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Vegan Yum Yum Sauce Recipe

Vegan Yum Yum Sauce Recipe

This vegan yum yum sauce recipe is the ultimate condiment! It’s a versatile sauce that can be used for dipping or drizzling on a variety of meals, salads and so much more. It is full of flavour with sweet, tangy and spicy notes!

Yum Yum sauce is traditionally served in Japanese steakhouses in America with a variety of seafoods, meats and vegetables. The sauce is quite popular so I decided to recreate it into a vegan yum yum sauce.

Vegan Yum Yum

Yum Yum sauce is not a traditional Japanese sauce, it’s very much American since it’s only really found in American Japanese restaurants. Many of the American Japanese restaurants sell their Yum Yum sauce bottled up to buy!

There are some variations in the yum yum sauce from restaurant to restaurant.

However the base is generally mayonnaise, vinegar, spices and tomato paste. More often than not the sauce is tangy, spicy and sweet and of course the level of spice will vary from place to place.

Generally speaking, the yum yum sauce is not vegan so why not recreate it yourself? It only takes a handful of ingredients and a few minutes of your time to make.

vegan yum yum sauce recipe

The best thing about this vegan yum yum sauce recipe is you can make a big batch and store it in an air tight container!

Considering this website is dedicated to all things ‘yum’ as it says in our name, I was particularly excited to whip up a recipe that is double yum (literally).

Ingredients

One of the main ingredients for this recipe is mayonnaise. Here at Yum HQ we love making our own mayonnaise but of course that can take a little more time than whipping this recipe with a shop bought vegan mayo.

If you would like to make the mayonnaise yourself, check out our vegan mayo here. All you need for this is:

  • 1 cup of cashews
  • 1/4 a cup of aquafaba
  • 1/4 tsp of black salt
  • 1/4 tsp of mustard
  • 1tbsp of apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tbsp of lemon juice 

Soak the cashews for an hour or two in hot water and blitz all of the ingredients until silky smooth. Using this option will keep this recipe pretty clean and plant based!

Otherwise my favourite shop bought one is Hellmann’s Vegan Mayonnaise.

The rest of the ingredients are quite simple for this yum yum sauce vegan and most are likely to be in your pantry, you will need:

  • Mayonnaise (1 cup)
  • Paprika (1 tbsp)
  • Onion powder (1 tbsp)
  • Cider vinegar (1 tbsp)
  • Hot sauce ( 1 tbsp or to preference)
  • Tomato puree ( 2 tbsp)

How to Make Vegan Yum Yum Sauce

It’s super easy to make this sauce, all you need to do is mix it together! I tend to use my mini chopper for this but you could easily use a whisk if you don’t have a mixer.

Mix together thoroughly using your utensil of choice! The sauce should look a pink colour with tiny speckles throughout.

Make sure to taste test it and alter it according to your preference.

If you want your mix to be more spicy, add more hot sauce. if you want it to be more tangy, add a squeeze of lemon.

vegan yum yum sauce recipe

Many of the yum yum sauce recipes call for sweet additives, however I personally feel this recipe doesn’t require additional sweetness. That said, if you prefer sweet notes add a tbsp of maple syrup when you taste test.

Add the mix to the fridge in an air tight container to chill before serving!

If you do decide to use a blender the last thing you want to do is waste your ingredients by putting small quantities into a big blender and spraying it around the inside. 

There are two really good mini blenders out there that are perfect when working with smaller quantities of ingredients. The Ninja Food Chopper and the Kenwood Food Chopper are ideal for this scenario.

As a vegan, I feel I am forever making my own condiments, so my mini blender is truly my number 1 kitchen utensil

Vegan Yum Yum Recipes

If you are looking for some lovely vegan recipes to serve with this yum yum sauce. We have some awesome ideas!

Vegan shrimp – We made these epic vegan shrimp the other day!

They are so tasty dipped in yum yum sauce. The banging bread crumbed bites worked perfectly with the sweet tanginess of the the yum yum sauce. Absolutely perfect for platters and sharing boards.

vegan yum yum sauce recipe

Po Boy – If you haven’t tried a Po Boy before, it’s a super popular seafood sandwich from the US. Of course we have veganized the recipe and it goes perfectly with this yum yum sauce!

Vegan Yakitori skewers – These BBQ skewers remind me of the kind of dishes you can get in American Japanese restaurants that are served with yum yum sauce!

These skewers are perfect for dipping into this yum yum sauce.

Vegan Banh Mi Sandwich – This delectable sandwich with fresh crunchy vegetables and fragrant herbs calls for sriracha mayo ordinarily, however this yum yum sauce could act as the perfect replacement. The sweet and tangy flavours of it really compliment this sandwich.

Storing

This recipe keeps perfect in the fridge in an air tight container. It will last for up to a week! Make sure to give it a mix or share before serving!

If you liked this recipe, you may like some of our other homemade condiments:

If you decide to make this recipe please do leave a star rating and comment. We love to hear how you are getting on with your creations. You can also find us on Instagram @yumveganblog, please do tag us and use #yumvegan so we can find and feature you! You can also find us on Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter.

Yield: 6

Vegan Yum Yum Sauce

vegan yum yum sauce recipe

This vegan yum yum sauce recipe is the ultimate condiment! It's a versatile sauce that can be used for dipping or drizzling on a variety of meals, salads and so much more. It is full of flavour with sweet, tangy and spicy notes!

Prep Time 10 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes

Ingredients

  • Mayonnaise (1 cup)
  • Paprika (1 tbsp)
  • Onion powder (1 tbsp)
  • Cider vinegar (1 tbsp)
  • Hot sauce ( 1 tbsp or to preference)
  • Tomato puree ( 2 tbsp)

Instructions

  1. Add all of the ingredients together and blend until well combined. You can use a hand whisk if you prefer.
  2. Make sure to taste test it and alter it according to your preference. If you want your mix to be more spicy, add more hot sauce. if you want it to be more tangy, add a squeeze of lemon. Many of the yum yum sauce recipes call for sweet additives, however I personally feel this recipe doesn't require additional sweetness. That said, if you prefer sweet notes add a tbsp of maple syrup when you taste test.
  3. Transfer to an air tight container and chill in the fridge until you need to serve!

Notes

  1. This recipe keeps perfect in the fridge in an air tight container. It will last for up to a week! Make sure to give it a mix or share before serving!
  2. If you are looking for some lovely vegan recipes to serve with this yum yum sauce. We have some awesome ideas!
  3. Vegan shrimp - We made these epic vegan shrimp the other day! They are so tasty dipped in yum yum sauce. The banging bread crumbed bites worked perfectly with the sweet tanginess of the the yum yum sauce. Absolutely perfect for platters and sharing boards.

    Po Boy - If you haven't tried a Po Boy before, it's a super popular seafood sandwich from the US. Of course we have veganized the recipe and it goes perfectly with this yum yum sauce!

    Vegan Yakitori skewers - These BBQ skewers remind me of the kind of dishes you can get in American Japanese restaurants that are served with yum yum sauce! These skewers are perfect for dipping into this yum yum sauce.

    Vegan Banh Mi Sandwich - This delectable sandwich with fresh crunchy vegetables and fragrant herbs calls for sriracha mayo ordinarily, however this yum yum sauce could act as the perfect replacement. The sweet and tangy flavours of it really compliment this sandwich.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 35Total Fat: 2gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 1mgSodium: 48mgCarbohydrates: 4gFiber: 1gSugar: 2gProtein: 1g

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