The Popular Japanese Condiment At Costco That Customers Can't Get Enough Of

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Costco has no shortage of sassy sauces to punch up what could otherwise be very ordinary meals. It's fun to try them all over time, but let's be honest: some just aren't what they're cracked up to be. Fortunately, devoted Costco shoppers have revealed one that stands solidly above the store's saucy crowd: Bachan's Japanese Barbecue Sauce. 

This isn't just another thick, smoky barbecue sauce for slathering over a rack of ribs; instead, it's a more versatile condiment for wider applications. Bachan's Japanese Barbecue Sauce is comparatively thinner than others in the barbecue sauce category, yet brings intensely deep, savory flavors to anything from fried rice to grilled salmon, steak marinades, wings, sandwiches, salad dressings, eggs, and lots more. Costco succinctly identifies the sauce as both sweet and savory, recommending it for things like grilling, marinating, and drizzling over food. 

The robust fan base for this Bachan's sauce seems to highly value that versatility. Among reviews generated on Costco's product listing, shoppers call it simply the best, with one noting that they can't make a good stir fry without it. Others feel the thinner consistency is more suited to a marinade. In a Reddit discussion, one commenter praised the sauce for use on salmon, rice, and broccoli, while another person said: "To me, Bachan's produces the closest sauce to a 'restaurant' flavor I've had at home."

As with many well-known food products, there's a family story behind Bachan's Japanese Barbecue Sauce. Founder Justin Gill notes how the recipe passed through generations of his Japanese-American family, with the brand's Bachan name representing the Japanese term for grandma. Bachan's has many flavors of its Japanese BBQ and dipping sauce, but the ones that Costco fans rave about is The Original.

The ingredient list of this sauce also reflects the brand's heritage, and it helps explain all those intense flavors. The Original sauce starts with non-GMO soy sauce and cane sugar, followed by mirin, tomato paste, organic ginger, green onion, organic rice vinegar, organic garlic, sea salt, and toasted sesame oil. The mirin comes from Japan, and the rice vinegar is brewed using traditional methods and aged. The final sauce is then cold-filled to avoid using preservatives and additional flavorings or fillers. 

Based on customer experimentation, almost anything goes with this umami-packed sauce. A lengthy r/Costco thread on Reddit devotes the entire conversation to ways folks use Bachan's Japanese Barbecue Sauce everyday at home. In addition to the more obvious salmon, fried rice, and sir-fried veggies, shoppers mention things like skirt steak, crispy tofu, dumplings, meatballs, Brussels spouts, and even French fries. Others mix Bachan's with mayo for a creamy dipping sauce or add either rice vinegar, chili flakes, or more sesame oil as a finishing touch to switch up the flavor profile. The possibilities for using this sauce are endless.