Homemade Ponzu Sauce Recipe ポン酢

Japanese Condiment: Ponzu Sauce. Enjoy making this all-purpose Japanese citrus sauce at home!

A classic Japanese condiment, Ponzu Sauce is a citrus based sauce with tart-tangy flavor similar to a vinaigrette. It contains a mix of ponzu (citrus juice of sudachi, yuzu, and kabosu and vinegar), soy sauce, sugar or mirin, and dashi.

Because of its versatility & refreshing flavor, you can use the sauce in many different ways. Enjoy ponzu as a dipping sauce for shabu-shabu or seafood, as a marinade for grilled meats and vegetables or dressing for salads or cold noodles.

Where to Find Ponzu Sauce

You can purchase a bottle of Ponzu at Japanese or Asian grocery stores.

How to Make Homemade Ponzu Sauce

To make a ‘quick’ version of ponzu at home, you just need to combine equal parts of soy sauce and fresh lemon juice as well as a bit of sweetness from mirin. 

If you have more time, I highly recommend adding a strip of kombu and a handful of bonito flakes. You can add more katsuobushi for rich, smokey, umami-rich ponzu sauce.  Umami from kombu and katsuobushi really make this homemade ponzu to the next level.  You will get a more balance and richer taste.  Umami is hard to describe, but you know it’s there when you taste it.  

This homemade ponzu can be stored in refrigerator for up to a month.  I love this homemade ponzu sauce that I don’t buy the bottled ponzu anymore.

Here are some delicious recipes to enjoy with homemade Ponzu sauce:

• Tofu Salad with Sesame Ponzu Dressing
• Tuna Tataki 
• Eggplant with Sesame Ponzu Sauce
• Pork Spring Rolls with Ponzu
• Shabu Shabu

I’ll be sharing more recipes using my homemade ponzu!

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4.5 from 10 votes

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Ponzu Sauce

Prep Time

5 mins

 

Japanese Condiment: Ponzu Sauce. Enjoy making this all-purpose Japanese citrus sauce at home!

Course: Condiments, How to

Cuisine: Japanese

Keyword: japanese sauce, ponzu

Servings: 1 cup

Ingredients

• ½ cup soy sauce
• ½ cup citrus juice (See Notes: I love the mixture of 6 Tbsp lemon juice + 2 Tbsp orange juice)
• lemon zest from one lemon
• 2 Tbsp mirin (or 2 Tbsp sake or water + 2 tsp sugar)
• ½ cup katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes) (6 g = 8 Tbsp packed)
• 1 piece kombu (dried kelp) (6 g or 2" x 3" strip)

Instructions

1. Gather all the ingredients.

   

2. Combine all the ingredients in a sterilized mason jar and mix well. Steep in the refrigerator for overnight or up to a week (some restaurants steep for a month, especially if you make a big batch).

3. After steeping, drain over a sieve to get rid of katsuobushi and kombu.  You can use leftover kombu and katsuobushi to make homemade furikake (Japanese rice seasoning).

4. You can keep homemade ponzu for up to 1 month (to be safe). If you make sure to keep water away while making the process, the sauce can last for 6-12 months.

Recipe Notes

Citrus Juice: You can use lemon, or mixture of juice from lemon, orange, or grapefruit. 

 

Recipe by Namiko Chen of Just One Cookbook. All images and content on this site are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without my permission. If you’d like to share this recipe on your site, please re-write the recipe and link to this post as the original source. Thank you.

Editor’s Note: The original post was published on May 26, 2013.  The post has been updated with the new pictures and video and the recipe has been updated in October 2017.