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WOW! I just had to say…I “cleaned” the spoon before placing in the sink. This sauce is amazing! So happy I tried it. I love your recipes and I’m making this with the Korean BBQ beef tonight-yay!
I Want To Put This Yum Yum Sauce On Everything
Yum Yum Sauce is a) the best name ever, and b) what is often served at Japanese hibachi restaurants, and also, as I found out last weekend, at fun hipster restaurants with ethnic fusion food. How amazing is it that the GIVEN NAME of this sauce is Yum Yum Sauce? I did not make that up, friends. Yum Yum Sauce. It’s like it just waiting for me to find it.
I am going super minimal on this post because it’s actually a lead in to a more comprehensive recipe post involving a Korean BBQ beef rice bowl situation (no but I’m serious tho) so in order to have this sauce at the ready, I thought I’d list it as its own post.
Please, I urge you, stop reading right now and get outside. Grill something. Pick something fresh from your garden. Or your neighbor’s garden. Or the grocery store’s garden. Whip up this sauce in 5 minutes flat and then go eat all the things with it and summerrrrrrr the night away.
Summer, we love you. ♡
Ingredients In Yum Yum Sauce
Yum Yum Sauce is a mix of just a few wonderfully delicious, simple things. Like, so simple that you probably have all these things already on hand to whip this up whenever the moment strikes! Here’s what you need:
- Mayonnaise
- Ketchup
- Sugar
- Spices (paprika and garlic powder)
- Rice wine vinegar
- Toasted sesame oil
- Salt
All you need to do is combine them in a bowl and mix. That’s… literally it! You’re done!
What To Eat with Yum Yum Sauce
What I love about this sauce is that it really is all-purpose, but I especially love it on proteins and rice. Here are a few ideas for how to enjoy it:
- Rice Bowls (like these Korean BBQ yum yum bowls)
- Chicken and Steak (think hibachi!)
- Tofu (this chili crunch tofu is SO good with it)
- Veggies (I love this with some broccoli!)
- Tacos and burritos (like these Korean beef tacos or burritos)
- Burgers (like these chicken teriyaki burgers with slaw)
Leftovers and Storage
If I’m thinking far enough ahead, I actually like to make this in advance to let the flavors really mingle together before storing. Usually just 30 minutes to an hour ahead of time!
If you have leftovers and want to keep this on hand for meals throughout the week, it will keep in an airtight container for up to a week in the fridge.
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5 Minute Yum Yum Sauce
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 1 cup sauce 1x
Description
Yum Yum Sauce! just like the sauce from Japanese hibachi restaurants – and it’s SO EASY. Perfect with grilled chicken, steak, veggies, rice bowls, wraps, and more.
Ingredients
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons ketchup
- 1 tablespoon sugar*
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar
- 3/4 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons water
Instructions
- Combine Ingredients: Whisk all ingredients together until smooth.
- Store and Serve: That’s it. You’re done. Rock on. You can serve right away, or refrigerate for 30 minutes to an hour prior to serving to let flavors mingle and really pop.
Equipment
Buy Now → 
Buy Now → Notes
Note on Sugar: Storebought Yum Yum Sauce is typically a bit sweeter, so if you would like to increase the sugar, start by adding 1 extra teaspoon, and increase to your liking. Lindsay prefers a bit more savory and finds the 1 tablespoon sugar and the ketchup to add enough sweetness.
I like to leave the water for last so I can control the thickness (sometimes I want it to be more runny to drizzle on things, and sometimes I want it more thick for more of a dip). For the spice mix, I usually just have something on hand that is a generic grill seasoning or chicken seasoning or something and that works just fine. If you don’t have a mix on hand, start with a little garlic powder and then add paprika or cayenne to taste.
- Prep Time: 3 mins
- Cook Time: 2 mins
- Category: Sauce
- Method: Whisk
- Cuisine: Asian-Inspired
Keywords: yum yum sauce, hibachi sauce
One More Thing!
This recipe is part of our Sauces That Make Everything Better roundup. Check it out!
Hi,
I’m wondering if you can share your original Yum Yum Sauce recipe that used butter and tomato paste. Thanks much!
My whole family loves this sauce! It’s on repeat in our house!
I have to admit I significantly changed this recipe. I’m tracking calories and protein so a cup of mayo just wasn’t in the cards.
I swapped the mayo for Greek yogurt and added in just a few tablespoons of mayo. Added rest of ingredients as written. It was really good!
It wasn’t exactly the yum yum sauce of restaurants but it added great flavor and moisture to the teriyaki chicken burgers I made.
Hi,
Is there a way to get the original recipe that called for the seasoning mix, butter, and tomato paste? I had it saved, but the recipe seems to be changed.
Thank you in advance,
Julie
Love this recipe as a starting point to be adjusted to taste, I’ve made it probably 10 times. We do a half batch, substituting greek yogurt for half the mayo. I prefer a little more tomato paste than written and a splash of soya sauce to add depth. Yum, yum!
Hi! Trying to find your roasted portobello mushroom burger that used this yum yum sauce and can’t find it on your site. It and the sauce were delicious and I’d love to make it again. Thanks! Love the recipes, especially the creative veg-forward ones.
I’m amazed. I tried this with 1/4 the scale and added about 1/4 tsp of red wine vinegar (would have used rice vinegar if I had it on hand) and it came out tasting exactly like restaurant quality. great recipe, much better than the store bought brand
Instead of tomato paste and water, do you think Ketchup would work? I don’t usually have tomato paste on hand for the things I normally cook. Thanks!
We think it’s worth a try!
Not sure what I did wrong but this tastes like strangely spiced mayo. I think there should be a lot more tomato paste or paprika. also the all spice mix is so vague
“1 teaspoon all-purpose spice mix (garlic powder, paprika, etc.)”
ummm, isn’t this why I am looking up a RECIPE? I could tell myself to just put some (random) spices in.
Useless “recipe”.
Sorry, I really like you and have used many of your great recipes, even forwarding some to friends, but this was very disappointing.
I mean great recipe if you like the taste of mayo and nothing else.
Would this work with half mayo and half Greek yogurt?
This is definitely a fully mayo-based sauce so wouldn’t recommend it!
I made this and it’s great! My grandkids now call stirfry “ichiban”! (Ourlocal hibachi grill) I freeze the leftover tomato sauce by the teaspoon for next time.
😊
More like bum bum sauce. YUCK.
Melted butter or room temperature butter?
Melted butter for this one. 🙂
I followed the recipe to the dot. Either you never had yum yum sauce or your ingredients are way off. Sorry!
I’m also from Minnesota! Love your blog. How long will this sauce keep for? I eat homemade sushi regularly and am wanting to store this in a small jar in the fridge, just curious how long you’d think it’d store for? If the mayo that was used is brand new/fresh mayo?
can not wait to try your recipes. A fellow Minnesotian!
Love this sauce
Oh my gosh! That sauce from Japanese Hibachi Restaurants is my favorite too! I can never have enough of it, and always ask for extra sauce. It’s so good, I don’t even touch the other sauce they serve…you know the one…the boring sauce. Anyway, that pink sauce (yum yum) really makes all their meats and veggies delicious. So good!
Every recipe I’ve seen so far on internet for Yum Yum has a form of tomatoes in it. The Yum Yum in my city all are completely white with no tomato in them. Does anyone have a completely while recipe?
I can’t have mayo (recently discovered egg allergy) & haven’t yet found a vegan one I like yet. Do you think this would work with your 5 minute cashew sauce recipe in place of the mayo? I ❤️❤️❤️ Yum yum sauce & NEED to figure out how to make it! Thanks!
Looks great! Making it to go with your instant pot Korean beef tacos.
Is there something that I could substitute tomato paste with? Perhaps chili paste, ketchup, or Worcestershire?
Yum yum sauce true to its name!!
Just made this and it’s so good! I added a splash of lime juice, a little sriracha, and a tiny bit more water to thin mine. Planning to have it on your korean tacos tonight and everything else for the next week! The spice blend I added was Penzeys Northwoods seasoning.