Make your own homemade Yum Yum Sauce when you’re cooking up a stir fry or yummy fried rice at home. This is it, folks! THE sauce that they serve at the Japanese Steakhouse restaurants!
Every time we go to our favorite restaurant I take notes on how they fry up the rice, meat, veggies, etc. They keep the pan HOT, use only soy sauce to season, and cook everything quickly to sear the outside and keep the inside tender. Got it. But they don’t divulge the ingredients for the Yum Yum sauce which really makes the meal.
Have you tried Yum Yum sauce before? It is also called Japanese White Sauce at some restaurants.
Our favorite place that we go to they serves it like ranch. You can use it on your salad, you can dip shrimp in it and you can also pour it over your fried rice. That’s our favorite way to enjoy it. In fact, we can’t even eat fried rice without it so it was imperative that I find a copycat recipe to use at home, haha!
I found this homemade yum yum sauce recipe several years ago and IT. IS. SPOT. ON. And while we miss the show of our chef dicing veggies at a ridiculous speed, stacking onions and lighting them on fire, and the other fun elements of the table show, it is nice to have a more affordable option to enjoy at home.
Scroll down for some FAQ on making yum yum sauce.
Homemade Yum Yum Sauce
Ingredients
- 1-1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 teaspoon ketchup or tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon melted butter
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
Instructions
- Mix ingredients together. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
- *Do not use light mayo.
- *Make sure to refrigerate at least 8 hours.
Can I use light mayonnaise in this Yum Yum sauce recipe?
You can, but it won’t taste as good. We’ve had it both ways and it is definitely better with regular mayonnaise.
How long should I wait before using the Yum Yum sauce?
6 hours or overnight. The flavors need time to really meld before using.
How long will the Yum Yum sauce keep in the refrigerator?
5-7 days.
What can I dip in Yum Yum sauce?
Dipping shrimp, drizzled over salad, as a dipping sauce for French fries. You name it!
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I absolutely love making Chinese food at home and finally took the time to write down my recipes! Below you will find my favorites!
Katy @ Live Laugh Love Craft says
January 31, 2012 at 2:50 amOh yummmm! Would you share how you make the chicken and rice, too? I’d heart you forever. 😉
[email protected] says
January 31, 2012 at 3:20 amOoooh yum! That sauce looks so good!
Dixie Delights says
January 31, 2012 at 12:35 pmthank you thank you! This is my family’s favorite part of the meal 🙂
Rhissanna says
February 2, 2012 at 5:26 amWow! Thank you!
Rachel says
February 2, 2012 at 1:55 pmYou’ve solved the mystery! My husband and I love the Yum Yum sauce at the local hibachi restaurant and I’ve been meaning to try to recreate it at home. Thanks for this – he’ll be thrilled!
Cheryl says
February 4, 2012 at 9:27 amGreat, thanks for sharing, I could put this in a cup and drink it! Gonna pin it
April says
February 6, 2012 at 7:18 pmI was just telling my husband the other day that I wondered how they made this! Thanks for the recipe!
Elizabeth {sunny bug} says
February 16, 2012 at 4:18 amYUM! This might become a requirement for all meals {minus breakfast of course…maybe}. Thanks for the recipe!
Over The Moon Gifts says
February 16, 2012 at 6:43 pmThanks for posting this! I found it on Pintrest. I lightened it up by using fat free mayo and smart balance butter spread. This makes it only 2 Weight Watchers points!
ericrx says
March 20, 2012 at 5:54 pmActually, many times it’s something a lot more simple –> Mayo + Srirachi Sauce. 🙂
thewaytohisheart says
June 7, 2012 at 3:55 pmOh, I’ll have to try this and hope its the same as the one I love. I find most have their own variations. I love the mayo sauce though!
The Blonde in the Office says
June 24, 2012 at 2:07 amYou could probably use greek yogurt instead of mayo if you wanted to cut out some calories and fat. Thanks for posting the seasonings! I loooove this sauce!
MrsKosmo~ says
June 29, 2012 at 8:39 pmHow much does this make? just enough for 2 people/1 meal? thanks for this! plan to try it soon!
Brandy says
July 1, 2012 at 4:02 amMrsKosmo, this makes about 1 c. of sauce. Now I’m not sure how much you SHOULD consider a serving…probably just a tablespoon or two, but I usually use 1/4 cup on my rice. So one recipe could serve 2-4 people easily. At Genji’s (the restaurant that I first had this sauce at), they give you small cups of it that have about 1/4 c. in them.
Ash P says
August 8, 2012 at 5:04 pmThis is similar to the one I make at home. Mine is mayo, ketchup, garlic powder, worcestershire sauce and cayenne.
I’m gonna try this variation!
Mysticsheesh says
August 19, 2012 at 11:31 pmThanks for the recipe but I have to ask… on the page that the link sends us to, did you at least “Buy (the guy) a beer!” via Paypal??? LOL I did!
Christina says
October 28, 2012 at 6:30 pmThis was very good.. I added horseradish to mine to give it extra kick.
Mabani says
October 29, 2012 at 1:56 amThis is definitely an American or stateside version because I had never heard of it nor had it until recently. No where near as good as the Asian ones which are definitely more authentic & better tasting. This is too heavy for real hibachi.
ajillofalltrades says
November 5, 2012 at 3:37 amI have actually perfected this recipe with a couple of adjustments:
I use only 1/8 c. of water and 2.5 tspns. of ketchup instead of tomato paste as it is readily available. I think it helped to lighten up the taste a little (I agreed with Mabani).
Kayla Jordan says
November 5, 2012 at 11:44 pmDo you have a recipe for the brown sauce that is served at most Japanese steakhouses. I love it.
CCKline says
February 11, 2013 at 10:44 pmIt’s got a pretty strong mayo after taste. I may try using less mayo next time.
Haleama says
February 5, 2014 at 1:05 pmThis was amazing thank you for the yum yum sauce!!! Recipe was right on point
Brandy says
February 5, 2014 at 1:12 pmGreat! We love it too. Fried rice isn’t the same without it 🙂 Take care!
Brandy
Michele Schiegner says
May 9, 2014 at 9:15 amI love Chinese, but I have never had any luck cooking it. Your recipes really sound great.
Brandy says
May 9, 2014 at 11:00 amThanks Michele, I hope you have better luck with these if you decide to try one!
Hillbilly says
January 9, 2018 at 11:25 amCalories per serving??
M says
February 26, 2018 at 9:17 amHi Brandy,
Is there a particular reason why you say not to use light mayo for this recipe? I have a bunch that I need to use up, so I figured this sauce would be a good way to do it.
-M
P.S. Any other good ideas to use up a lot of light mayo? (Besides the obvious potato/macaroni salad options)
Brandy says
February 26, 2018 at 4:03 pmHi -M!
We used light mayo once (because it seemed like a better idea!) and it affected the flavor. It was still good, but did not taste like the yum yum sauce from Genji (our favorite Japanese steak house). It seemed like a watered down version. If you need to use it up anyway, go ahead and try it! It doesn’t take a lot of ingredients so if you don’t care for it as much you aren’t wasting much. We just both agreed (my husband and I) that the truly copycat version needed regular mayo. Hope that helps! 🙂
Chris says
March 20, 2018 at 1:07 amYum bloody yum. DELISH…..
EMILY says
January 16, 2019 at 1:17 pmMy family and I love this stuff! We make it all the time. Beats the store bought stuff hands down.
Brandy says
January 16, 2019 at 1:19 pmIt totally does!
Temika says
February 25, 2019 at 11:59 amI will be trying this recipe tonight! My daughter and I love hibachi chicken 🙂
Amy says
May 3, 2019 at 1:21 pmFantastic!!!!
I add a little more garlic and paprika.
I also add about a TBS or to taste of sriracha sauce. It really makes a difference!!!!!!!!!
Thank you!!!
Brandy says
May 3, 2019 at 6:31 pmSriracha sauce is GENIUS! That little kick of heat would be perfect!
Yo says
August 8, 2019 at 1:01 pmWhy does it only last 5 days in fridge???
Brandy says
August 8, 2019 at 5:12 pmI’ve only had it last that long before we’ve used it up. It started to separate, but I gave it a good stir and it was still delicious. I can’t vouch for longer than that since we always use it faster.
Yo says
August 9, 2019 at 8:27 amThanks!