Spicy Mayo for Sushi (Regular and Deluxe) (2024)

It’s hard to beat the restaurant version of spicy mayo for sushi — and yet. Here is that recipe, plus an even more flavorful variation with a couple of additional ingredients. Great for sushi, poke, salads, and more.

Why we love this recipe

Over the years, this recipe has often ranked among Umami Girl’s most popular, and for good reason. It feels almost like a magic trick — so quick and easy, yet so incredibly effective at breathing life into a variety of meals.

The secret to sushi restaurants’ simple but simply epic spicy sauce is Japanese-style mayonnaise, which is easier than ever to get your hands on at home. The two-ingredient restaurant version of this sauce will be exactly what you came here looking for.

And while that’s hard to beat, I like my slightly amped-upversion, with a couple of additional ingredients, even better in certain circ*mstances. It’s great for sushi and poke bowls, sure. But it also makes a fabulous dip, sandwich spread, and salad dressing.

Get both versions below.

What you’ll need

Here’s a glance at the ingredients you’ll need to make this recipe.

For the basic version

• The base of this sauce isKewpie mayo.This Japanese-style mayonnaise is creamier, tangier, and more umami-fied than American mayo. It’s made with egg yolks instead of whole eggs, has a thinner consistency that makes it popular as a salad dressing base, and, not gonna lie, it has a little MSG in it. (Psst…so do a lot of the things you probably eat, just sayin.) That combination of characteristics is one of the reasons you love this sauce so much, and why it’s not the same if you make it at home with American mayo. Buy it at your local east Asian specialty market if you have one, here, or even at many regular grocery and big box stores.
• Sriracha is plenty spicy but also has a beautiful, unique flavor profile among hot sauces. A little bit sweet, a little bit tangy, a little bit garlicky — it’s the other element you expect in this sauce.

For the deluxe version

• To make the deluxe version of spicy sauce, you’ll also need a little bit of reduced-sodium soy sauce (or regular, if you prefer). It adds another level of savoriness that works beautifully with so many east-Asian flavors. If it’s important to you that this recipe be gluten-free, be sure to choose a GF soy sauce variety like tamari.
• A little bit of minced shallot goes a lot way toward adding dimension and freshness to this sauce. It works in all applications but is especially great when using the sauce to dress a salad.

How to make it

Here’s an overview of what you’ll do to make a quick, easy, and totally stellar batch of spicy mayo for sushi — basic restaurant version or deluxe variation. You can see the steps in action in the video that accompanies this post, and get all the details in the recipe card below.

1. For both versions, place mayo and sriracha into a small mixing bowl.
2. Give it a stir and taste for spice level, adding more sriracha if you like.
3. For deluxe mayo, stir in soy sauce and shallot.
4. Sauce is ready to use for sushi, poke, salads, and more. That’s it!

Expert tips and FAQs

How to use it

Here are a few of our favorite ways to use spicy mayo, for sushi and beyond:

• Spicy salmon roll with avocado
• Tuna and salmon poke bowls
• Soft shell crab salad
• Soft shell crab sandwiches (just drizzle it right on)
• Add it to these 20-minute sushi bowls
• Dip charred shish*to peppers right into a small bowl of it
• Or use it as a salad dressing