This homemade Yum Yum Sauce tastes just like the one you get in famous Japanese Hibachi Steakhouse. Tangy, sweet and savoury, this mayo based sauce comes together in just 5 minutes. Here is how to make it.
Homemade sauce recipes tastes the best, as they are fresh and prepared with high quality ingredients. So try a few more of my tried and tested sauces, that you will definitely love – Bang Bang Sauce, Boom Boom Sauce, Gochujang Dipping Sauce, Harissa Sauce, Peri Peri Sauce, Thai Sweet Chilli Sauce and Green Chilli Sauce.
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About This Recipe
This Yum Yum Sauce will blow your minds with its incredible taste, creamy texture and amazing flavours. Extremely popular in Japanese hibachi steakhouses, drizzle it on grilled meats, prawns, seafood, vegetables, rice, noodles or anything you want!
It is also called sakura sauce, seafood sauce, or shrimp sauce and is a blend of creamy, sweet, spicy and sour flavours that makes everything yummy.
Making at home will also give you a better tasting sauce than the store bought one. The home version uses high quality and fresh ingredients, is economical and free of any artificial colours and preservatives.
This Yum Yum Sauce is,
- Gluten-Free
- Keto-Friendly
- Addictive
- Easy to make
- Made from scratch
- Just like your Hibachi restaurant
Origin
Although this sauce is a famous Japanese Steakhouse sauce, it didn’t originate in Japan.
It was originated in the West and is famous in the US and Canada. You may not find it in restaurants in Japan. However, it’s an important dip in all the Japanese restaurants in the US.
Ingredients
The ingredients to make this sauce are basic.
It is made of mayonnaise, tomato paste, paprika, cayenne, garlic powder, onion powder, butter, sugar, water, and salt to taste.
Mayonnaise: Japanese Mayonnaise is popularly used in the steakhouses, but even the regular mayo just works fine in this recipe. Use plain mayonnaise to make this sauce. It will help you get the flavour you want and not overpower any other flavour.
It is better if you can use a store-bought mayo instead of homemade to get the best result.
Use a full-fat mayonnaise if you want for the best flavour. You can use eggless mayonnaise to make an eggless version.
Tomato Paste: Tomato paste is an important ingredient of this sauce. It adds the tartness to the sauce that you need.
It is the tomato paste that renders the beautiful pink colour to this sauce. Try to use tomato paste for the best results and not replace it with ketchup.
Paprika: Paprika adds to the pink colour of the sauce and adds a subtle hint of spiciness. You can choose either plain or smoked paprika.
Cayenne: To make your sauce a little spicy and hot, add cayenne. It will bring a balance to the otherwise creamy and sweet sauce. You can add as much depending on how much heat you want to add to the sauce.
Butter: Butter is the most important ingredient. You can’t skip it if you want the authentic yum yum sauce.
Make sure your butter is soft and melted before you mix it, but it shouldn’t be hot. If it is firm and solid, you will have butter chunks in your sauce.
Sugar: You will need to use a little sugar to bring a balance as tomato paste is tart and will make your sauce tart otherwise.
I sometimes add a little rice vinegar and sake to my sauce for that unique Asian flavor but you can totally choose to skip them.
How to make Yum Yum Sauce?
Whisk the mayonnaise until it is smooth and creamy.
Add all the remaining ingredients and whisk well.
Refrigerate in an airtight container.
Frequently asked Questions:
If you don’t have tomato paste available, you can use ketchup instead. It might not fetch you the best result but it is close enough.
When you are using ketchup, remember not to use sugar, as ketchup has sugar already.
You can use vegan mayo instead of mayo and coconut oil instead of butter to make a vegan version of the same.
Serving Suggestions
- It is versatile sauce and pairs well with many things.
- You can serve this sauce with steamed shrimps, fried rice, vegetables, potato wedges, fish fingers, baked potatoes, stir-fries, and chicken.
- You can even use it with your steaks, wraps, and sandwiches. Serve it with your starters and with mains.
- It pairs well with any grilled stuff. Be it chicken, beef, pork shrimp or veggies, just serve this sauce along.
- You can also serve it on the side with sushi and rice balls or use a dip for dim-sums, wontons, and potstickers.
- It can be slathered on hamburgers and hot dogs too.
- Serve it as a dip with baked potatoes, french fried, potato wedges or any other deep fried snacks/appetisers.
- You can thin it a bit with warm water and use it as a salad dressing.
Storage Suggestions
It is so easy to make this sauce that you actually don’t need to store it. You can make it fresh anytime you want.
If you still need to make it ahead of time, then store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator. If you won’t refrigerate it, it will go bad and spoil. Refrigerate it for up to a week.
It doesn’t freeze well due to mayo as its main ingredients. It will split while you defrost it.
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Recipe Card
Yum Yum Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups Mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp Tomato Paste
- 1 tsp Paprika
- ¼ tsp Cayenne
- ½ tsp Garlic Powder
- ½ tsp Onion Powder
- 1 tbsp Butter (Melted)
- 1 tsp Sugar
- ¼ cup Water
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Whisk the mayonnaise until it is smooth and creamy.
- Add all the remaining ingredients and whisk well.
- Refrigerate in an airtight container.
