Yum Yum Sauce
Yum yum sauce is the pale pink stuff from Japanese steakhouse hibachi grills. You've had it squirted next to fried rice and grilled shrimp, probably in a small paper cup. It's mayo-based, lightly sweet, with a whisper of heat and a color that comes almost entirely from tomato paste — not ketchup, despite what half the internet tells you.
The commercial versions you'll find in grocery store bottles lean heavily on stabilizers and a lot more sugar than the restaurant version needs. They also tend to taste flat, because mass-produced sauces are built to survive months on a shelf rather than taste like anything specific. Making it yourself takes about five minutes and gives you control over the heat and sweetness, which matters because hibachi chefs tweak their own batches constantly.
The ratio that does the work here is roughly 16 parts mayo to 2 parts tomato paste to 1 part sugar. Hellmann's works. Kewpie works better if you can find it, since the extra egg yolk gives the sauce more body.
One note on storage: this keeps in the fridge for about a week, and it genuinely tastes better on day two after the garlic powder has time to hydrate.
Ingredients
Instructions
Pro tips for authenticity
Nutrition per serving
How does it compare to the real thing?
Hibachi restaurants make this in large batches a day or two ahead, which matters more than people realize — the spices hydrate and the raw garlic-powder edge softens. A same-day batch at home will taste sharper and slightly thinner until it sits overnight in the fridge. Some steakhouses also use a whipped-style Japanese mayo or thin their sauce with a splash of melted butter on the griddle, which you won't replicate with a cold bowl and a whisk.