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Yum Yum Sauce lives up to the name! This sweet, tangy Japanese steakhouse mayo sauce is easy to make, and you’ll want to put it on everything!
A Reader’s Review
“Delicious!! I love that it doesn’t have as much sodium as the store bought sauce but is still super yummy…. Thank you!”
Why You Need Yum Yum Sauce In Your Life!
- Tried-and-True Ratios! My homemade yum yum sauce recipe has been tested to perfection! I’ve listened, changed up a couple of ratios of the ingredients, and I know you’re gonna LOVE it.
- Game Changer! This sauce is that creamy, tangy, sweet magic you didn’t know you needed. Shrimp, sushi bake, french fries—put it on everything or you’re doing life wrong.
Ingredients Needed
- The Brand of Mayo Matters! Kewpie mayo is the best, but Hellman’s (Best Foods) or Dukes are the next best.
- Make It Spicy! This Yum Yum sauce is delicious as-is, but you can spice it up with cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes!
How to Make Homemade Yum Yum Sauce
This dipping sauce is so easy that you’ll wonder why you’ve waited so long to make it. It will taste better than anything you get at a hibachi restaurant. The exact measurements are in the recipe card below!
- Combine: Whisk together the mayonnaise, rice vinegar, tomato paste, paprika, garlic powder, sugar, and butter in a small bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Chill: Add water as needed to get your desired consistency, then cover and store in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before serving.
Alyssa’s Pro-Tip
Resting is Essential! For the best flavor, I recommend letting it rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before serving.
How to Store Leftovers
- In the Refrigerator: Store this yum yum sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 10 days. However, this is so easy to make; you can make small batches and make it fresh every time you need it.
- Make it Ahead of Time: The longer this sauce sits, the better it gets. Letting it rest gives the flavors time to meld and become even more irresistible!
What to Serve with Yum Yum Sauce
Popular sauces that are made from scratch are so easy and so much better. Think homemade Famous Fry Sauce, Tzatziki Sauce, and Homemade Cheese Sauce. Now the real question—what to serve them with? Here are a few of my faves!
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The Ultimate Yum Yum Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 cup mayonnaise preferably Kewpie brand
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon melted salted butter
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2-3 tablespoons water
Instructions
- In a small bowl, add 1 cup mayonnaise, 1 tablespoon tomato paste, 1 tablespoon rice vinegar , 1 teaspoon paprika, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon melted salted butter, and salt and pepper to taste.
- Whisk to combine, then add 2-3 tablespoons water as needed to reach the desired consistency.
- Cover and store in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before serving to let the flavors meld.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
How long can it be stored
Deb, this yum yum sauce is best stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 10 days. However, this is so easy to make; you can make small batches and make it fresh every time you need it.
I like all of them.
Way too much tomato paste. Not even close the right recipe
Hi Steve, thank you for your comment. You can switch things up to add less tomato paste to make it how you like it. I’m sorry that you didn’t like what you made.
Turned out great! This recipe is a keeper. I used tomato paste in it. Did not add any salt or pepper. Make sure to add the water. ?
Not sure why there were ANY negative reviews about this sauce. I made it as written although I started with only 1T of tomato paste because some said there was too much. I ended up adding the second tablespoon after tasting it. The sweetness is perfect. I didn’t add any water, but I put it in my fridge to set overnight for a cocktail party tomorrow so I may add some after it has been sitting. I think this is delicious and I am using it as a dipping sauce for chilled shrimp tomorrow. I will keep this in my repertoire. Don’t knock it if you don’t make it exactly as it was written.
We wish it could get more stars. I even substituted the sugar for Splenda granulated and it was outstanding! This one gets saved for our kitchen!
Not nearly sweet enough to be called YUM YUM. Try 3T and dextrose is better bc it blends better than wht sugar.
My son loves it. For myself- can it be made with anything other than mayo? I can’t eat the ingredients in mayo. Just asking- thank you
I would try with greek yogurt!
We thought it was perfect, used for our home made sushi rolls. Will make again!
Yum yum sauce is the best with sushi! So happy you liked the recipe.
Thought it was perfect ??
I liked the recipe. Tasting it by itself I thought it was too much tomato paste. However after letting it rest for 30 minutes and putting it on some firecracker chicken with rice, it was delicious. I might try it with only 1/2 or 2/3 the amount of tomato paste the next time. However my thought is that it is worth making again. Thanks for the recipe.
Shocked when I saw the comments were so bad. I kept the proportions but eyeballed everything. You HAVE to let this rest or it tastes really weird. Leave overnight in the fridge, and it’s the closest thing I’ve had to restaurant shrimp sauce.
I also used half and half kewpie and Duke’s mayonnaise.
This came out amazing. Idk what that other comment is talking about. It’s a faint pink like it’s supposed to be. Also if you use kewpie mayo it bumps it up even more. Thanks for the recipe!
This ain’t it. Waaaay too much tomato paste in this recipe. It came out awful until I doubled the mayo and added soy sauce. Still nowhere near the steak house yumyum sauce. But now I have a ton of this garbage and wasted ingredients. I will make due.
Absolutely disgusting. Came out super red and the flavor is just not right at all. Recipes that use ketchup are ten times better