3 Sushi Sauce Recipes
(Updated 08/30/20)
3 recipes posted in as many days! I'm on a roll - a sushi roll, in this case! (Sorry!)
In truth, the recipes I'm posting this week are all in lead-up to a big post I plan to make next week, which will be referring back to all of them. It'll be a fun one! Anyway, *this* post is all about Sushi Sauce Recipes.
We love making sushi at home. While we do tend to stick to a certain few items (Tuna and/or salmon, usually with avocados, cucumber, and/or mango), sometimes we like to branch out and have a bit more fun with it - especially if we're feeding more than just us.
These 3 Sushi Sauce Recipes are super quick and easy to make, and can make the spread a little more polished and impressive, when entertaining. While each has a roll or two that they're traditionally served with, it can be fun to play around with, finding new roll combinations that taste amazing
The Dynamite and Mango sauces are gluten free by default, to make gluten-free eel sauce, just be sure to use a gluten-free soy sauce.
How to Use These 3 Sushi Sauce Recipes
There are two main ways that I’ll serve these sauces:
Squeeze Bottle
I like these squeeze bottles - not only are they good for serving the sauces - being able to easily squeeze a uniform drizzle over the sushi - they’re great for storing them in the fridge, as well!
Pastry Bag
If you have disposable pastry bags on hand - but not the squeeze bottles - this is a good way to be able to drizzle the sauces over sushi.
Just spoon your sauce into a pastry bag, cut the tip off the pastry bag, and drizzle your sauce over the sushi.
This method isn’t great for storage, so I tend to only spoon small amounts into the pastry bag, and just throw out the pastry bag when I’m done. The remaining sauce can be stored in a resealable container in the fridge.
Other Recipes You May Like
Be sure to try my Tuna Avocado Mango Maki, and my Spicy Tuna Maki. If you're feeling ambitious and social, here's the info for our DIY Sushi Potluck parties!
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Dynamite Sauce
Dynamite sauce is SUPER simple sauce to make - it’s only 2 ingredients, and is just stirred together. No cooking required!
This sauce is what you’ll see drizzled over many “spicy” rolls. We also like it on crab or shrimp based rolls... and just in general.
I consider this sauce to be fairly “neutral”, in that garlic and chili pepper basically goes well with anything.
While there are plenty of rolls that don’t necessarily need the addition of dynamite sauce, I can’t think of any that this sauce would clash or otherwise NOT work with.
Dynamite Sauce Ingredients
Mayonaisse
Not a whole lot to say on mayo as an ingredient, TBH.
When it comes to Dynamite Sauce, I find that the more basic the mayo, the better. I don’t bother with anything like Olive Oil or avocado speciality mayo, for instance.
Also, while I’m not anti-Miracle Whip in general, I prefer to use actual mayo for Dynamite Sauce.
Sriracha Sauce
Sriracha Sauce is a popular garlic-chili condiment, made from chili peppers, garlic, vinegar, sugar, and salt. You’ve likely seen a bottle of it on tables at Vietmanese restaurants.
Sriracha is the standard sauce used to bring the flavour and heat to Dynamite sauce, but feel free to branch out a bit if you’d like - or If you don’t have sriracha on hand.
I’m a big fan of Jeow sauce, which also makes a great spicy mayo. In this case, you may want to consider the rolls you’ll be serving it on, as the flavour isn’t quite as “neutral” as sriracha. It’s got a lot more umami, some fish sauce, mushrooms, etc. Potent, too!
Sambal Oelek is another possible substitution. It’s basically the Indonesian analog to sriracha, so substitutes very cleanly - it has the same “neutrality” as Sriracha when it comes to pairing it with rolls.
Dynamite Sauce for Sushi
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ cup Mayonnaise
- 2 Tbsp+ Sriracha
Instructions
- Whisk together ingredients until well combined and uniform.
- Taste, add more Sriracha if you like.
- Chill until you’re ready to use it.
- To serve, spoon sauce into a pastry bag or a sauce bottle (pictured). Cut the tip off the pastry bag (if applicable), squeeze sauce over prepared sushi, as desired.
Notes
Eel Sauce
Also known as Unagi sauce, this is probably the most popular sushi sauce in North America. Eel sauce is a dark, rich, thick, and sticky sauce. It’s sweet, but also heavy on the umami - savoury..
Eel sauce doesn’t actually contain eel - though traditionally, it did. No, it’s actually a vegan friendly sauce, though you’d never guess as much, from the name alone!
While Eel Sauce is traditionally used on eel rolls - or on grilled eel dishes - this one tends to get used on many different types of rolls. Whenever you’ve had a dark brown sauce on sushi... chances are good that it was an Eel Sauce.
In addition to sushi, you can use Eel Sauce on many different foods. If you think of it like a Japanese BBQ sauce - it was, after all, intended for use on grilled eel! - you can see that it’ll be great on things like grilled veggies, fish (especially salmon!), chicken, and even beef.
Eel Sauce Ingredients
My Eel sauce uses only 3 ingredients... and each one brings something important to the mix:
Mirin
Mirin is a Japanese sweet wine used in Japanese cooking. Some common uses are in teriyaki sauce, stir fries
In Eel Sauce, Mirin balances out the sugar by bringing some acidity to the mix. It also contributes a little to the umami flavour profile, but mostly just enhances flavour through the acid.
If you’re not able to find Mirin, you can substitute a dry sherry
Soy Sauce
Soy Sauce brings the umami flavour base to the eel sauce, as well as the saltiness.
Soy sauce is also what prevents this sauce from being inherently gluten-free, unlike the Dynamite Sauce and Mango Sauce. If you need your Eel Sauce to be gluten-free, use a gluten-free soy sauce, tamari, or even coconut aminos instead of basic soy sauce.
Sugar
Sugar obviously contributes the bulk of the sweetness in Eel Sauce (with Mirin contributing a little as well), but it also serves to create the *body* of the sauce.
As your Eel sauce boils down, the sugar is forming a thick syrup. Without sugar, you would have a very runny sauce - not at all appetizing to drizzle over sushi rolls!
Eel Sauce for Sushi
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Soy Sauce Gluten Free if needed
- 1/2 cup Granulated Sugar
- 1/2 cup Mirin Japanese sweet wine
Instructions
- Combine all three ingredients in a small saucepan, whisk well to combine.
- Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, reduce heat, and simmer gently until sauce volume has reduced to about 3/4 cup. (If you boil it hard, you will end up with a caramel, not a sauce!)
- Remove from heat, allow to cool to room temperature.
- Once cooled, transfer to fridge and chill until you’re ready to use it.
- To serve, spoon sauce into a pastry bag or a sauce bottle (pictured). Cut the tip off the pastry bag (if applicable), squeeze sauce over prepared sushi, as desired.
Notes
Mango Sauce
Not every sushi restaurant uses a mango sauce, but when they do... it’s a thing of beauty!
This sauce is brightly flavoured - and coloured - and brings a burst of sweet fruit flavour to any roll it’s used on. We especially love this one on tuna rolls, tuna avocado rolls, most vegetable based rolls, and most crab based rolls.
Mango Sauce Ingredients
Mango
Use a fresh, ripe mango that’s in good shape. You want it good and juicy, but not bruised or browning yet.
Rice Vinegar
Rice vinegar brings the tartness to the sauce, and balances off against the sugar and mango.
Sugar
While mango is sweet on its own, it does need a bit of help from added sugar, for this sauce. This also forms a bit of the body of the sauce
Vegetable Oil
Vegetable oil is there to help form the body of the sauce - it’s there to help with the texture, and doesn’t really contribute to flavour at all.
Mango Sauce for Sushi
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup Rice Vinegar
- 1/3 cup Granulated Sugar
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1 Large Ripe Mango
- 2 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, whisk together vinegar, sugar, and salt.
- Bring just to a simmer over medium heat, whisking constantly until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat, cool to room temperature.
- Peel and seed the mango. Chop mango flesh into chunks, place into a blender with cooled vinegar-sugar mixture and vegetable oil.
- Blitz until very smooth.
- Transfer sauce to serving container, cover and, chill until you’re ready to use it.
- To serve, spoon sauce into a pastry bag or a sauce bottle (pictured). Cut the tip off the pastry bag (if applicable), squeeze sauce over prepared sushi, as desired.
Notes
3 Sushi Sauce Recipes – Dynamite Sauce, Eel Sauce, and Mango Sauce
Equipment
Ingredients
Dynamite Sauce*
- ½ cup Mayonnaise
- 2 Tbsp+ Sriracha
Mango Sauce **
- 1/3 cup Rice Vinegar
- 1/3 cup Granulated Sugar
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1 Large Ripe Mango
- 2 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
Eel Sauce ***
- 1/2 cup Soy Sauce Gluten Free if needed
- 1/2 cup Granulated Sugar
- 1/2 cup Mirin Japanese sweet wine
Instructions
Dynamite Sauce
- Whisk together ingredients until well combined and uniform. Taste, add more Sriracha if you like. Chill until you’re ready to use it.
- To serve, spoon sauce into a pastry bag or a sauce bottle (pictured). Cut the tip off the pastry bag (if applicable), squeeze sauce over prepared sushi, as desired.
Mango Sauce
- In a small saucepan, whisk together vinegar, sugar, and salt. Bring just to a simmer over medium heat, whisking constantly until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat, cool to room temperature.
- Peel and seed the mango. Chop mango flesh into chunks, place into a blender with cooled vinegar-sugar mixture and vegetable oil. Blitz until very smooth, chill until you’re ready to use it.
- To serve, spoon sauce into a pastry bag or a sauce bottle (pictured). Cut the tip off the pastry bag (if applicable), squeeze sauce over prepared sushi, as desired.
Eel Sauce
- Combine all three ingredients in a small saucepan, whisk well. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, reduce heat, and simmer gently until sauce volume has reduced to about 3/4 cup. (If you boil it hard, you will end up with a caramel, not a sauce!)
- Remove from heat, allow to cool to room temperature. Once cooled, transfer to fridge and chill until you’re ready to use it.
- To serve, spoon sauce into a pastry bag or a sauce bottle (pictured). Cut the tip off the pastry bag (if applicable), squeeze sauce over prepared sushi, as desired.
I had never thought of sriracha as neutral in the context of sauces.
All three recipes are great especially the mango.