# Japanese mayo sauce/dressing **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 12, 2009, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-mayo-sauce-dressing/517252 "2009-11-12T01:25:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2009, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-mayo-sauce-dressing/517252/1 "2009-11-12T01:25:01Z")
Kojis Sushi & Shabu Shabu at The Block at Orange makes ‘beef crêpes’. (That’s what they call them. I know there’s a Japanese name for them.) Cut up like a sushi roll, they are served with rice and a salad. It also has a sauce that you can dip the meat into, as well as use it as salad dressing. I asked once, and was told that it was basically mayonnaise and soy sauce. I’ve just tried to imitate the sauce, using unmeasured quantities of Best Foods mayonnaise, Kikkoman soy sauce, and rice vinegar. It came out pretty well, actually. I used it on some ahi instead of ‘beef crêpes’, so I don’t know if it’s quite right. Not that I would remember, since I moved up here six years ago. Does anyone know the actual recipe? EDIT: The ‘beef crêpes’ are really niku maki. . ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2009, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-mayo-sauce-dressing/517252/2 "2009-11-12T01:33:16Z")
Was it thicker than a soy sauce, like ketchup almost, with a very savoury taste? if so, it might be a kind of okonomiyaki sauce, and there is a recipe for it here [http://asianhomestylecooking.tribe.net/thread/debce0bb-b993-4831-93e0-a2881108db65](http://asianhomestylecooking.tribe.net/thread/debce0bb-b993-4831-93e0-a2881108db65) But I think it should be available in most asian supermarkets. On the other hand, if it was indeed more watery, like a normal soy sauce it might be a sauce called Ponzu (sweetened soy sauce with a tang), which you should also be able to find in an asian deli. Here’s a pic of my favorite Ponzu [http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://img02.ti-da.net/usr/ponzulove/20090101IMGP0025.jpg&imgrefurl=http://ponzulove.ti-da.net/d2009-02-01.html&usg=\_\_4NtaPX85o2wBVvVySu131h6Dyqk=&h=333&w=500&sz=51&hl=en&start=3&um=1&tbnid=-646VgSLq6xv3M:&tbnh=87&tbnw=130&prev=/images%3Fq%3D%25E3%2583%259D%25E3%2583%25B3%25E9%2585%25A2%25E3%2580%2580%25E5%25A4%25A7%25E9%2598%25AA%26hl%3Den%26um%3D1](http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://img02.ti-da.net/usr/ponzulove/20090101IMGP0025.jpg&imgrefurl=http://ponzulove.ti-da.net/d2009-02-01.html&usg=__4NtaPX85o2wBVvVySu131h6Dyqk=&h=333&w=500&sz=51&hl=en&start=3&um=1&tbnid=-646VgSLq6xv3M:&tbnh=87&tbnw=130&prev=/images%3Fq%3D%25E3%2583%259D%25E3%2583%25B3%25E9%2585%25A2%25E3%2580%2580%25E5%25A4%25A7%25E9%2598%25AA%26hl%3Den%26um%3D1) ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2009, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-mayo-sauce-dressing/517252/3 "2009-11-12T01:41:56Z")
> [@Isamu](#): > > Was it thicker than a soy sauce, like ketchup almost, with a very savoury taste? Yes, savoury and thick; thick like French dressing. No catsup in it though. What I made tonight tasted pretty close, as well as I could remember. Maybe it’s something that Koji’s came up with, rather than a traditional sauce? (‘Japan’ and ‘mayonnaise’ don’t really go together in my mind.) ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2009, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-mayo-sauce-dressing/517252/4 "2009-11-12T01:44:31Z")
Looking at their menu here: [http://74.125.153.132/search?q=cache:bypyY5LaCkQJ:www.mnmplace.com/kojis\_menu.htm+Kojis+Sushi+%26+Shabu+Shabu&cd=4&hl=en&ct=clnk](http://74.125.153.132/search?q=cache:bypyY5LaCkQJ:www.mnmplace.com/kojis_menu.htm+Kojis+Sushi+%26+Shabu+Shabu&cd=4&hl=en&ct=clnk) They have a "Shabu Shabu Beef Roll - $7.99 Spicy Cali roll layered on top with seared Black Angus beef and dripped with ponzu sauce." So it would seem to be a Ponzu sauce.　Here’s a Ponzu recipe: > **[How to Make Tangy Japanese Ponzu Sauce at Home](https://www.thespruceeats.com/ponzu-sauce-recipe-1806856)** > > Make Japanese ponzu sauce at home. You can substitute lime juice for the traditional yuzu. Use it as a dipping sauce or condiment. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2009, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-mayo-sauce-dressing/517252/5 "2009-11-12T01:48:35Z")
[Here’s a picture of their ‘beef crêpes’ (niku maki)](http://biggestmenu.com/rdr/CA/Orange/Koji's-Shabu-Shabu-1590604/Beef-Crepes-10278). The sauce is to the upper-left. Mine came out similar, but a little darker. . ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2009, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-mayo-sauce-dressing/517252/6 "2009-11-12T01:57:43Z")
Oh, OK, thanks Johnny - I haven’t seen a sauce like that before. Maybe it’s something they made up as a house specialty? ---
**Author:** ![JR\_Brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d6d6ee/32.png) [@JR\_Brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JR_Brown)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2009, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-mayo-sauce-dressing/517252/7 "2009-11-12T03:34:39Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > (‘Japan’ and ‘mayonnaise’ don’t really go together in my mind.) [Hah](http://inventorspot.com/articles/condiments_are_king_tokyos_mayon_6268). And furthermore, [hah](http://www.foodmall.org/entry/an-all-mayonnaise-dishes-restaurant-in-japan/). ---
**Author:** ![Leiko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Leiko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leiko)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2009, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-mayo-sauce-dressing/517252/8 "2009-11-12T03:35:58Z")
You might have better luck starting with Japanese mayonnaise if you can’t find a concrete recipe. [Kewpie](http://www.kewpie.co.jp/english/mayonnaise.html) is probably the most popular brand, and it’s available online and in Asian markets. If you don’t want to buy it, consider that the main differences are in the vinegar (generally speaking, Japanese mayo uses rice wine vinegar rather than white vinegar) and whether or not there’s MSG (not so much for US mayo, more likely for Japanese).