This homemade ponzu sauce recipe is a great addition to salads and fish dishes. And it’s very simple to make. Try it today!
Table of contents
What is Ponzu Sauce?
Ponzu is a Japanese citrus sauce that is made from citrus juice such as lemon juice or lime juice but typically uses Japanese citrus such as yuzu, sudachi, or Kabosu with rice vinegar or grain vinegar added. Strictly speaking, “ponzu” is citrus juice, however, many pre-bottled commercial products (called Aji-pon) have a mixture of citrus juice and soy sauce and are readily available from supermarkets. Ponzu soy sauce is usually referred to and called “ponzu”.
Where did Ponzu Sauce Come from?
Ponzu was originally a term that referred to citrus juice from yuzu, daidai orange, kabosu, and sudachi. The predominant theory is that it was derived from the Dutch word “pons” for fruit juice but was misinterpreted as pon vinegar as the sound s = su means vinegar in Japanese.
Ingredients
Citrus Juice – You can use whatever Japanese citrus fruits you like or have. My favourite is Yuzu although it is difficult to get here in Australia. You can use lemon, lime, sudachi, kabosu, daidai orange or grapefruit.
Soy Sauce – In the recipe I used koikuchi soy sauce. There are 5 different types of soy sauce, koikuchi, usukuchi, tamari, saishikomi and shiro shoyu, as I explained in my post about soy sauce.
Mirin – Use Mirin to add umami flavour and mellow sweetness.
Dashi – such as Kombu kelp and Katsuobushi(bonito flakes)
How to Make Ponzu Sauce
- Pour soy sauce and mirin into a small saucepan over high heat. Bring it to a boil and then turn the heat off in order to evaporate the alcohol content of the mirin.
- Add Kombu kelp and Katsuobushi bonito flakes to the saucepan while the mixture of soy sauce and mirin is still hot.
- When it has cooled down, add a citrus juice of your choice.
- Strain the ponzu sauce with a fine mesh strainer and pour it into a sterilized glass jar.
How to Use It?
It is an excellent dipping sauce for pot dishes such as Shabu-Shabu, gyoza dumplings, and cold noodles. It can also be used as a salad dressing, dipping sauce for sashimi and tataki.
How to Store
Ponzu sauce can be stored in a sterilised jar for up to a month in the fridge. If you would like to make bulk Ponzu sauce and store it, put it in a freezable container and then it can be kept for a couple of months in the freezer.
Tips for Making Ponzu Sauce
The Golden ratio is soy sauce: citrus juice: mirin = 1 : 1: 1/2, however, you can adjust the taste by adding more or less mirin or vinegar to balance the acidity to your liking as different citrus juice has different amounts of acidity.
You can enjoy the freshly made ponzu after being left overnight, but if you leave it for longer to mature, the taste will become more mellow.
FAQ
A: No, because it uses soy sauce. If you want to make this gluten-free, you must use a gluten-free soy sauce to make the ponzu.
Ponzu Sauce ポン酢
Equipment
- 1 saucepan
- 1 strainer
- 1 sterilized jar
Ingredients
- ½ cup soy sauce *1
- ¼ cup mirin
- 2 inch kombu kelp strip
- 0.2 oz bonito flakes *2
- ½ cup citrus juice *3
Instructions
- Pour soy sauce and mirin into a small saucepan over high heat.
- Bring it to a boil and then turn the heat off in order to evaporate the alcohol content of the mirin.
- Add kombu strip and bonito flakes to the saucepan while the mixture of soy sauce and mirin is still hot.
- When it has cooled down, add a citrus juice of your choice.
- Place it in refrigerate overnight.
- Strain the ponzu sauce with a fine mesh strainer and pour it into a sterilized jar.
