forward a few years later and I was fortunate enough to visit Tokyo, Japan and at this point, I’m more used to the distinct Japanese flavors and was ready to explore truly authentic Japanese dishes. Of course, I tried their teriyaki dishes and it was exquisite! I learned that the original Japanese teriyaki recipe is a mixture of soy sauce, sugar, and mirin, a type of sweet rice wine with less alcoholic content, very similar to sake. Their teriyaki pork is my favorite, especially grilled pork so I thought why not recreate that and make teriyaki pork spareribs here!
Now I know that Japanese cuisine is not something that’s typically whipped out in Filipino households and most Filipinos usually go out and eat in restaurants if they want to eat Japanese dishes but this recipe is quite simple to follow with minimal ingredients. And when I mean minimal ingredients, I mean literally just two of them.
So if you want to bring a delicious twist of a Japanese teriyaki dish in your home, all you’ll need is a bottle 2 lbs of pork spareribs and a bottle of Kikkoman Teriyaki Baste & Glaze Sauce. I find that this particular brand of teriyaki sauce delivers that perfect sweet and salty flavor combination that you can easily extremely close to the flavors you’ll find in the Land of the Rising Sun.
I like that this teriyaki pork spareribs recipe puts a nice twist to the usual grilled pork entrees. All that we need to do is to first tenderize the pork spareribs in low heat in boiling water for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Once it has the desired tenderness, remove the meat from the pot, and in a bowl, use at least half a bottle of the Teriyaki sauce to marinate the meat for at least 30 minutes. We should also thin the Teriyaki sauce until it’s slightly runny in its consistency.
Now for the cooking process! In a pan, heat up about 1 tablespoon of oil and brown the spareribs on all sides in high heat first and then add the marinade that’s left in the bowl. Stir the spareribs well into the sauce until it’s thickened and adhered to the ribs. And you’re done! Serve immediately with rice.
For added authenticity, toss some toasted sesame seeds to the on top of the ribs and serve with plenty of hot tea along with a dish of sauteed vegetables. Have fun cooking for great Japanese cuisine in your household.

Teriyaki Pork Spareribs Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. Pork spareribs
- Kikkoman Teriyaki Baste & Glaze Sauce
Instructions
- Tenderize the ribs on low heat by boiling for about 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes. Prick the meat with a fork to check desired tenderness.
- Remove meat from pot and marinate in Teriyaki sauce for about 30 minutes. You will probably use close to half a bottle. Thin the teriyaki sauce with a little bit of water until slightly runny.
- Heat up about 1 tablespoon of oil in a pan. Brown the ribs on all sides on high heat. Add the marinade. Stir the ribs well into the sauce until it thickens and adheres to the ribs. Serve immediately.
Send me copies panlasang pinoy recipes
I love cooking..I want to try and learn differnt recipes..
Wala po bang pweding ipalit sa kikkoman?