A Story Preserved at the Table

The meaning at the beginning

Bachan's takes both its identity and its sauce from family continuity. Bachan translates as grandma, while founder and CEO Justin Gill is the latest steward of the Bachan's Japanese Barbecue Sauce recipe carried for generations.

Justin Gill with his Bachan, Judy Yokoyama

The grandmother named in the account is Judy Yokoyama, Justin Gill's Bachan. Judy Yokoyama was born in 1936 in Sebastopol, CA and experienced a two-year displacement in a Japanese internment camp. Judy then taught Japanese barbecue sauce making to Justin and his parents.

Judy Yokoyama packing bottles of the family sauce

With his Bachan nearby on the same property, Justin grew up around frequent meals that included his grandfather. The dishes they prepared together gave Judy a direct way to hand Japanese-American traditions and family knowledge forward.

A Bachan's family cooking memory

Childhood work placed Justin inside his family's landscaping business. When holiday sauce-making produced a large quantity, he and his father shared it by taking bottled portions to the company's customers.

The Bachan's family making sauce together

A recipe can carry Bold, Fresh, Umami Flavor™

The connection between generations does not rest only in written history. For Bachan's, cooking and eating together allow inherited stories to become present experiences around the family table.

Justin Gill, Judy Yokoyama, and the Bachan's family

Our Ingredients Matter®

The original recipe from Justin's family remains the standard for Bachan's ingredient decisions. High-quality, non-GMO components enter a cold-fill process designed to make additives, added flavorings and preservatives unnecessary.

Japanese Barbecue Sauces

Green onion, ginger, and garlic
Green Onion, Ginger and Garlic
The aromatic ingredients are a trio of green onion, ginger and organic garlic.
Traditionally brewed soy sauce
Non-GMO Traditionally Brewed Soy Sauce
Bachan's selects premium non-GMO soy sauce made through traditional methods used for hundreds of years.
Aged Japanese mirin
Aged Japanese Mirin
Bachan's family-owned suppliers in Japan provide real mirin after practicing their work for generations.
Organic rice vinegar
Organic Rice Vinegar
Organic rice cultivated in the US is chosen for organic rice vinegar; the rice vinegar is traditionally brewed and rested for a month.

Japanese Dipping Sauces

Stone-ground sesame
Stone Ground Sesame
The sauce gains creamy weight and richness from Neri Goma, its stone-ground roasted sesame.
Crushed sesame seeds
Crushed Sesame Seeds
Real crushed sesame appears as Suri Goma and expands the flavor beyond the first sesame element.
White miso
White Miso
The recipe's white miso combines fermented rice with soybeans for a mild sweet-savory umami note.
Ginger
Ginger
The fresh-feeling, bright edge comes directly from real ginger.