An Even Better Spicy Mayo Recipe for Sushi and Beyond
It’s hard to beat the two-ingredient spicy mayo that you get in American sushi restaurants, but we like our slightly amped up even better spicy mayo recipe…even better. It’s great for sushi and poke bowls, sure. But it also makes a fabulous dip, sandwich spread, and salad dressing.
Why we love spicy mayo (and you do, too)
Sushi is basically the best thing in the world, and spicy sushi is even better. The secret to sushi restaurants’ simple but simply epic sauce is Kewpie mayonnaise. Once you know that, you’re pretty much golden.
We’ve got the formula for regular (and totally amazing) spicy sauce right here below.
And we’ve also got our VERY favorite, even BETTER spicy sauce, which adds a couple of extra ingredients to boost the flavor and umami to the next level.
Spicy mayo ingredients
You only need a few simple ingredients to make either basic spicy sauce or our even better spicy mayo. You’ll need:
- Kewpie mayonnaise
- Sriracha sauce
- Reduced-sodium soy sauce
- A minced shallot
How to make spicy mayo (a.k.a. spicy sauce for sushi)
You’ve got two choices for excellent spicy sauce. You can watch the simple process for both in action in the video that accompanies this post.
For basic spicy sauce, you will stir together Kewpie mayo and sriracha. That’s it!
For even better spicy sauce, you’ll add some lower-sodium soy sauce and a bit of minced shallot to the mix.
Either way, you can’t go wrong.
What is Kewpie mayo?
Good question. Easy answer. Kewpie is a Japanese brand of mayonnaise that’s creamier, tangier, and more umami-fied than American mayo. It’s made with egg yolks instead of whole eggs, has a thinner consistency that makes it popular as a salad dressing base, and, not gonna lie, it has a little MSG in it. (Psst…so do a lot of the things you probably eat, just sayin.) That combination of characteristics is one of the reasons you love spicy sauce so much, and why it’s not the same if you make it at home with regular mayo.
The good news is that Kewpie is pretty easy to get these days, whether via Amazon, your local east Asian specialty market, or even regular grocery and big box store.
So that shouldn’t stop you from making spicy mayo at home. Nor, really, should anything else. I’ll leave you to it.
How to use spicy mayo
Here are a few of our favorite ways to use spicy mayo:
- Spicy salmon roll with avocado
- Tuna and salmon poke bowls
- Soft shell crab salad
- Soft shell crab sandwiches (just drizzle it right on)
- Add it to these 20-minute sushi bowls
- Dip charred shishito peppers right into it
- Or use it as a salad dressing
An Even Better Spicy Mayo Recipe
It's hard to beat the good old two-ingredient spicy mayo that you get at sushi restaurants, but we like this slightly amped up version even better. Don't substitute regular mayo for the Kewpie mayo except in an emergency. It's...kinda everything.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Kewpie mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon Sriracha, plus more to taste
- 1 tablespoon lower sodium tamari (or other good soy sauce)
- 1/2 shallot, minced
Directions
- Stir all ingredients together and serve as a sauce or salad dressing.
- Store leftovers tightly sealed in the fridge for up to a week.
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