A thick, glossy, sweet-and-savory Japanese brown sauce traditionally served with tonkatsu, shredded cabbage, and a touch of karashi.
Ingredients
- 100 ml Japanese or English Worcestershire sauce
- 90 g classic tomato ketchup
- 30 g oyster sauce
- 15 g fine brown sugar
- 2 tsp dark Japanese soy sauce
- 1 tsp Japanese karashi mustard in a tube
Method
- Prepare a small clean jar and a heavy-bottomed saucepan. The sauce should be cooked gently: excessive heat would make the ketchup pasty and cause the sugar to dominate.
- Pour the Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, oyster sauce, soy sauce, and brown sugar into the saucepan. Whisk while cold until the mixture is perfectly homogeneous, with no red streaks separate from the ketchup.
- Heat over low heat, stirring constantly with a flexible spatula. When the sauce turns glossy, small slow bubbles appear around the edges, and the vinegary aroma softens, keep it at a very gentle simmer.
- Continue reducing until the sauce coats the spatula: run a finger across the back of the spatula and the line should remain clear for a few seconds. It should be thicker than Worcestershire sauce, but still pourable.
- Remove from the heat and let cool slightly for a few minutes. Taste: the expected balance is sweet-tart first, then salty and umami-rich, with a subtle spicy finish. If it seems too sharp, let it rest rather than reheating it aggressively.
- Transfer to the jar, seal, and let cool. The texture thickens further in the refrigerator and becomes smooth, dark, and glossy.
- Serve cool or at room temperature, in a generous ribbon over crisp tonkatsu, with very finely shredded white cabbage and a small dab of karashi on the side.
Nutrition
Per serving
- Energy
- 49 kcal
- Protein
- 0.86 g
- Carbohydrate
- 10.11 g
- Fat
- 0.21 g
- Fibre
- 0.53 g
- Calcium
- 11.57 mg
- Iron
- 0.24 mg
- Magnesium
- 6.59 mg
