Judy's Legacy in Every Chapter

The founder and his Bachan

Justin Gill leads Bachan's as founder and CEO, yet the recipe reaches back beyond its modern bottle. Bachan means grandma, and Bachan's Japanese Barbecue Sauce comes from a family preparation passed onward for generations.

Justin Gill with his Bachan, Judy Yokoyama

Judy Yokoyama gave the word Bachan a specific person in Justin Gill's life. Judy Yokoyama's story begins in 1936 in Sebastopol, CA, passes through a two-year displacement in a Japanese internment camp, and continues as Judy teaches Justin and his parents Japanese barbecue sauce.

Judy Yokoyama packing bottles of the family sauce

Many of Justin's lessons arrived without a formal classroom. His Bachan lived close on the family property, meals frequently included his grandfather, and preparing food with Judy connected him to Japanese-American heritage.

A Bachan's family cooking memory

The sauce first traveled through relationships already built by the family's landscaping company, where Justin had helped since childhood. Each holiday, Justin and his father delivered customer bottles after the family finished a sizable batch.

The Bachan's family making sauce together

A familiar recipe returns as Bold, Fresh, Umami Flavor™

Flavor can summon a person, place or gathering that came earlier. Bachan's links that sensory memory with the act of sharing, so food helps traditions cross generational boundaries.

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

Our Ingredients Matter®

Rather than alter Justin's original family recipe to suit a different process, Bachan's chooses high-quality, non-GMO ingredients and cold-fills the sauce. That method eliminates the need for preservatives, additives and flavorings.

Japanese Barbecue Sauces

Green onion, ginger, and garlic
Green Onion, Ginger and Garlic
The organic garlic provides one part of an aromatic mix with ginger and green onion.
Traditionally brewed soy sauce
Non-GMO Traditionally Brewed Soy Sauce
A traditional process used for hundreds of years is the basis for Bachan's premium non-GMO soy sauce.
Aged Japanese mirin
Aged Japanese Mirin
Bachan's selects real mirin in Japan from family-run producers who have sustained the method for generations.
Organic rice vinegar
Organic Rice Vinegar
Following traditional brewing, a month of aging completes organic rice vinegar from selected organic rice grown in the US.

Japanese Dipping Sauces

Stone-ground sesame
Stone Ground Sesame
Richness, creaminess and body are supplied by Neri Goma, the stone-ground roasted sesame component.
Crushed sesame seeds
Crushed Sesame Seeds
Suri Goma brings real crushed sesame alongside the other sesame ingredient for greater flavor layering.
White miso
White Miso
The fermented rice and soybeans produce the white miso responsible for mild sweetness, savoriness and umami.
Ginger
Ginger
The bright final note is sharpened by the zest of real ginger.