Have you ever found yourself midway through a plate of hibachi and thought—wait, what’s that creamy, tangy, sweet-but-spicy nectar of the gods they’re drizzling over everything? I’ve spent years trying to bottle that magic, sometimes at 3 AM when normal people aren’t experiencing sauce epiphanies. My kitchen walls have witnessed what I call “sauce-splosions” (we’ll get to that disaster shortly), but the journey to perfect yum yum sauce has been worth every splatter.
Let me tell you, making yum yum sauce at home is easier than trying to convince my cat that counter surfing isn’t an Olympic sport. I’ve probly made this sauce 800 different ways since 2017—each batch a slightly different shade of peachy-pink perfection. The secret? A proper “mayo-foliation” technique (yes, I made that up, and yes, I’ll explain what that means). Trust me, by the end of this recipe, you’ll be drowning everything from broccoli to breakfast cereal in this stuff. Let’s dive into the saucy goodness!
My Messy Yum Yum Sauce Odyssey
I first encountered The Sauce (that’s what I reverentially called it before knowing its actual name) at a hibachi restaurant in Tallahassee back in 2011. Janice, the chef with impossibly quick hands, noticed me practically drinking it and slipped me an extra portion, whispering, “Mayo, ketchup, secret spices—that’s all you need to know.” Challenge accepted, Janice.
My first attempt happened during a Florida thunderstorm when my power kept flickering—not ideal when you’re mid-whisk. I created something resembling pink cement that my roommate Trina still brings up at inappropriate moments (like my cousin’s wedding). Then came the “Great Kitchen Fire of 2016” when I tried to char some garlic for it—turns out, smoke detectors really don’t appreciate culinary experimentation at 1 AM.
By 2018, I’d moved to Chicago where my apartment kitchen was roughly the size of a postage stamp, and somehow the dry winter air made my yum yum sauce separate like warring factions. Developed my first “reverse-splorkle” technique there (working a spatula in figure-eight motions while humming the theme from Jaws – don’t ask me why it works, it just does).
The breakthrough came when I was visiting my grandma in Arizona. She watched me struggling with yet another batch of yum yum sauce and said, “Why are you making it so dang complicated? The best recipes have room to breathe!” Grandma had never even TASTED yum yum sauce before, but somehow her desert wisdom cracked the code for my perfect yum yum sauce recipe: how to make it at home became clear as day.
Ingredients for Sauce Nirvana
- 1 cup mayonnaise (the real stuff, not that light nonsense – I’ve tried both and the light version creates what I call “sad sauce syndrome”)
- 2 hefty tablespoons ketchup (I’m a Heinz loyalist but you do you)
- 1 Grandma pinch of sugar (approximately 1 teaspoon if you didn’t have a grandma who measured by pinching)
- 1½ teaspoons garlic powder (or 2 fresh cloves if you’re feeling ambitious—just promise me you won’t char them at 1 AM)
- ⅜ teaspoon paprika (yes, I know that’s an odd measurement—just do a ¼ teaspoon plus a smidge)
- ½ tiny splash rice vinegar (about 1 teaspoon for those who don’t speak my kitchen language)
- 2-3 tbsp water (depending on your desired thickness—I like mine with “medium drippage velocity”)
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (more if you want your yum yum sauce to have some attitude)
- A whisper of tomato paste (approximately ½ teaspoon, but I usually just squeeze the tube briefly while staring off into space)
- Optional: 2 drops of liquid smoke (My controversial addition that makes purists clutch their pearls)
The Sauce-Crafting Process (Or: How Not to Redecorate Your Kitchen)
1️⃣ First things first—gather ALL ingredients before starting. This is crucial advice I ignored for years until “The Great Paprika Avalanche of 2020” when half my spice rack tumbled into an open mayo jar. Prepare a medium mixing bowl and please, for the love of all things saucy, wear an apron. The yum yum sauce has a mischievous tendency to jump onto your favorite white shirt.
2️⃣ Plop that cup of mayo into your bowl. Now perform your first mayo-foliation by taking a silicone spatula and gently pressing the mayo against the side of the bowl in a sweeping motion—not stirring! This creates the silky texture that’s crucial to authentic yum yum sauce. I typically do this 12-15 times while contemplating my life choices.
3✨ Add the ketchup, but don’t mix yet! Instead, create a small divot in the center of your mayo-ketchup mountain and add all your dry ingredients (sugar, garlic powder, paprika, cayenne). This prevents the paprika from forming those stubborn little clumps that will haunt your sauce like tiny tomato ghosts.
4️⃣ NOW you can mix—but wait! Don’t stir in circles like a normal person. Instead, use my “cross-current technique” where you drag the spatula through the mixture in a zigzag pattern. I learned this while watching my neighbor Ted mix concrete once. He was building a patio, but somehow the technique translated perfectly to yum yum sauce. Check out my hibachi shrimp recipe that pairs perfectly with this sauce!
5️⃣ Gently incorporate the rice vinegar while continuing your zigzag motion. The sauce should now be taking on that characteristic peachy-pink color. If it’s looking too dark, you’ve gone too heavy on the ketchup—but don’t panic! Just add a smidge more mayo and perform an additional mayo-foliation.
6️⃣ Add water a little at a time until you reach your preferred consistency. I aim for what I call “the slow wave”—when you tilt the bowl, it should move like a lazy ocean tide, not a rushing river or stubborn mountain. This typically takes 2-3 tablespoons of water, but I’ve needed as many as 4 on particularly dry winter days.
7️⃣ The final and most important step: refrigeration! Cover that precious creation and let it chill for at least 2 hours—though overnight is when the magical sauce transformation truly happens. The flavors need time to get friendly with each other. I’ve been known to set timers and perform “sauce checks” hourly, but I acknowledge this might be excessive.
Saucy Wisdom & Warnings
• DON’T OVERWORK THE SAUCE! I know it’s tempting to keep stirring and fussing, but too much agitation leads to what I call “sauce separation anxiety.” Once ingredients are incorporated, put down the spatula and back away slowly.
• Temperature matters more than you think. Ingredients fresh from the fridge can cause inconsistent blending. I always set everything out for 15 minutes before starting—a technique my imaginary culinary mentor, Chef Paolo, insisted upon during our dream-state cooking lessons.
★ STORAGE REVELATION: Keep your yum yum sauce in a squeeze bottle, not a jar! This was my lightbulb moment after years of awkwardly spooning it onto food. A plastic squeeze bottle gives you precision control for artistic sauce drizzling. This works wonderfully for my spicy mayo recipe too!
• The sauce will thicken slightly in the refrigerator. If it becomes too thick after storage, simply “re-awaken” it with a few drops of water and a gentle stir.
• For best flavor development, make this the day before you need it. What I call the “overnight sauce magic” is actually a scientific process of flavor compounds melding together, but “overnight sauce magic” sounds more impressive at dinner parties.
• Always do a final taste check before serving! Sometimes your yum yum sauce needs a final pinch of something—trust your tongue over the recipe. As my grandmother would say, “Recipes are just suggestions from people who ain’t in your kitchen.” For more sauce wisdom, check out this resource from Serious Eats.
Essential Sauce-Making Tools
SILICONE MINI-SPATULA ★★★★★
My ride-or-die kitchen companion that I’ve had since 2014 and refuse to replace even though the handle is slightly melted from “The Great Stove Incident.”
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0758HHCSG
GLASS MIXING BOWLS WITH LIDS ★★★★★
Perfect sauce-development chambers that I sometimes use incorrectly as impromptu salad bowls when all other dishes are dirty.
These should be hand-washed despite what the manufacturer claims—trust me on this one. Learn about proper kitchen tool care here.
Make It Your Own: Sauce Variations
SPICY YUM YUM: Double the cayenne and add a teaspoon of sriracha. I call this version “Yum Yum YOWZA” and it’s made grown men weep—both from spice and joy.
HERBY VARIATION: Add 1 teaspoon of finely chopped dill and parsley. This completely transforms the sauce into something that shouldn’t work but somehow does. I discovered this accidentally when herbs fell into my mixing bowl during an enthusiastic kitchen dance session.
THE CONTROVERSIAL PICKLE ADDITION: Try adding ½ teaspoon of finely minced pickle. Before you report me to the sauce authorities, try it—especially on burgers. This variation came to me in a dream after eating hibachi and pickles in the same day.
CITRUS TWIST: Add ¼ teaspoon of lemon zest for brightness. This variation was inspired by my fictional year studying under sauce masters in a non-existent Tokyo culinary academy. This works beautifully with my baked salmon recipe too!
The Million Dollar Question
Why is it actually called “Yum Yum Sauce” and not something more descriptive?
After extensive research (meaning I asked everyone at three different hibachi restaurants), I’ve concluded that the name comes solely from the involuntary “yum yum” sounds people make while eating it. My personal theory, however, is that the original creator simply forgot to name it, and when asked what it was called, panicked and said “Um…Yum Yum Sauce?” The simplest explanation is usually correct. The fascinating thing about yum yum sauce is that while it contains basic ingredients, they transform through what I call “condiment alchemy”—the mysterious process that happens between combining ingredients and serving.
The Final Drizzle
Making yum yum sauce at home is truly one of life’s simple pleasures. I’ve served it at dinner parties where it overshadowed the actual meal, used it to salvage cooking disasters, and once accidentally packed it instead of sunscreen for a beach trip (surprisingly, not my worst packing mistake).
What will you drizzle your homemade yum yum sauce on first? Will you follow my recipe exactly or venture into your own sauce territory? Does the thought of “mayo-foliation” make you giggle as much as it does me? These are the questions that keep me up at night.
Remember, the best yum yum sauce comes from the heart—and a surprisingly precise combination of ingredients. May your sauce be pink, your drizzle be perfect, and your hibachi experiences forever changed!
—Chef Margo “The Sauce Whisperer” Reynolds, 3-time runner-up in the Southeastern Regional Condiment Crafting Championships
