A traditional ponzu sauce, bright and saline, made with Japanese soy sauce, tart citrus juices, rice vinegar, kombu, and dried bonito. Serve it cold in small amounts with sashimi, tataki, tofu, vegetables, shabu-shabu, or grilled foods.
Ingredients
- 240 ml naturally fermented Japanese soy sauce
- 120 ml pure Japanese yuzu juice
- 60 ml pure sudachi or kabosu juice
- 60 ml unseasoned Japanese rice vinegar
- 60 ml Japanese hon mirin
- 10 g dried Japanese kombu
- 12 g dried bonito flakes, katsuobushi
Method
- Gently wipe the kombu with a barely damp cloth to remove excess surface powder without removing its natural white, umami-rich bloom.
- Pour the hon mirin into a small saucepan and heat over low heat until it gently simmers and the raw alcohol smell disappears. Remove from the heat as soon as the aroma becomes rounded and slightly sweet, without reducing it significantly.
- In a perfectly clean jar, combine the soy sauce, citrus juices, rice vinegar, and warm hon mirin. Stir with chopsticks or a clean spoon until you have a fluid, dark, glossy sauce.
- Add the kombu and dried bonito flakes to the jar. Submerge them completely so they infuse evenly.
- Close the jar and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least half a day, ideally until the next day. The sauce is ready when the acidity seems less sharp on the nose and the marine aroma blends into the soy sauce.
- Strain through a fine-mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth or an unflavored coffee filter. Do not press the bonito hard, or you will introduce dry bitterness and cloud the texture.
- Transfer to a sterilized bottle or jar. Keep chilled and serve in a small dish, very cold or cool, depending on how you use it.
Nutrition
Per serving
- Energy
- 105.3 kcal
- Protein
- 7.62 g
- Carbohydrate
- 14.89 g
- Fat
- 0.28 g
- Fibre
- 1.68 g
- Calcium
- 40.59 mg
- Iron
- 1.53 mg
- Magnesium
- 80.18 mg
