Ponzu sauce one is indispensable condiment in Japanese cuisine, presentation :
The ponzu, seasoning with umami ingredients
Ponzu ポン酢 is a very popular sauce in Japanese cuisine. It is based on Japanese citrus fruits such as sudachi, kabuso, dadai or lemon yuzu kabuso, dadai or lemon. It is also composed of rice vinegar, rice vinegar mirin and katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes), seaweed konbu or dashi and for some of them shoyu soy sauce.
We can see that this sauce contains the so-called “umami” ingredients, a 5th flavor that translates into a tasty taste. This sauce is indeed delicious and very light!
Japanese dishes using ponzu sauce
Ponzu is very used in nabe or nabemono, Japanese fondue like:
Shabu shabu Shabu shabu is a Japanese fondue consisting of strips of meat, vegetables, and mushrooms in a hot broth. The cooked ingredients are dipped in a sesame-based sauce and a ponzu-based sauce
Yosenabe Yosenabe is a mixed fondue in which you will find meat as well as shellfish, tofu and vegetables.
Yudofu Yudofu is a fondue made of tofu cooked in a hot konbu (seaweed) broth. This tofu is eaten with this sauce.
Mizutaki Mizutaki is a fondue made of chicken pieces and vegetables in a dashi broth. The ingredients are eaten with ponzu sauce.
Tataki Tataki is meat or fish that is quickly grilled on the outside and then cut into strips. Ponzu sauce often accompanies this dish.
Hiyayakko Hiyayakko is a cold tofu dish with various toppings on top
Vegetables On vegetables, ponzu sauce goes equally well with raw vegetables in salads or cooked, sautéed or boiled
Wakame Salad Wakame salad is a delicious seaweed salad sometimes seasoned with ponzu sauce.
In Japanese grocery stores and on the internet you can find this sauce already prepared in bottles. You will also find it made with shoyu soy sauce, this one will be called ponzu shoyu. It is a pleasant and refreshing sauce, we recommend it to replace soy sauce or to spice up dishes.