One of the easiest condiments you will ever make is this Yum Yum Sauce recipe. It is quickly gaining momentum as one of the most popular sauces that you can make from scratch.
What is Yum Yum Sauce?
It is a Japanese Steakhouse Shrimp Sauce with a mayo base, melted butter, tomato and other spices.
If you have ever been to Japanese hibachi restaurants, you’ve had the pale pink sauce, or as some call it white sauce and others just plain Japanese sauce.
Some refer to it as Yum Yum Sauce, others the seafood sauce and sometimes just the Japanese vegetable sauce, steakhouse sauce, yummy sauce, pink sauce, Sakura sauce or hibachi shrimp sauce.
Whatever you call it, this hibachi sauce is served in many Japanese restaurants and hibachi grills can be quite addictive and end up on much more of your food than just seafood. I happen to like it on hibachi chicken, crab cakes and also as a salad dressing.
In fact, some folks swear by it, blending it with fried rice and dipping everything on their dish in it. Honestly, I think some people crave the sauce, more than the actual meal.
What You’ll Need
This tangy yum yum sauce is made from simple ingredients. A full list of ingredients with measurements for this recipe is available in the printable recipe card below.
- Mayonnaise (a blend of egg yolks and oil) – One of the main ingredients, this is the creamy base of the sauce. And guess what? I actually suggest using a crappy mayo.
- Tomato paste or tomato sauce
- Butter
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Smoked paprika
- Sugar
- Hot sauce or sriracha sauce
- Salt – I don’t usually add additional salt to this recipe, but if you feel it needs some after tasting, try adding some kosher salt.
- Seasonings – Some recipes call for cayenne pepper, but I prefer mine to be smoky and sweet, not spicy. If you like the heat, go ahead and add it! Also taste it and season to your preference for salt and pepper.
- Swaps – While I don’t suggest it, you can use ketchup, tomato paste or even sweet chili sauce. Ketchup will give you the sweetest flavor. You can also add a small amount of sugar to tomato paste. Chili sauce will be zingy.
- Senses – Yum yum sauce is creamy and smooth, with a savory-sweet aroma and a hint of tang. On the tongue, it’s rich and velvety, blending garlic, spice, and a touch of sugar for a bold, addictive flavor.
How to Use It
Don’t just serve yum yum sauce with Japanese food, this is a fantastic dipping sauce or slathering sauce for so many things. Here are a few of our favorites.
- French fries
- Onion rings
- Fried Green Tomatoes
- Grilled veggies
- Salad dressing
- With sushi
- Pot stickers Dipping Sauce
- Japanese Fried Chicken
- Gourmet burgers
- Hot dogs
- Paninis or deli sandwiches
- Grilled Chicken
- Oven Baked Potatoes
- On a poke bowl
- Spring Roll Dipping Sauce
Yum Yum Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 cups mayonnaise
- ¼ cup water
- 3 tablespoons sugar less if you use ketchup
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste or ketchup*
- 2 tablespoons butter melted
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- Hot sauce cayenne, dried red pepper flakes, optional
Instructions
- Combine mayonnaise, tomato paste, melted butter, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, water, sugar and hot sauce in a small food processor. Blend well.
- For best results, allow sauce to chill and flavors to marry for at least 1 hour.
- If you’ve tried this recipe, come back and let us know how it was in the comments or ratings.
Notes
Use bottled ketchup or our homemade ketchup recipe!
Nutrition
Storage and Freezing
You can store leftover sauce, covered, in the fridge for up to a week. Give it a good stir before using.
I do not recommend freezing any mayonnaise based sauces. But I’ve also never heard of anyone having leftovers… even when they made a double batch!
Please, please make this ahead of time! The flavors will be so much better if they have time to sit and mingle with each other. You can make it and eat it right away, but it won’t have the same impact. Store in an airtight container or a an airtight jar.
Frequently Asked Questions
You probably did nothing wrong! Every single Japanese Hibachi joint has its own recipe for their white sauce, seafood sauce or yum yum sauce depending on what they call it. Yours is probably just a little different than mine. Play with the amounts of ingredients to get the right flavor.
Cut back on the tomato paste, tomato sauce or paprika.
Add hot paprika or more hot sauce.
Double the sugar and omit the hot sauce. Also option to add crushed red pepper flakes.
I would garnish with a few sesame seeds, either regular or black and serve your dipping sauce as a duo with either a good quality soy sauce or tonkatsu sauce.
More Homemade Sauces
If you know me, you know how much I love a good sauce. If you do too, here are some of our favorite that we know you’ll love too.
