Yum Yum Sauce is the star dipping sauce for everything from veggies to fish and beef. It turns any dish from “ok” to mmmm-azing!
Yum Yum Sauce is a super simple dipping sauce to make and the creamy and savory addition to veggies and seafood that is almost impossible to resist. Using pantry staples like mayonnaise, tomato paste, and butter, and seasoned with spices such as garlic powder, onion powder, and smoked paprika, this Yum Yum Sauce whips up in less than 10 minutes for an addicting side!
Having a Hibachi Night
My family and I love theatrical hibachi! The flames, the food flipping, and the chef’s jokes, it’s all just a really fun evening. While the food is certainly the main reason to go, I have to confess that I am an absolute sucker for the Yum Yum Sauce that they serve with shrimp and veggies. I will drizzle it over everything and dip anything I can into this sauce, it’s that amazing. I probably make this sauce a little too often in my house, but I can’t help it! Besides being addictive, it’s also so simple to make- all I need to do is whip together some mayo, butter, tomato paste, and spices and then I can make Bang Bang Shrimp or stir fry a meal to have with it. Since I’m making this homemade, I can also add some hot sauce or chili flakes for a mouthwatering, spicy Yum Yum Sauce. Shake up your weeknight meals with this easy Yum Yum Sauce and find out for yourself how addictive it is!
Other Recipes to Serve with Yum Yum Sauce
- Shrimp Fried Rice is a perfectly easy weeknight meal that would be dynamite with Yum Yum Sauce! Drizzle it over top or dip your shrimp, you can’t go wrong with how you eat it!
- Take a chance and try Yum Yum Sauce with a batch of Homemade Onion Rings and you’ll fall in love with this sauce and with making your own onion rings!
Ingredients
Condiments: Mayonnaise gives the sauce a deep, creamy base, so you will need your favorite regular mayo for this recipe.
Refrigerated: You will need melted butter.
Pantry Items: You will need tomato paste and sugar. Read the tips section if you don’t have tomato paste.
Seasoning: Garlic powder, onion powder, and smoked paprika are all you need to season this sauce.
Extras: You will need a small amount of water to thin the sauce a little. Also, if you’d like your Yum Yum Sauce with a little kick, you will need either hot sauce, cayenne, or chili flakes.
How to Make Yum Yum Sauce
STEP ONE: You can make this sauce in a medium bowl and whisk it by hand or use an immersion blender. Another way to make this sauce is by adding all of the ingredients to a food processor. Once you’ve decided on the prep method, add all of your ingredients together in a bowl.
STEP TWO: Stir or blend the ingredients until everything is well mixed. Taste a bit of the sauce to determine if you want to add more hot sauce or other spices to turn up the heat.
STEP THREE: If you have time, give the Yum Yum Sauce some time in the fridge to let all of the flavors really come together for a truly outstanding sauce!
Tips for Success
- If you don’t have tomato paste or would just rather use ketchup, don’t add the sugar until you’ve tasted the dip. Ketchup has a lot of sugar already and you don’t want your Yum Yum Sauce to be too sweet. If after tasting the dip you’d like to add a bit more sugar, add 1/4 teaspoon, mix and then taste again and keep repeating until you have the flavor you like.
- Since you are making this at home you can make this as thick or thin as you like. Some people really like a dip that coats and sticks and add just enough water to make it creamy and others like a looser Yum Yum Sauce and add more water. The choice is yours, just mix small amounts of water until you get the consistency you like.
- Don’t forget that you can always kick up the heat on this dip by adding your favorite hot sauce, red chili flakes, or cayenne powder!
Why is it called Yum Yum Sauce?
The answer is in the name! This easy-to-make sauce is a Japanese Steak House staple in America and is wildly popular because of its savory, tangy flavor and the fact that it is the perfect side to veggies and fish. Thanks to Terry Ho, who decided to bottle and brand Yum Yum Sauce, we can purchase Yum Yum Sauce at most grocery stores to enjoy at home, but I promise, this homemade version is spectacular.
Does Yum Yum Sauce need to be refrigerated?
Yum Yum Sauce is mayonnaise-based so this sauce does need to be refrigerated. If kept in an airtight container it will stay good for two weeks.
Need some delicious ideas for what to dip into Yum Yum Sauce?
- Quick Shrimp Stir Fry
- Air Fryer Blooming Onion
- Coconut Shrimp
- Super Simple Grilled Summer Veggies
- Air Fryer Green Beans
*This post was originally posted on 10/22/2017.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 16 ounces mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste or ketchup
- 2 tablespoons butter melted
- 1 tablespoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- ¼ cup water
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar less if you use ketchup
- Hot sauce (optional)
- Cayenne pepper (optional)
- Red chili flakes (optional)
Instructions
- Add all of the ingredients to a medium bowl or a small food processor. Stir or blend to combine.
- Check the seasoning. If you want the sauce spicier add in some hot sauce, cayenne pepper, or chili flakes to taste. For a slightly sweeter sauce add 1/4 teaspoon of sugar. Mix the sauce once more.
- Pour the yum yum sauce in an airtight container and allow it to sit overnight for best results.
Jenny Carbajal says
Have to say tried this and it was so yummy Thankyou !!! Added cayenne instead of paprika because it’s what I had but my toddler approved it was so good
Pam says
I love this sauce. I make in very small batches and bigger ones depending on who I’m feeding. You just kinda gotta work with the seasoning for your own taste.i like mine spicy..
Ron says
So good! I’ve been spending way too much for this stuff at the stores. We added a pinch of salt, but otherwise just halved the recipe. Thanks for sharing- ignore the negativity, this was great!
Patricia McCoy says
This is my go-to yum yum sauce recipe. Thank you for sharing! Now that I’ve gotten comfortable with the basic recipe here, I also like to add some flare by adding ground ginger or some sriracha to spice it up. This is a VERY good recipe, just the way it is.
Kate says
I made this and my husband and I ended up liking it better then the sauce from the store. Thank you so much for sharing! I love that we can tweak it and make it just the right flavor for our little family.
Robert says
I was raised in Japan, and lived there for 9 years. I’m also an excellent cook especially with oriental dishes. Your recipe is excellent. The people with the negative comments either did something wrong with the recipe, or have periodontal disease, or other disease that affects taste.
Cheyenne says
Cut the recipe in half but used only 5 ounces of mayo, still tasted a lot like mayo. Skipped out on the onion powder because I didn’t have any on hand. Still tastes ok after I added extra paprika and garlic powder!
Atlas says
I think a tablespoon of smoked paprika is a bit too much. I think it should be a teaspoon instead. I also missed a little acid so I added some rice vinegar. Other than that the recipe was fantastic.
No one in particular says
This sauce was terrible, not even close. Don’t even try making it, it ruined sushi night
Hannah says
I think the key is letting it sit in the fridge overnight .. it tastes like seasoned mayo when you first make it but it is wonderful the next day! I’m vegan and I made it with vegan mayo and vegan butter it was awesome just how I remember yum yum sauce tasting! Thanks for the recipe (also I didn’t add any hot sauce or pepper flakes)
stephen martin says
I own a food truck and service hibachi style food and I love this recipe and so do all my
Customers. So if you don’t like, maybe you didn’t follow the recipe correctly.
Erica says
I mixed Mayo, ketchup, a little sugar, garlic & onion powder and a shake of sriracha seasoning and it was great even without letting it sit overnight! Thanks for the easy and delicious sauce for our shrimp!
Arthur Frymyer says
I made this exactly per directions and it seemed to be missing something. There is no salt in it. I thought about adding vinegar, but decided against it. Then I added some crab/seafood seasoning (probably a knockoff of Old Bay. Ingredients list celery salt, black pepper, paprika, ginger, etc.) Not sure how much, I just sprinkled it in. I’d guess about a teaspoon. Stirred it up and it was AWESOME! We’ll definitely be having fish and seafood more often!
fred says
Out of all the recipes I have tried and the bottled brands at the grocery store’s, I thought this one was the best. Some of the others had added vinegar which i did not want. i added a little less garlic powder and paprika. I like the sweet taste of yum yum sauce served at some restaurants.
Robert L. W says
Made this for Japanese tacos, added 1tsp ginger and 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice. Refrigerated for 1 hour. It made a delicous binder for my grilled chicken Japanese tacos!
Erika says
I made this and thought it was awesome!! Keeping it cool overnight really helped and we added a little garlic to ours. Easy and yummy!!
Aubrey Cota says
Nice, thank you!
M Dianne Berry ( CookieZeal) says
Made this last night only going by my taste sensory…came pretty close! Instead of sugar added, I added a shot of Asian sesame dressing.
Thank you for putting this up so we can utilize simple condiments for what most are willing to pay top dollar for!
CookieZeal ( Dianne Berry) says
Thank you for taking time to share this. Folks will pay top dollar for something that takes only everyday simple condiments!
I made some last night based on my taste sensory and pleased to have come dern close. Instead of sugar, I gave it a shot of Asian sesame salad dressing.
Karen M. Chapman says
Now I know what I’m making for dinner next week! Yum!
Aubrey Cota says
Alright! I love when I can plan ahead.
johnny says
good lord – we made this and it tastes like a bowl of seasoned mayonnaise and has NOTHING in common with yum yum sauce at a hibachi joint OR yum yum sauce in a bottle from my local grocery store.
My wife was SUPER disappointed
Aubrey Cota says
I’m sorry to hear this didn’t work out the way you hoped. However I would encourage you to make it again, maybe add more of ingredients you like best and see if that changes your mind, keep in mind leaving it to refrigerate overnight definitely does make a difference. Good luck!
Crystal says
Make it the day before and let the flavors marinate. It tastes better
Cole says
yea I had the same results
kyle says
A tablespoon of smoked paprika is way too much; it’s all I could taste/smell. If you want to give the recipe another shot with a teaspoon that might work better.
Trista S. says
Agreed! 1 TBS of smoked paprika is WAY too much. I would also suggest using regular not smoked paprika as that smoked flavor can be overbearing. And leaving it sit overnight is key so that the onion & garlic powders “dissolve” and the flavors marry together.