Sauces are very popular across the world to make the food items taste good by adding different flavor to them via sauces. ponzu sauce is one of the popular one in Japanese region as its used for marination of food items and enjoyed with sea food items. it has unique taste and flavor but once its finished you need to have some substitute for ponzu sauce to make your dish tasty and worth eating even in absence of ponzu sauce.
Ponzu sauce taste best with sea food items like shabu-shabu, grilled, roasted or steamed fishes, crabs, shrimps etc. here i have shared some of the popular and know choices which can be used as substitutes for ponzu sauce to mimic its flavor to some extent giving you good taste in your dishes just like ponzu sauce.
Incase you cant find any other alternative for ponzu sauce in market then you can make ponzu sauce right in your kitchen in very less time, below i have also shared simple recipe for making ponzu sauce easily to enjoy it on your food platters of sea food and grilled dishes like chicken, potatoes etc. with your family and friends. you can also eat it with noodles, wontons, dumplings, pasta, lapping etc. if you like the match.
if you are preparing cold salad like pasta salad, veggies salad, sea food salad, cold noddles salads and using ponzu sauce in it then make sure you use it with oil like olive oil in 2:1 i.e. 2 parts ponzu sauce for and 1 part oil mixed in salad bowl with your choice of spice mix and herbs for great tasting salad bowl recipe along with some cheese cubes if you like them in your salad bowl.
if you are wondering how long does ponzu sauce last then let me tell you if you keep it in bottle and cool and dry place then it will last for about 6- 12 months easily. you can keep it in fridge after opening to prevent any bacteria growth in bottle and make use of the full bottle without spoilage.
you can also freeze the ponzu sauce in ice cubes tray and keep the cubes in box in freezer and use as many cubes as required in your recipe easily, this will prevent unwanted spillage of sauce and overuse which whill help you to keep your recipe always taste good with right quantities of ponzu sauce in it, thus earning praise for you from every corner of the room by every single guest and family member.
ponzu sauce substitutes
Nam prik pla
It is a popular sauce in Thailand and japan and its cuisines. you can make basic version of this sauce by mixing lime juice along with chilies and fish sauce. if you don’t like hot and spicy sauce as some Thai and Japanese people don’t like it then you can do away with adding chili in your Nam Prik Pla sauce recipe.
It will give your bland and tasteless cuisines as perfect flavor of balanced sweet and saltiness in the food. besides that you can also add other spices and herbs as it gets paired well with many spices to make the dish taste good.
Soy sauce
soy sauce is one of the ingredients added to ponzu sauce but adding little lemon juice in soy sauce when you don’t have ponzu sauce will work as a great substitute. you can also add vinegar if you like to further enhance the acidic flavor the taste and make a close match with ponzu sauce but make sure you use soy sauce and vinegar in 3 :1 ratio for ideal taste replacement matching ponzu sauce. it is widely used as dip also with sea food or you can drizzle it on stir fry veggies platter or add in wonton soup bowls etc.
It is also used in meat and non veg items marinades preparation. some people add little bit of orange juice to the the mixture of this sauce to get a tangy after taste in your mouth which is less sour and bit of sweetness from orange also comes in sauce making it more tasty or if you have grape fruit you can also use that in the soy sauce to make it similar to ponzu sauce. mix all the ingredients and let it rest for few hours before you use to get best taste from the sauce after it get mixed completely.
Worcestershire sauce
It is a very popular sauce which is similar to ponzu sauce. it possess anchovies along with tamarind sauce to add citrus flavor in it. you can find it easily across the world in super markets and restaurants. this sauce contains some differences herbs and spices when compared to ponzu sauce which brings in some difference in flavor of this sauce.
People use it to marinate meats, chicken, sea food and other similar items to enhance their overall taste.
Mentsuyu seasoning
you can also make use of mentsuyu seasoning which is made by mixing sugar along with soy sauce, mirin, salt and dashi with some more optional ingredients of your choice like vinegar. you can adjust the taste of salt and sugar in your mix with vinegar to get ideal taste resembling to ponzu sauce for great overall recipe. as i have discussed above that it contains dashi so it will be rich in texture and great in overall taste.
if you don’t have vinegar stock in your kitchen then then you can use lemon in small quantities in your mentsuyu seasoning mix to make ideal replacement for ponzu sauce in your kitchen. let me bring to your notice that fruit vinegar also works great if you have them in this ponzu sauce substitute for great taste and original recipe replacing ponzu sauce easily. you can try out mix fruit vinegar or apple vinegar or orange vinegar for ideal and mind blowing taste in mentsuyu seasoning when ponzu sauce is not an option to be used in your taste sea platters or rice dishes or meals from across the world.
How to Make Ponzu Sauce in kitchen?
if you are wondering weather you can make ponzu sauce at home or not then let me tell you it is easy to make ponzu sauce in your kitchen. It originates from japan and has flavor which is tangy and somewhat resembling to vinaigrette. you will experience umami like taste from it getting sour, salty and sweet flavors in one spoon together.
you need to take mirin sauce 2-3 spoons, 1 spoon soy sauce( for gluten free version use tamari sauce), 3 spoon vinegar of your choice, 2 spoons bonito flames, 1 spoon yuzu or normal lemon juice, you can add 2-5 spoons of water also, 2=3 spoon orange juice( optional), berry juice 1-2 spoon( optional).
mix all the ingredients in sauce pan except lemon juice and put on medium heat for couple of minutes then after it cools down strain the sauce and remove bonito flames and add lemon juice in the mix. once done store it a glass jar in fridge for up to 7 days and even more for about 5- 12 months if in freezer which can be done in plastic container or ice cube tray for easy work, storing it correctly in fridge will prevent any development of unwanted spoilage bacteria’s in the jar of ponzu sauce. to serve add it in bowl and add some lemon juice drops if you to make it more tangy and citrussy.
many people also add ponzu sauce to their salad bowls to make them tasty and it works great too. you can add about 1/2 cup ponzu sauce in the bowl along with 1/4 cup of olive oil drizzle over it to make a perfect mixture combo for your salad platter.
if you are marinating sea food then it is good to keep the food in sauce for about 30 to 60 minutes while for meat and chicken you can keep it in ponzu sauce for about 400 minutes or so.
Can i use teriyaki sauce in place of ponzu sauce?
yes teriyaki sauce can be used as replacement for ponzu sauce in its absence. its give good flavor and taste which resembles ponzu sauce and can be used in variety of dishes of your choice like grilled and roasted veggies, non veg items etc.
Conclusion
Hope you like my short collection of substitutes for ponzu sauce to use in its absence and make your dishes taste great to enjoy with your friends and family
Let me know with what all recipes do you like to eat ponzu sauce and its substitutes to get best flavor from your dishes. if you want to add little tanginess in your dishes then plum sauce and its alternatives can also be used for food marination of sea food with your traditional ponzu sauce.
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