What Are The 2 Sauces You Get With Hibachi?

Last Updated on July 3rd, 2023

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Originating in Japan, Hibachi-style cooking involves cooking meat, vegetables, and seafood over an intensely heated metal cooking plate. The cooking plate is heated underneath with burning wood or charcoal.

Over time, ginger and yum yum sauce have proved to be the most popular sauces to serve with hibachi.

One sauce is a thinner consistency but with a kick of spice. The other is made with mayonnaise, tomato puree or ketchup, and some spices. Let’s explore these sauces further, shall we?

What Is Ginger Sauce Made Of?

Ginger hibachi sauce is a favorite because it proves to be an all-rounder. Although it was originally intended to be served best with seafood dishes, it also works well with steak, chicken, and vegetables.

To make this simple sauce, or if you are slightly curious about what’s in this delicious sauce, you might be surprised by its simplicity.

A combination of onion, lemon zest, soy sauce, vinegar, and ginger can amplify your taste buds when eating your hibachi protein of choice. It is worth noting that it also works well with sides like rice.

What Is Yum Yum Sauce Made Of?

An American invention that is now an integral part of Japanese hibachi cooking, the tangy yum yum sauce is also rather uncomplicated to put together.

Using ingredients that most homes have in their pantry, like mayonnaise, ketchup or tomato puree, vinegar, garlic, sugar, water, and spices like paprika, it is one of the easiest to whip up yourself.

A sweet and creamy sauce like yum yum sauce is a go-to side for hibachi.

What Are The Differences?

Although yum yum and ginger sauce are undoubtedly the most popular hibachi sauces, what is the difference?

Perhaps the most obvious difference is that yum yum sauce has a slight spice to it, whereas ginger sauce is more sweet.

If you are making these sauces from scratch yourself (which is by far the tastiest), it is also worth noting that ginger sauce only has six main ingredients. The yum-yum sauce is slightly more complex.

The yum yum sauce has always been extremely versatile and is used for many dishes.

Although this may have become the case with ginger sauce, it was originally invented to accompany the protein in your dish. However, it is now used as a common dipping sauce for foods like wontons.

Are These Two Sauces Similar?

Perhaps they are a lot more alike than intended when first created.

They are known as the two sauces you get with hibachi because they both go so incredibly well with hibachi-cooked food and are now used as dipping sauces for almost everything and anything on the plate.

They are so similar in some ways that in some places, you will be able to find a ginger yum yum sauce bottled for consumers.

Which One Is More Versatile?

The aroma and flavors of yum yum sauce make it extremely versatile. It pairs well with a variety of foods, making it the most versatile.

As well as being served with hibachi, people also use yum yum sauce as a dipping sauce for shrimp, to drizzle over rice and noodles, on hamburgers and hotdogs, as a vegetable dip, and in pasta salad.

Of course, there are many more, but you get the picture by now. The possibilities of what you could do and use yum yum sauce for are almost endless.

Final Thoughts on What Are The 2 Sauces You Get With Hibachi

Hibachi style is one of the most flavorful and exciting ways of cooking. It is a great time to try new flavors and recipes, but one thing is for certain, no matter what concoction you come up with.

So be sure to complement or elevate your dish with a side of homemade yum-yum or ginger sauce. No matter the creation, both sauces explode with flavor and will delight your taste buds.