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Do you love sushi? Are you looking for new ways to spice up and add delicious depth of flavour to some of your favourite sushi dishes? Then we have you covered! Japanese sushi is a globally popular type of cuisine, available in fine-dining Japanese restaurants, as a pre-prepared takeout from supermarkets and convenience stores, and can even be enjoyed at home thanks to sushi-making kits and the wide availability of classic sushi ingredients.
Here, we explore some classic sushi sauces, along with some fun alternatives, such as our Wicked Wasabi, a revolution in sushi sauce. Read on for sushi sauce inspiration!
Soy sauce is a traditional and popular sauce used for dipping a wide range of sushi rolls into, including maki and nigiri, as well as sashimi. The salty and sweet flavour of soy sauce pairs wonderfully with almost any type of sushi. Traditionally, a small amount of wasabi is added to the soy, adding a spicy kick. However, sushi meals need not be limited to only traditional soy sauce and wasabi, with a dazzling array of sauces now available to add delicious depth of flavour to a wide range of sushi dishes. Popular sushi sauces include spicy mayo, eel sauce or unagi sauce, ponzu sauce, sriracha sauce, aji amarillo sauce, teriyaki sauce, and hot sauce. Pairing sauce with sushi is really only limited by your imagination, and experimenting with a range of sushi sauces is key to elevating this traditional Japanese cuisine
The best sushi sauce will depend on your personal taste, desired heat level, and flavour profile. Soy sauce and wasabi are perennial favourites. However, a wide range of sauces pair beautifully with sushi, from mild-tasting sauces that add just a gentle amount of flavour to extra-spicy hot sauces that add incredible heat and depth of flavour. We love our Wicked Wasabi sushi sauce, a mouthwatering hot sauce designed specifically for sushi. It’s filled with the authentic flavours of real wasabi, soya sauce, and ginger.
Yes, you absolutely can eat sushi with a hot sauce! Sushi is often combined with wasabi, a super spicy green-coloured paste, which is traditionally made from the root of the wasabi japonica plant. Using a hot sauce instead of traditional wasabi is a fun way to enjoy the spice element that comes from wasabi while experimenting with different flavours. Chilli No. 5’s Wicked Wasabi hot sauce is perfect for pairing with a wide range of sushi.
Our delicious Wicked Wasabi Sushi Sauce is a revolution in sushi sauce and a superb accompaniment for all your favourite sushi dishes, guaranteed to delight your taste buds with its heat levels and authentic wasabi flavours. Alongside real wasabi, it’s also made with fresh ginger, sesame oil, mustard, fresh coriander, and gluten-free soy for an extraordinary taste sensation. It boasts a medium heat, making it ideal for those seeking a good amount of heat during their sushi experience.
Looking for some innovative sushi sauce pairings? Check out some of our team’s favourites:
Pair our delicious Wicked Wasabi Sushi Sauce with a wide range of sashimi. We love it with salmon, scallop, tuna, and octopus, alongside a healthy portion of pickled ginger. It’s a great alternative to traditional soy sauce and wasabi, adding a more complex flavour that pairs perfectly with the delicate fish.
Try Wicked Wasabi Sushi Sauce alongside your favourite nigiri. We love it with salmon or tuna nigiri, as well as tamago (egg) nigiri. It works drizzled over the top, as a dipping sauce, or if making your own sushi at home, you can pop a small dollop directly on top of the sushi rice before adding the topping.
We love pairing our Wicked Wasabi Sushi Sauce with our favourite maki rolls, including spicy tuna, dragon rolls, and California rolls. Use our sushi sauce as a dipping sauce, or, if you’re making your own sushi at home, you can even include a drizzle of our Wicked Wasabi sushi sauce into the sushi before rolling.
Uramaki is basically an inside-out maki, with seasoned sushi rice on the outside of the roll and the nori wrapped around the filling. Our Wicked Wasabi Sushi Sauce works with all types of uramaki rolls, including our favourite pairing, a rainbow roll sushi, filled with crab, cucumber, and avocado, and topped with salmon, tuna, and yellowtail. Drizzle the sushi sauce over the top of the rolls or use as a dipping sushi sauce.
Chirashi, or scattered sushi, is a great option for those who love sushi and want to enjoy it at home but aren’t so great at rolling! Chirashi is just like a poke bowl, with all the ingredients served in a large or small bowl instead of rolled up, and our Wicked Wasabi Sushi Sauce is ideal for drizzling all over it!
Soy sauce is a liquid condiment made from fermented soybeans wheat, water, and salt. It’s a staple in Asian cuisine, including Japanese sushi where it’s used as a highly popular dipping sauce. Soy sauce is known for its rich, savoury flavour and deep unami taste, making it ideal for enhancing the flavour of multiple dishes, including sushi. There are several types of soy sauce, including light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, tamari soy sauce, shiro shoyu soy sauce, and sweet soy sauce. Your choice of soy sauce will depend on the flavour profile you want, with light soy sauce, for example, having a slightly saltier taste than dark soy sauce, tamari having a very rich flavour profile, and shiro sohyu soy sauce having a mild taste and amber-like colour.
Sweet soy sauce, also known as kecap manis, is a thick, dark, and sweet variety of soy sauce. It has a distinct flavour profile that combines the unami richness of a traditional soy sauce with a pronounced sweetness.
Soy sauce and wasabi-based sauces will be a staple in all sushi restaurants. Other sauces include ponzu sauce, eel sauce, spicy mayonnaise or sriracha sauce or mayo, sesame sauce, and teriyaki sauce. Let’s explore each of these popular sushi sauces:
Ponzu sauce is a tangy, citrus-based sushi sauce commonly used in Japanese cuisine. It is known for its bright, refreshing flavour, combining the savoury umami of soy sauce with the tartness of citrus. Ponzu sauce is versatile and can be used in a variety of sushi dishes, from dipping sauces to marinades.
Eel sauce, also known as unagi no tare or simply unagi sauce, is a sweet, savoury, and slightly sticky sauce commonly used in Japanese cuisine, particularly with grilled eel (unagi) and other dishes. Despite its name, eel sauce does not contain eel; it is named for its frequent use with eel dishes.
Spicy Japanese mayo, often referred to as spicy mayo or sriracha mayo, is a popular creamy sauce that combines the creamy texture of Japanese mayonnaise with the heat of a spicy ingredient, typically sriracha or another hot sauce. It is commonly used in sushi rolls, as a dipping sauce, or as a topping for various dishes.
Japanese sesame sauce, often referred to as goma-dare or goma dressing, is a rich and creamy condiment made primarily from sesame seeds. It has a nutty, slightly sweet, and savory flavor profile and is commonly used as a salad dressing, a dipping sauce for dishes like shabu-shabu (Japanese hot pot), with sushi, and a topping for various cold noodle dishes.
Teriyaki sauce is a popular Japanese condiment and marinade known for its sweet, savoury, and umami-rich flavour. It is commonly used to glaze and flavour meats, seafood, tofu, and vegetables, and is often brushed on top of sushi rolls, especially those that are topped with grilled meats and seafood, including salmon and tuna.
You can buy sushi sauce from multiple online and in-store retailers, including:
All of Chilli No. 5’s delicious sushi sauces are made fresh in the UK and come beautifully packaged in an elegant glass bottle or pouch. We offer free delivery to the UK and Europe Z1 on orders over £40 and can even include a handwritten note.
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Discover the sauce of life and elevate your sushi with our range of delicious, healthy hot sauces.
