Homemade mentsuyu, a concentrated Japanese seasoning sauce of soy sauce, mirin, sake and dashi. Use for noodles and more.
Table of Contents
About This Recipe
This homemade mentsuyu is built on a generous amount of bonito flakes and kombu, steeped overnight in soy sauce, mirin, and sake so their umami transfers fully into the seasoning liquid before it is simmered. The result is concentrated, rich, and deeply aromatic.
What comes through first is the aroma of soy sauce, followed by the toasted depth of the bonito flakes, and then the rounded finish the kombu leaves behind. Layered and full of umami, rather than simply salty.
Once made, it keeps in the refrigerator, ready to be taken out and added to whatever is being cooked.
What is Mentsuyu?
Mentsuyu is a Japanese seasoning sauce made from soy sauce, mirin, sake, and the dashi drawn from bonito flakes and kombu. The name means noodle broth (men: noodles, tsuyu: broth), and diluted with water or dashi it becomes a dipping or pouring broth for somen, soba, and udon.
Used as it is, it also seasons a wide range of everyday dishes. Instead of measuring out soy sauce, mirin, sugar, and dashi separately, a single bottle carries the balance already, which is why it has long been a staple in Japanese households.
Ingredients (Makes about 17–19 fl oz / 500–550 ml)
- Soy sauce 10.6 oz / 300 g
- Sake 5.3 oz / 150 g
- Mirin 5.3 oz / 150 g
- Sugar 0.9 oz / 25 g
- Bonito flakes (katsuobushi) 1.1 oz / 30 g
-
Kombu 0.4 oz / 10 g
(wipe the surface lightly with a dry cloth or paper towel)
Instructions
| 1 | Place the soy sauce, sake, mirin, sugar, bonito flakes, and kombu in a pot. Leave to steep overnight, 8 to 12 hours. Tips
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| 2 | Set the pot over low heat and bring the temperature up slowly. Remove the kombu once small bubbles begin to form around the base and sides of the pot and the liquid is just short of boiling, at around 140–160°F / 60–70°C. Tip Boiling the kombu tends to draw out sliminess and off-flavors characteristic of kombu. |
| 3 | Once the kombu is removed, raise the heat slightly and bring to a full boil to cook off the alcohol from the sake and mirin. Continue until the sharp smell of alcohol is gone. Tip If the alcohol is not fully cooked off, a harsh, bitter edge can remain in the finished seasoning. With sake and mirin in the recipe, this step is essential to the final flavor. |
| 4 | Lower the heat and simmer for about 5 minutes. Long reduction is not necessary. Tip Reducing too far concentrates the saltiness of the soy sauce and the sweetness of the sugar, leaving the finished seasoning overly strong. |
| 5 | Turn off the heat and leave the pot until the mixture has cooled to lukewarm. Tip Umami continues to be drawn from the bonito flakes as the liquid cools, so it is better to wait before straining. |
| 6 | Strain out the bonito flakes and kombu. Do not press the bonito flakes firmly. Tip Letting the liquid drain naturally keeps off-flavors from developing and gives a cleaner finish. |
| 7 | Cool completely, then transfer to a clean, airtight container that has been sterilized in boiling water. Store in the refrigerator. |
Three Keys to Success
Steep overnight to draw out the umami. Steeping the kombu and bonito flakes in the seasoning liquid draws out the full umami of the dashi.
Do not boil the kombu. Remove it when small bubbles start to form around the base and sides of the pot, at around 140–160°F / 60–70°C, just before boiling. Boiling too long tends to draw out sliminess and off-flavors characteristic of kombu.
Cook off the alcohol in the sake and mirin. This step determines the final flavor. Heat until the sharp smell of alcohol is gone, while taking care not to reduce the liquid more than necessary.
How to Use
This is a concentrated seasoning, not a ready-to-use broth. Dilute it with water or dashi to the strength you prefer for dipping or pouring over noodles. Used undiluted, it seasons a wide range of dishes directly.
For simmered dishes and rice bowls in particular, account for the liquid already in the dish when adding it, which keeps the seasoning from becoming too strong.
Fried Eggplant in Dashi Broth (Nasu no Agebitashi)
Warm one part mentsuyu with five parts water, then pour it over freshly fried eggplant.
Teriyaki Chicken
Combine two parts mentsuyu with one part water and reduce it briefly around pan-fried chicken until glossy.
Chilled Soba with Dipping Sauce (Zaru Soba)
Mix one part mentsuyu with three parts water and chill for a dipping sauce. Since the soba is dipped only briefly, the sauce is made stronger.
Udon in Hot Broth (Kake Udon)
Mix one part mentsuyu with ten parts water and heat for a pouring broth. This one is drunk along with the noodles, so it is diluted further than a dipping sauce.
Adjusting the Flavor
Sweetness, saltiness, and dashi flavor vary with the soy sauce and mirin used. Soy sauce in particular differs considerably in salt content and intensity between products, so make the recipe as written first and taste once it has cooled to lukewarm. If it tastes too strong, add water or dashi a little at a time. If it tastes weak, add soy sauce a little at a time.
For a sweeter finish, or for dishes such as simmered dishes and teriyaki that suit a sweeter seasoning, the sugar can be increased slightly. For a stronger bonito flavor, increase the bonito flakes. To avoid animal-based ingredients, the seasoning can be made with kombu alone. Dried shiitake mushrooms, if available, add further depth and a fuller umami.
When adjusting, add small amounts at a time and taste as you go. Flavor is difficult to judge accurately while hot, so check once the mixture has cooled to lukewarm.
Storage
Store in a clean, airtight container in the refrigerator. As this is homemade and contains no preservatives, use it within about one to two weeks.
Storage life varies with hygiene during preparation, the container used, and refrigerator temperature. Do not use the seasoning if there is any sign of off smell, mold, cloudiness, or bubbling.
Using the Leftover Kombu and Bonito Flakes
The kombu and bonito flakes left after straining can be turned into tsukudani, a traditional Japanese preserve simmered with soy sauce and sugar until sweet and savory. Serve it over white rice, or use it as a filling for onigiri.
The kombu and bonito flakes used here have already absorbed the seasoning liquid, so the result can come out stronger than a standard tsukudani recipe. Start by simmering them in water, then add seasonings gradually while tasting as you go. If the flavor is flat, add soy sauce a little at a time to adjust the saltiness. If it needs more sweetness, add sugar or mirin a little at a time until it reaches the level you prefer. If it becomes too strong, add water a little at a time. A small amount of sake can also be added to round out the flavor, heated until the alcohol has fully cooked off.
For the full method, see the recipe below.
Japanese Soy-Simmered Rice Topping (Tsukudani) | Zero-Waste Recipe
