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With fresh garlic, hot chili paste, a touch of honey, a few savory pantry seasonings, and a base of mayonnaise, the uses for this spicy mayo recipe go way beyond sushi.
Sometimes my favorite food combinations come about completely by accident. One day I roasted up some chopped red cabbage. (Now, a little backstory, I like my cabbage roasted deliciously crispy; however, there’s as fine line between crispy and charred, i.e., burned to a crisp.) On that particular day, my cabbage sadly fell into the “burned to a crisp” category.
Motivated by the fact that the grilled steak and rice were both ready to go, I didn’t have another vegetable on hand, and we were hungry, I had the idea to salvage the roasted cabbage with a sauce. I opened up the fridge to have a peek for inspiration; luckily, we had just ordered sushi the night before, and there was some sauce leftover. As they say, the rest is history. Now one of my favorite things to whip up when I roast veggies is a homemade version of the popular spicy mayo sushi sauce to serve along with the roasted veg.
My homemade take on this sauce takes 5-minutes to mix up, is rich and creamy, and features a well-balanced spicy, tangy, savory, and subtly sweet flavor profile. It’s a great way to kick up roasted veggies, grilled meats, tacos, salads, rice bowls, sandwiches, wraps, fried food (like French fries, onion rings, or a fish fry), and of course sushi rolls!
What I Love About This Recipe
- Budget-friendly. Have you seen the prices of specialty sauces at the grocery store lately? Ridiculously overpriced sums it up. In the long run, it’s much more cost-effective to buy the individual components, keep a well-stocked pantry, and whip up this sauce anytime you want.
- Versatile. This sauce works great as a dressing for salad or roasted veggies, condiment for sandwiches, wraps, or rice bowls, or dip for grilled meats.
- Meal prep friendly. Make a double batch because it stays good in the fridge for up to 1 week!
Spicy Garlic Mayo Ingredients
Breaking It Down
Ingredients Explained
In this section I explain the ingredients and give substitution ideas where applicable. For the full recipe (including the ingredient amounts), see the recipe card below.
- Mayo – Use whatever your favorite brand of store-bought mayonnaise is, or make your own and use that.
- Sambal oelek – This is a Southeast Asian hot chili paste. You can use this or opt for chili garlic sauce (which is very similar to sambal oelek, but has an added punch of garlic) if you’re a garlic-lover. Sriracha will also work here.
- Rice vinegar – Adds tart flavor for balance and to cut through the rich mayo.
- Soy sauce – This fermented sauce adds salty, umami complexity.
- Honey – Just a touch of honey lends the perfect amount of sweetness in this recipe.
- Garlic – Fresh garlic contributes a pop of flavor and takes this sauce to the next level.
- Cayenne pepper – Cayenne bumps up the spice level just a touch (feel free to add more or less cayenne to taste).
- Toasted sesame oil – For nutty, toasted flavor notes.
- White pepper – White pepper adds a piquant flavor with a bit of an underlying musky earthiness that’s similar to ginger.
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a medium bowl.
- Stir to combine.
Storage
Store in a covered jar in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Tips For the Best Easy Spicy Mayonnaise
- To make this sauce vegan, use vegan mayo and swap out the honey for sugar or agave nectar.
- For the low carb, keto-friendly version, use keto honey and keep everything else the same.
- To ensure this sauce is gluten free, check the label on your mayo and use a gluten-free soy sauce.
- To kick up the flavor even more, add 1 teaspoon of freshly-grated ginger.
Frequently Asked Questions
Well friends, that’s one way of doing it. But if you have a well-stocked pantry or an Asian grocery store nearby, pick up the handful of ingredients to make this version and give it a try. It’s flavorful and well-balanced!
Yes! This spicy garlic mayo recipe doesn’t contain sriracha. Instead, it gets its heat from sambal oelek. However, sriracha will also work here, or you can use any kind of hot sauce you like or have on hand.
No. Both are creamy mayo-based sauces with a pinkish color, but their flavors are quite a bit different. While spicy mayo has a touch of a kick to it, yum yum sauce is sweet and savory with less spicy heat.
More Easy, Flavorful Sauce Recipes in 10 Minutes or Less
- Shawarma White Sauce (5 minutes)
- Tartar Sauce (10 minutes)
- Moroccan Chermoula Sauce (5 minutes)
- Thai Inspired Peanut Salad Dressing Recipe (10 minutes)
Let’s Connect
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Spicy Garlic Mayo Sauce Recipe (aka Sushi Mayonnaise)
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Ingredients
- 1/3 cup mayo
- 1 tablespoon sambal oelek
- 1/2 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce (or tamari sauce or coconut aminos)
- 3/4 teaspoon honey
- 1 large clove garlic (crushed)
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 1/16 teaspoon white pepper
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a medium bowl. Stir to combine.
Notes
- Recipe Yield and Serving Size: This recipe makes about 6 tablespoons, or 6 (1-tablespoon) servings.
- Storage: Store in a covered jar in the fridge for up to 1 week.
- Special Diet-Friendly:
- Vegan: Use vegan mayo and swap out the honey for sugar or agave nectar.
- Low Carb/Keto-Friendly: Use keto honey and keep everything else the same.
- Gluten Free: Check the label on your mayo and use a gluten-free soy sauce.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is automatically calculated and should be used as an approximate.
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I’m the writer, recipe developer, photographer, and food stylist behind this blog. I love finding the human connection through something we all do every day: eat! Food is a common ground that we can all relate to, and our tables tell a story. It’s my goal to inspire you to get in the kitchen, try something new, and find a favorite you didn’t know you had.
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