Ponzu 101: What Is Ponzu and How Do You Use It?

There is a row of bottles on our shelf that look like soy sauce at first glance, but as soon as you open one, you smell citrus. That is ponzu, the fresh, tangy sauce you dip your shabu-shabu, gyoza and grilled fish in in Japan. Because yuzu is often on the label, ponzu is sometimes confused with yuzu, and that is why we explain in this guide what ponzu exactly is, what types there are and how to use or make it yourself at home. You can find the bigger picture of the Japanese pantry in Japanese Kitchen 101.

What is ponzu?

Ponzu is a thin Japanese sauce made of soy sauce and citrus juice, often supplemented with mirin, rice vinegar and an extract of kombu and katsuobushi. It tastes salty, sour and savory at the same time, and is much lighter and fresher than regular soy sauce. For the juice, Japanese chefs use citrus fruits such as yuzu, sudachi or daidai, and in factory ponzu that is also often just lemon.

Strictly speaking, ponzu is the sour base of citrus juice and vinegar, and the version with soy sauce is called ponzu shoyu in Japan. In practice, and also on most bottles, everyone means the variant with soy by ponzu. The name has a Dutch touch by the way: the word pon is traced back to the Dutch pons, a drink with citrus, and zu means vinegar.

What is the difference between yuzu and ponzu?

Yuzu is a citrus fruit and ponzu is a sauce, which can be made with yuzu juice, but also with other citrus. Yuzu smells strong and fragrant, somewhere between lemon, mandarin and grapefruit, and is used in juice, pasta, kosho, dressings, candy and drinks. Ponzu is always a flavor enhancer at the table or in the kitchen, with the salty depth of soy sauce and dashi underneath. A bottle with yuzu ponzu on it, such as Daisho Yuzu Ponzu, therefore brings those two together. You can read everything about the fruit itself and about yuzu products in Yuzu 101.

Types of ponzu at a glance

Ponzu differs mainly in the citrus that is in it: regular lemon ponzu is the most neutral, yuzu ponzu is more fragrant and sudachi gives a sharper, greener freshness. In addition, there are versions with dashi, with sesame and without soy sauce. The bottles in our toko are the same ones you see in the supermarket in Japan, from brands like Kikkoman, Mizkan, Daisho and Otafuku.

Kikkoman Ponzu Lemon · 1 literClassic citrus soy sauce for every dayKikkoman Ponzu Lemon · 250 mlThe same ponzu in a small bottleMizkan Ajipon LemonPonzu from a trusted Japanese brandDaisho Yuzu Ponzu YuzuFresh and fragrant through the yuzuOtafuku Yuzu Ponzu YuzuAlso tasty with meat and fried dishesMizkan Yuzu Ponzu Yuzu · gluten-freeFor those who do not eat wheatUchibori Ponzu Yuzu · with dashiWith bonito and seaweed, full of flavorDaisho Sesame Ponzu With sesameNutty and fresh at the same timeSudachi juice To mix yourselfFor your own sudachi ponzu

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Shio ponzu Without soy sauceClear, with salt instead of soy

Regular citrus ponzu

Kikkoman Ponzu is made with Kikkoman soy sauce and lemon, and is therefore the most versatile ponzu to start with; you can get it in a large one-liter bottle or as a small 250 ml bottle. Mizkan Ajipon is a well-known Japanese ponzu in the same style.

Yuzu ponzu

Daisho Yuzu Ponzu and Otafuku Yuzu Ponzu smell clearly of yuzu and are nice with fish, salads and fried snacks. Uchibori Ponzu goes one step further, because besides yuzu it also contains a broth of bonito and seaweed, which makes it fuller and heartier. If you cook gluten-free, look at Mizkan Gluten Free Yuzu Ponzu.

Sudachi, sesame and ponzu without soy

Daisho Sesame Ponzu combines ponzu with sesame, which gives a creamier, nuttier sauce that fits nicely with cold noodles and salads. We do not have a ready-made sudachi ponzu at the moment, but with sudachi juice and soy sauce you make it yourself. Shio ponzu, with salt instead of soy sauce, remains clear in color and is liked in Japan to be given with fish and seafood; we do not have those in the assortment now either. All the bottles are together in Japanese sauces and Japanese soy sauce.

Making ponzu yourself

Kikkoman Soy Sauce is the base if you make ponzu yourself: you mix it with fresh citrus juice and mirin, and let a piece of kombu and a handful of katsuobushi steep in it. For the mirin you can take Itamae Hon Mirin, which you first warm up and let cool down again, and for the dashi make you use Hidaka Kombu and katsuobushi. Let the mixture steep for at least a day in the refrigerator and then strain it. As citrus, yuzu juice is the most classic, but sudachi or a mixture of freshly squeezed lemon and lime works also perfectly. The precise amounts are in our recipe for ponzu, and more about mirin you read in Mirin 101.

What do you use ponzu for?

You use ponzu mainly as a dip sauce and dressing, everywhere where you want to combine the freshness of citrus with the savory taste of soy sauce. A few fixed places in the Japanese kitchen:

• Nabe and shabu-shabu. With Japanese hot pot you dip thinly sliced meat and vegetables after cooking in a bowl of ponzu, often with grated daikon and scallions in it, and with shabu-shabu there is usually also goma dare next to it.
• Gyoza. Instead of the usual mix of soy sauce and vinegar you can also just dip gyoza in ponzu, possibly with a few drops of chili oil.
• Tataki. Briefly seared tuna or beef, such as a piece of entrecote or ribeye, is cut into thin slices and served with ponzu, scallions and ginger.
• Salad and cold tofu. A dash of ponzu with some sesame oil is a quick dressing for cucumber, seaweed or a green salad, and over hiyayakko it is a fresh replacement of soy sauce.
• Grilled fish and meat. Over grilled mackerel, salmon or a piece of chicken from the grill ponzu gives the same effect as a squeeze of lemon, but with more depth.

With ponzu you can also marinate briefly, but the citrus remains the freshest if you add it only at the end or at the table, because long heating lets the aroma evaporate. Why that combination of soy, dashi and sour works so well, you read in our piece about umami.

Recipes with ponzu

These recipes show how ponzu is made and where it belongs, from the sauce itself to the broth that resonates in it.

PonzuMake your own ponzu with yuzu juice, soy sauce, mirin, kombu and katsuobushi.Goma dareThe sesame sauce that sits on the table alongside the ponzu for shabu-shabu.HiyayakkoCold tofu with scallions and ginger; try replacing the soy sauce with ponzu.Ichiban dashiThe kombu and katsuobushi broth that also gives ponzu its distinctive flavour.Yuzu dressingFresh salad dressing with yuzu juice, a cousin of ponzu.

Which ponzu should you choose?

Store ponzu in a cool, dark place, and follow the advice on the label after opening; many manufacturers recommend putting the bottle in the refrigerator. Want to know how ponzu compares to regular soy sauce? Read Soy Sauce 101, and for the dashi ingredients you can go to Miso and broth.

Frequently asked questions

Ponzu is one of those bottles you buy once and never want to be without again, because it so easily freshens up an ordinary meal, from a pan of leftovers on a cold evening to a few slices of tuna on a warm day. Start with a familiar bottle, try it next to a yuzu ponzu, and if you feel like going further, make it yourself once with your own citrus. And if you are hesitating in a shop in Amsterdam, feel free to ask us, because we are happy to help you choose, and for the rest of the Japanese basics you can always go to Japanese Kitchen 101.