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This homemade Yum Yum Sauce is creamy, slightly sweet, tangy, and full of garlic flavor. It takes just a few minutes to mix together and is perfect with chicken, shrimp, steak, vegetables, rice, and all your favorite hibachi-style meals.
I first tried Yum Yum Sauce at a restaurant near me called Osaka, and I had to recreate it at home. As a mom of five, I love easy sauces you can make ahead and use throughout the week. While you’ll usually find Yum Yum sauce at Japanese steakhouses or Hibachi restaurants, it’s very easy to make at home, from scratch! I love drizzling it over rice bowls with Teriyaki Steak or Miso Salmon, where it adds a balanced, sweet, and creamy flavor.
As a certified nutrition coach, I appreciate being able to make simple homemade versions of sauces, so I know exactly what goes into them. This one is creamy, flavorful, and easy to adjust to your taste.
What Is Yum Yum Sauce?
Yum Yum Sauce is a creamy, Japanese steakhouse-style sauce commonly served with hibachi chicken, steak, shrimp, rice, and vegetables.
It’s usually made with a mayonnaise base and has a slightly sweet, tangy, garlicky flavor. It’s also sometimes called hibachi sauce, Japanese steakhouse sauce, or shrimp sauce.
It’s so easy to make at home, and you can adjust the sweetness, garlic, and consistency to your liking.
Recipe Overview
A Few Key Ingredients
Below are the key ingredients you’ll need to make Yum Yum Sauce. The full quantities can be found in the recipe card further down the post.
Mayonnaise: Forms the creamy base for the sauce. I like to use mayonnaise made with avocado oil, which contains healthy fats, but Kewpie mayo is usually used (and it’s delicious!). You may swap some of the mayo for Greek yogurt to boost the protein content.
Ketchup: Brings a sweet-tart flavor to the yum yum sauce.
Sugar: A little granulated sugar balances the savory and acidic flavors. You can use honey or maple syrup instead, though it will make the sauce taste a little different.
Seasonings: A mixture of onion powder, sweet paprika, and garlic powder creates layers of savory, moreish flavor in the sauce.
Rice vinegar: The acidity of the rice vinegar offsets the sweetness of the sugar. You may use lime juice, white wine vinegar, or apple cider vinegar instead (though you may need a little less).
Tips for the Best Yum Yum Sauce
- Start With Less Water: It’s easy to thin the sauce, but you can’t take the water back out. Start with 1 to 2 tablespoons and add more until you get the consistency you want.
- Let It Chill: The sauce tastes better after sitting in the refrigerator for a little while. It also gives the garlic and seasonings time to blend into the mayonnaise.
- Adjust It to Your Taste. Want it sweeter? Add a little more sugar. Want more tang? Add another small splash of rice vinegar. Want more garlic? Add a little extra garlic powder.
- Use Good Mayonnaise: Since mayonnaise makes up most of the sauce, use one you enjoy. Avocado oil mayonnaise and Kewpie mayonnaise are both good options.
What to Serve with Yum Yum Sauce
- Drizzle over my Hibachi Chicken Bowls or Honey Sriracha Chicken Bowls.
- Serve with seafood, like these Air Fryer Salmon Bites, Salmon Sushi Bake, or Blackened Shrimp.
- Spread onto a burger bun and serve up with my Black Bean Burgers or Juicy Salmon Burgers.
- Use as a dip with roasted veggies like my Roasted Green Beans or Sweet Potato Fries.
How to Make Yum Yum Sauce
Combine the ingredients. Add the mayonnaise, ketchup, sugar, onion powder, paprika, garlic powder, and rice vinegar to a bowl. Whisk until smooth and completely combined.
Adjust the Consistency: Add cold water 1 tablespoon at a time, whisking until the sauce reaches your desired consistency.
For dipping, I like keeping it fairly thick. If you’re drizzling it over rice or vegetables, you may want to thin it out a little more.
Chill Before Serving: Cover and refrigerate the sauce for at least 30 minutes if you have time. This gives the flavors a chance to come together.
You can serve it right away, but I think it tastes even better after it has chilled.
Recipe Notes
- Storage: Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week. Freezing is not recommended.
- Make it spicy: Add a splash of sriracha or a pinch of cayenne.
- Make it smoky: Swap some of the ketchup for your favorite smoky BBQ sauce.
- Add more savory flavor: Whisk in 1 tablespoon of miso paste for a salty, savory flavor boost.
- Make it vegan: Use a plant-based mayonnaise.
Questions I Get Asked a Lot
No, Yum Yum sauce is usually not spicy, although that can vary by brand if you use store-bought. You can always add sriracha if you want more heat.
No, both are sweet, tangy, mayonnaise-based sauces used in American-Asian dishes but with different flavor profiles. Bang Bang Sauce tends to have a bit of heat coming from the addition of sweet chili sauce and sriracha. Yum Yum sauce is mild, with no chili added.
I don’t recommend freezing yum yum sauce. The mayonnaise can separate when frozen and thawed, which can change the texture and make the sauce watery or lumpy. It’s quick enough to make fresh, so I prefer making a batch and keeping it refrigerated.
Yes. In fact, I recommend making it ahead of time when you can. The flavors have more time to blend together as the sauce sits in the refrigerator.
Add cold water, one tablespoon at a time, until it reaches the consistency you want.
Yes. You can reduce the sugar or replace it with another sweetener such as honey or maple syrup. Keep in mind that this will slightly change the flavor and consistency of the sauce.
More Homemade Sauces
- Taco Sauce
- Copycat Cane’s Sauce
- Cocktail Sauce
- Bang Bang Sauce
- Peri Peri Sauce
- Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce
- Big Mac Sauce
- In-N-Out Sauce
Thank you so much for being here and for cooking along with me. If you try this recipe, I’d love to hear how it turned out. Leave a comment and ⭐️ rating below.
Homemade Yum Yum Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 cup avocado oil mayonnaise, or Kewpie mayo
- 2 tablespoons ketchup
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 tablespoon sweet paprika
- 2 teaspoons rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2-4 tablespoons cold water as needed
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 cup avocado oil mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons ketchup, 1 tablespoon sugar, ½ teaspoon onion powder, 1/2 tablespoon sweet paprika, 2 teaspoons rice vinegar, 2 teaspoons garlic powder, until smooth. Whisk in 2-4 tablespoons cold water, starting with with 1 tablespoon of water and add more as needed to reach your desired consistency.
- Refrigerate the sauce for at least 1 hour before serving to let the flavors develop.
- Store any leftovers in an airtight container or jar in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Start with 1 to 2 tablespoons of water and add more as needed to reach your preferred consistency.
- Chill the sauce for at least 30 minutes for the best flavor.
- Use avocado oil mayonnaise or Kewpie mayonnaise.
- Add cayenne, sriracha, or hot sauce if you want a spicy sauce.
- Store covered in the refrigerator and use within 5 to 7 days.
- Do not freeze, as the mayonnaise can separate when thawed.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
