Delicious Vegan Yum Yum Sauce
Yum Yum Sauce is a delightful Japanese steakhouse sauce that’s perfect for drizzling over sushi, rice bowls, noodles, meats, and seafood. This version is vegan, tangy, and a little less sweet than you might find in a restaurant!
Why You’ll Love This
This scrumptious Yum Yum Sauce is one of my go-to kitchen secrets. It has the magical ability to make even the most stubborn vegetable lovers swoon. Once it’s drizzled on your dish, you can be sure that everything on the plate will vanish in no time!
Similar to Sriracha Mayo, it only takes about 5 minutes to whip up and features a creamy, tangy flavor along with just the right amount of heat and sweetness. Recently, we’ve been drizzling it over poke bowls, pairing it with Tofu Katsu, and using it to add flavor to sticky glazed Tofu Bowls.
This plant-based twist on yum yum sauce utilizes vegan mayonnaise, although you can stick to regular mayonnaise if you prefer. I’ve also reduced the sweetness compared to typical store-bought versions, allowing you to customize the heat and sweetness to your individual liking!
Yum Yum Sauce Ingredients
- Mayonnaise: Use regular mayo or vegan mayo, depending on your preference!
- Sriracha: Spice things up by using Sriracha, or try Sambal Oelek or Garlic Chili Sauce.
- Soy Sauce: Or opt for gluten-free liquid aminos to enhance the umami flavor.
- Tomato Paste: Optional but adds depth and color—substitute with ketchup if desired.
- Maple Syrup: For a hint of sweetness; can be substituted with sugar or honey.
- Rice Vinegar: Adds acidity and a lovely tang to the sauce.
- Ginger Paste: Fresh ginger will work too; you can also use ground ginger.
How to Make Yum Yum Sauce
1. Gather Your Ingredients
In a small bowl, combine all the ingredients for the sauce.
2. Whisk Together
Use a whisk to mix everything until it’s well combined.
3. Adjust Consistency
For a pourable sauce, add water one teaspoon at a time until you achieve your desired consistency. If you’re using it as a dip, you can skip this step.
4. Taste and Adjust
Give your sauce a taste and adjust the Sriracha, vinegar, or sweetness as needed to suit your palate.
Variations
Feel free to personalize your Yum Yum Sauce with these ideas!
- Make it Vegan or Gluten-Free: Just use vegan mayo and gluten-free liquid aminos.
- Make it Extra Spicy: Pump up the heat by increasing the amount of your preferred hot sauce.
- Adjust the Sweetness: Increase the maple syrup for a sweeter sauce, or swap it for regular sugar or brown sugar!
- Experiment with Spices: Garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, or cayenne can add fantastic flavors.
- Use Ketchup: Ketchup can replace tomato paste, but it usually contains added sugars.
- Turn it into a Dressing: Boost the vinegar and add water to make a delicious salad dressing!
Storing Your Sauce
Leftover Yum Yum Sauce can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 10 days in a sealed container. For longer shelf life, consider using ground ginger and doubling the vinegar!
Ways to Use Yum Yum Sauce
The possibilities are endless when it comes to this zesty sauce! Drizzle it on sushi, rice bowls, poke, roasted veggies, or seafood. Here are some delicious suggestions:
- Sushi and sashimi
- Grilled or roasted seafood
- Rice and vegetable bowls
- Fried or grilled chicken
- As a dip for fresh veggies
FAQs
Not quite! While sriracha and mayo are present in the recipe, yum yum sauce also contains soy sauce, tomato paste, maple syrup, rice vinegar, and ginger paste.
The flavor profile of this sauce is a wonderful blend of sweetness, savories, spices, and acidity!
You can pair it with practically anything! It’s fantastic on grilled meats, sushi, seafood, roasted vegetables, and rice bowls.
Sometimes yum yum sauce is referred to as white sauce, pink sauce, or sakura sauce.
Absolutely! You can increase the amount of Sriracha or incorporate chili garlic sauce to give it that extra kick.
