Yuzu Recipes

Ponzu Sauce

This is the classic Japanese sauce using yuzu juice. If you can’t find yuzu, lime juice is an acceptable substitute, but you won’t get the distinctive flavor that yuzu imparts. Most Asian markets now stock bottled yuzu juice.

Ponzu is best on grilled meats, but you can use it as the acid in a salad dressing with an Asian flair. I dice grape tomatoes and tofu, mix them with Ponzu, and sprinkle on a little Sansho pepper powder for a Japanese-style salad.


¾ cup mirin (sweet rice wine)
½ cup rice vinegar
4 tablespoons soy sauce
½ cup bonito flakes
¼ cup fresh yuzu juice, or more to taste
1 tablespoon grated yuzu zest, if available

Combine the mirin, vinegar, soy sauce, yuzu zest and bonito flakes in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Remove from the heat and let cool.

Pour the sauce through a strainer into a bowl; discard the bonito flakes. Add the yuzu juice. Store in a glass jar with a tight-fitting lid in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Add more yuzu juice if needed before serving.

Links to other Yuzu Recipes:

Wolfgang Puck's Shrimp Salad with Wasabi-Yuzu Aioli

Sea Scallop Tiradito with sizzling yuzu sesame oil

Scallops in Yuzu (Hotate Yuzu Kama-yaki)

Ming Tsai's Crispy Butterflied Shrimp with Orange-Yuzu Syrup

Roasted Red Snapper With Tomatoes and Yuzu