Homemade Yum Yum Sauce Recipe – AKA Japanese Shrimp Sauce, this simple and delicious dipping sauce requires only 5 ingredients! It’s perfect for enjoying with your favorite seafood or veggies. 

A hand dipping a shrimp into a white bowl of homemade yum yum sauce.

Why We Love Yum Yum Sauce AKA Shrimp Sauce

Yum Yum Sauce is a game-changer.

Even the most health-conscious people I know throw caution to the wind, and drown their food in this decadently creamy and rich sauce, when Yum Yum Sauce is present. 

You can buy premade Yum Yum Sauce at the grocery store. However, I find the bottled variations are cloyingly sweet from the use of high fructose corn syrup. Our recipe requires only 5-ingredients and takes less than 5 minutes to make. No corn syrup necessary!

Our Homemade Yum Yum Sauce Recipe requires only 5-ingredients and takes less than 5 minutes to make. No corn syrup necessary!

A hand pouring a jar of shrimp sauce into a white bowl.

Ingredients You Need

You won’t believe how incredibly simple this flavorful sauce is. But it’s true, there are only 5 ingredients in this recipe!

Here’s what you need:

  • Mayonnaise – Either store-bought or homemade. You can use light/low fat mayo to help lighten up this recipe if you wish.
  • Sugar – Granulated sugar works best.
  • Ketchup – The “secret” ingredient that adds extra flavor.
  • Rice Vinegar – While rice vinegar is definitely the preferred vinegar to make Yum Yum sauce, in a pinch, you can substitute white wine vinegar or even apple cider vinegar.
  • Lawry’s Seasoned Salt – I like using classic Lawry’s Seasoning Salt to cut down on ingredients, because it contains all the spices needed for shrimp sauce.

It’s fun to make this sauce your own by easily adjusting the seasoning and sweetness to taste.

Want some heat in your sauce? Trying adding a dash of Sriracha to the mix.

Homemade yum yum sauce in a mason jar placed on a marble surface.

How to Make Homemade Yum Yum Sauce

Not only does this sauce include just 5 ingredients, it takes mere minutes to actually make. Just two simple steps and you’ve got creamy and tangy homemade hibachi-inspired shrimp sauce ready to go in the fridge.

Here’s how to make the BEST Yum Yum Sauce:

  1. Mix all of your ingredients together in a glass container.
  2. Whisk in approximately 3 tablespoons of water, and add more seasoning salt to taste.
  3. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

You can portion out what you need from the refrigerator and allow it to come to room temperature before serving; or, enjoy it cold fresh from the fridge as the perfect contrast to a piping hot dinner.

When the weather is warm, you’ll certainly want to keep a large stock of this addictive sauce on hand to enjoy with refreshing veggies and snacks!

Get the Complete (Printable) Yum Yum Sauce Recipe Below. Enjoy!

A hand holding a shrimp over a white bowl of yum yum sauce.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Yum Yum Sauce?

Yum Yum Sauce is a tangy and creamy dipping sauce most often found in Japanese Hibachi restaurants. It’s sometimes called Shrimp Sauce or White Sauce, although it’s slightly salmon-pink from the addition of tomato and spice. 

How long does this sauce keep well?

If kept sealed in an airtight container, in the fridge, homemade Yum Yum Sauce will stay good for at least a couple of weeks. Just give it a good stir before serving!

What can you eat with Yum Yum Sauce?

You can serve this Homemade Yum Yum Sauce Recipe as a drizzle with stir fry hibachi-style dishes. Or use it as an all-purpose dipping sauce for seafood, vegetables, chips, and pretty much any other hand-held food you can dunk.

We love to drizzle a little Homemade Yum Yum Sauce over Hawaiian Ahi Poke and Crispy Fish Tacos as well! Make a batch and keep it in the fridge for fish fries, veggie trays, and all your Asian-inspired dishes!

Is Yum Yum Sauce keto and/or paleo-friendly?

Because of the sugar used (and the sugar content in most ketchup brands) this yum yum sauce recipe is not necessarily paleo or keto-friendly.

However, you could definitely swap ingredients with coconut sugar or stevia (or another powdered sugar alternative), sugar-free ketchup, and diet-friendly mayonnaise.

Be sure to double-check the ratio you are using with any sugar substitutes, as they are not all automatically 1:1 swaps.

Is sriracha mayo the same as Yum Yum Sauce?

Yum Yum Sauce may contain mayo, but it’s much more than just “spicy mayo.” Sriracha Mayo is made up of two ingredients: sriracha and mayo, but Yum Yum Sauce is made of a blend of spices, giving it more depth of flavor.

A hand dipping shrimp into a white bowl of shrimp sauce.

Looking for More Easy and Delicious Sauce Recipes? Be Sure to Try:

Get the Complete (Printable) Yum Yum Sauce Recipe Below. Enjoy!

Homemade Yum Yum Sauce Recipe (Japanese Shrimp Sauce)
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Homemade Yum Yum Sauce

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes
Homemade Yum Yum Sauce Recipe – AKA Japanese Shrimp Sauce, this simple and delicious dipping sauce requires only 5 ingredients! Perfect for enjoying with your favorite seafood or veggies.
Servings: 8 servings (1 cup)

Ingredients

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

  • Mix all ingredients together.
  • Whisk in 3 tablespoon water to thin out the sauce.  Taste and add more seasoning salt if desired.
  • Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Video

Notes

Kept in an airtight container in the fridge this sauce will stay good for several weeks.

Nutrition

Serving: 2TB, Calories: 162kcal, Carbohydrates: 5g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 16g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Cholesterol: 9mg, Sodium: 296mg, Potassium: 6mg, Sugar: 5g, Vitamin A: 23IU, Calcium: 2mg, Iron: 1mg
Course: Condiment
Cuisine: Japanese
Author: Sommer Collier
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