Hibachi Style Homemade Yum Yum Sauce Recipe

Whip up your favorite hibachi condiment right in your own kitchen with this homemade creamy, sweet, spicy, tangy, and salty Yum Yum Sauce recipe! It’s one of the most popular hibachi sauces at Japanese teppanyaki restaurants, and it’s commonly eaten with hibachi fried rice and grilled meat.

If you’ve ever been to a Japanese hibachi restaurant, you’ve probably tried Yum Yum Sauce. It’s definitely a fan favorite hibachi sauce!

Japanese teppanyaki restaurants (what we typically refer to as hibachi restaurants here in the U.S.) are so much fun. Everyone sits around three sides of a rectangular table. On the fourth side of the table is an iron griddle where the chef makes your meal right in front of you.

But delicious food is only half the enjoyment of teppanyaki.

The chef makes the cooking of the meal itself into an entertaining show. They will typically do tricks like toss ingredients, make a stack of onion rings and light it on fire to look like a volcano, and fancy handwork involving cracking eggs, chopping vegetables, and spraying oil and sauces.

Of course each chef has their own unique skills, so each show is one-of-a-kind. It’s a blast.

There are a few different types of hibachi sauce that bear noting. There’s a thin tangy ginger sauce, a thicker sweet and salty tonkatsu brown sauce, and another sauce that goes by a few different names: Yum Yum Sauce!

You can also find this called Japanese white sauce (which is a little confusing because it’s actually a pale pink/orange color), white hibachi sauce, Japanese hibachi sauce, Japanese steakhouse sauce, shrimp sauce, sakura sauce, and yummy sauce. Call it whatever you want, but I like the term Yum Yum Sauce because as silly as it sounds, it really is fitting.

What Do You Use Yum Yum Sauce For?

This popular hibachi sauce will add a punch of flavor to whatever you pair it with! Here are a few ways to use it:

• Drizzled on fried rice or noodles. I hope it’s not completely faux pas, but I’m dying to try it on Thai noodles!
• Along with grilled chicken, steak, or shrimp.
• As a decorative drizzle or dip for dumplings, eggrolls, spring rolls, or sushi rolls.
• Dolloped on top of egg roll in a bowl.
• As a dip for raw vegetables, such as bell pepper, broccoli, cucumber, etc.
• Or use it instead of ketchup as a dipping sauce for French fries or onion rings.
• Enjoy it any way you’d eat mayo, including as a condiment for sandwiches, wraps, burgers, etc.

Yum Yum Sauce Ingredients

Most recipes you’ll find for this mayo-based sauce are a little different. You can play with the ingredient amounts to come up with something that suits your personal tastes. I like to include garlic, ginger, and white pepper for a kick. And if you really want to level up, use fresh garlic and ginger.

• Mayo – The base of this creamy sauce. For the most traditional flavor, use Japanese Kewpie Mayonnaise (look for it at your local Asian grocery store or on Amazon).
• Sambal oelek – This is a red chili paste that adds a touch of spicy heat to this condiment to create balance. If you don’t have sambal oelek on hand, you can substitute with an equal amount of chili garlic sauce or sriracha. Alternatively, you can add about 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper.
• Ketchup – Adds sweet, tangy flavor and helps create the sauce’s pinkish color.
• Rice vinegar – Bumps up the tanginess to create a balanced flavor profile.
• Soy sauce – This fermented condiment adds rich umami flavor.
• Honey – For sweetness.
• Toasted sesame oil – For rich, nutty flavor.
• Garlic powder – Or feel free to use 2 cloves of fresh garlic (crushed) instead.
• Dried ginger – If you have fresh ginger on hand, use 1 teaspoon of freshly-grated ginger.
• White pepper – Adds a subtle earthy, musky piquant background flavor.
• Sweet paprika – For color and subtly sweet, fruity flavor notes.

Instructions

This sauce is very easy to make. Just stir together all ingredients and it’s done!

Storage

Store this sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.

Yum Yum Sauce FAQs

More Delicious Sauce Recipes to Make

• Pesto Sauce Recipe
• Homemade Tzatziki Sauce
• Creamy Peppercorn Mushroom Sauce
• Toum (Middle Eastern Garlic Sauce Recipe)

This post was first published on An Edible Mosaic on October 4, 2021 and updated on July 18, 2025.