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What is Ponzu Sauce?

Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon

Ponzu sauce is a Japanese dressing and marinade that is similar to soy sauce, but has a distinctive tangy, often acidic flavor. Cooks both within Japan and around the world use it in a variety of dishes. On its own, it is a popular dipping sauce for seafood or small appetizers, though it is also used as a glaze for meats, particularly barbecue; as marinade for fish; or as an addition to any number of salads.

Primary Ingredients

Steak prepared with ponzu sauce.
Steak prepared with ponzu sauce.

Many food experts refer to ponzu sauce as “soy sauce plus,” and for good reason since ponzu’s base is little more than basic soy. Most ponzu sauces are made with bonito, or dried fish flakes, which add saltiness, as well as mirin rice wine which adds a vinegary complexity. Yuzu, an Asian citrus, brings acidity and tang.

Commercial and Home Production

Ponzu sauce can be used for dipping.
Ponzu sauce can be used for dipping.

With the right ingredients, it is relatively easy to make the sauce at home. Modern cooks often start by heating commercial soy sauce, then progressively add additional ingredients. Traditionalists will often start with their own soy brews, though this is much more time-consuming. The finished sauce is usually allowed to simmer, then cool for quite some time — often a day or more — before serving. This allows the flavors to percolate and infuse.

Ponzu sauce may be added to salads.
Ponzu sauce may be added to salads.

Ponzu sauce is also commercially produced, often by the same manufacturers who make soy sauce. Store-bought versions are necessarily a bit different from homemade, since commercial manufacturers usually make very large batches of sauce at once and frequently add preservatives and chemical balances to prolong shelf life. Ready-made sauce is often more practical and convenient, however, particularly for cooks outside of Japan where ingredients like bonito flakes, yuzu, and mirin are not widely available.

Common Uses

Ponzu sauce may be added to an ordinary salad dressing to give it a more tangy flavor.
Ponzu sauce may be added to an ordinary salad dressing to give it a more tangy flavor.

Japanese cooks use ponzu sauce as something of an all-purpose flavor booster. A few dashes are often added to soups as they simmer, or to meats before they are cooked. A great many dishes call for small amounts of the sauce, though the sauce can also be served on its own, usually as a dip.

The sauce is by no means limited to use in Japanese dishes, and its commercial availability in most markets has meant that chefs all over the world can use it inventively as an accompaniment to their own cuisines. Marinating a steak in ponzu, for instance, can lend a deliciously tangy flavor; the same is true for adding the sauce to an ordinary salad dressing. Ponzu can be a quick and easy way to add Asian flavor to a variety of different foods.

Substitutions and Alterations

Home cooks can modify the strength and potency of their sauce by controlling the proportion of ingredients. Tartness, saltiness, and general runniness can all be controlled by adding more or less citrus, mirin, or bonito.

Cooks who are unable to find the sauce — and who do not want to try their hand at making it from scratch — can often recreate the basic taste by adding a bit of citrus juice, usually lime, to ordinary soy sauce. Soy sauce is widely available around the world. Simmering the soy with lime and a bit of rice or white vinegar comes even closer to the authentic taste.

Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon

Ever since she began contributing to the site several years ago, Mary has embraced the exciting challenge of being a DelightedCooking researcher and writer. Mary has a liberal arts degree from Goddard College and spends her free time reading, cooking, and exploring the great outdoors.

Learn more...
Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon

Ever since she began contributing to the site several years ago, Mary has embraced the exciting challenge of being a DelightedCooking researcher and writer. Mary has a liberal arts degree from Goddard College and spends her free time reading, cooking, and exploring the great outdoors.

Learn more...

Discussion Comments

momothree

@grumpyguppy: That sounds like great fun! I bet you have some amazing meals! I have a recipe for ponzu sauce. It isn’t the actual Japanese recipe because it doesn’t contain yuzu but it’s a close second.

You need 3 tbsp. mirin (sweet rice wine), 2 tbsp. rice vinegar, 1 tbsp. soy sauce, 2 tbsp. bonito flakes, and ¼ cup lime juice (in place of the yuzu). Combine the mirin, soy sauce, bonito flakes, and vinegar in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. After it boils, remove from heat and let cool. Strain your sauce into a bowl and throw away the bonito flakes. Add the lime juice. It’s ready! You can store it in the fridge for about 3 days.

GrumpyGuppy

My husband and I are in a local cooking group called International Cuisine. We take turns cooking dinner at each couple's home. Each week, the dinner theme is different. My husband and I have to prepare a Japanese dinner in a couple of weeks and I am looking for a recipe for ponzu sauce. Any ideas?

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    • Steak prepared with ponzu sauce.
      By: Arnold Gatilao
      Steak prepared with ponzu sauce.
    • Ponzu sauce can be used for dipping.
      By: Arnold Gatilao
      Ponzu sauce can be used for dipping.
    • Ponzu sauce may be added to salads.
      By: msheldrake
      Ponzu sauce may be added to salads.
    • Ponzu sauce may be added to an ordinary salad dressing to give it a more tangy flavor.
      By: SunnyS
      Ponzu sauce may be added to an ordinary salad dressing to give it a more tangy flavor.