No. 42 · Sauce · Any · Approachable
Spicy Mayo
with Egg Yolks, Rice Vinegar, MSG & Sriracha
Kewpie logic from scratch: yolks whisked rich, seasoned with rice vinegar and a defended pinch of MSG, then spiked salmon-pink.
US cups, tbsp and tsp are approximate. Spoon and level flour. Some ingredients use oz/lb when spoon measures would be unreliable.
This jar was promoted out of the chicken karaage page, where it started as the dip whisked together while the oil heated and ended as the reason the platter emptied before anyone sat down. Then it started showing up uninvited: on shrimp, inside sandwiches, over roasted broccoli eaten standing at the counter. A sauce that keeps leaving its own recipe gets a cellar page. The build is kewpie logic rather than a kewpie clone: yolks only, rice vinegar, sugar, and MSG, the Japanese jar's whole argument, made fresh and then spiked to salmon-pink.
Cooking around dairy, gluten, wine, meat? tap to adjust
The Tools
- Medium bowl (the emulsion) · Set it on a damp towel so it holds still; whisking a mayonnaise is a two-handed job done with one.
- Whisk
- Liquid measuring cup with a spout (the oil) · The thin, controlled pour is the technique; a spout is cheap insurance.
- Flexible spatula
- Glass jar with a tight lid (storage)
- Measuring spoons (optional)
✚ ends up in the sink · essentials unless marked optional
The Spicy Mayo
Why this works This mayonnaise takes its direction from Japanese yolk-based mayonnaise: neutral oil for body, rice vinegar for acidity, and a small MSG dose for savoriness. Egg-yolk emulsifiers help disperse the oil; the slow first additions give the whisk time to create small droplets. Sriracha supplies heat, garlic and seasoning, so add it before deciding whether more salt is needed. The prepared vegan-mayonnaise branch begins with an existing emulsion and must omit both the yolks and their oil. FOOD SAFETY: use commercially pasteurized yolks; keep either version refrigerated at 40°F or below and use within 4 days.
- 2 large commercially pasteurized yolks (about 36g) Egg yolks 36 g · Use pasteurized shell eggs or plain pasteurized liquid yolks. Keep cold until use; freeze unused whites promptly.
- 1 tbsp (15ml), plus more to taste Rice vinegar · Unseasoned. The softer, faintly sweet acid is half of what makes this read Japanese instead of deli.
- 1/2 tsp Sugar
- 1/4 tsp MSG · Ajinomoto from the Asian grocery, sold as umami seasoning. Load-bearing and unapologetic: pure glutamate, the same molecule that makes tomatoes and parmesan taste like more.
- 1/4 tsp fine salt (1.5g), reserved for final tasting Fine salt 1.5 g
- 1 cup (240ml) canola, sunflower, or rice bran Neutral oil 220 g · Fresh canola or sunflower oil. OMIT on the egg-free branch; its prepared vegan mayonnaise supplies all the oil.
- 2 tbsp, plus more to taste Sriracha · A thick red-chile sauce with garlic and vinegar, without fish sauce or other undeclared allergens. Heat varies, so begin with 1 tablespoon.
- a dusting over the serving bowl, optional Shichimi togarashi · Select a blend whose only flagged allergen is sesame; some mixes add other ingredients. This is an optional serving garnish.
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Season the yolks 2 min hands-on
Anchor the bowl on a damp towel. Whisk the pasteurized yolks, 1 tablespoon rice vinegar, sugar and MSG for 30 seconds until smooth. Reserve the salt until after the sriracha goes in.
Look for Smooth, a shade paler than the yolks went in, no sugar grit against the whisk.
Take care -
Build the emulsion 8 min hands-on
Whisking constantly, pour the oil in the thinnest thread you can manage, a few drops at a time for the first minute, widening the stream only once the mixture visibly thickens and holds the whisk's tracks.
Look for The turn happens fast around the quarter-cup mark: it goes from loose and yellow to thick, pale, and glossy, and a ribbon off the whisk sits on the surface for a beat.
Take care Stop adding oil if a slick forms. In a clean bowl whisk a fresh pasteurized yolk with a teaspoon of water, then whisk the broken mixture into it drop by drop. A rescue may need extra acid and seasoning; keep the original storage date. -
Spike it 2 min hands-on
Whisk in 1 tablespoon sriracha and taste on a piece of cooked chicken, shrimp or potato. Add the second tablespoon only if heat still supports the food. Now add the reserved salt in small pinches and the remaining vinegar by drops if it needs brightness.
Look for A soft salmon-pink that holds its shape on a spoon. If it reads heat before it reads rich, you have gone past the food it is for.
Take care -
Jar and chill 1 min hands-on · 30 min wait
Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes so the seasonings settle. Stir and taste the serving portion before it goes to the table.
Look for After the chill it tightens a shade and tastes like one sauce instead of mayo with hot sauce on top.
Take care
When it goes wrong
| Problem | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Broke into a greasy slick | Oil poured faster than the yolks could emulsify it, almost always in the first minute | Build a fresh emulsion from a pasteurized yolk and a teaspoon of water, then slowly whisk in the broken batch. The prepared vegan-mayo branch should need no such build: stop adding liquid and stir in a little fresh prepared mayo if it becomes too loose. |
| Tastes flat next to fried food | Missing the MSG or under-salted | Taste on the actual food. Add vinegar by drops if it feels oily or dull, then salt by a small pinch for definition. Do not salt past the balance of the complete bite. |
| Heat swamps everything | Heavy hand with the sriracha | Dilute a serving portion with plain prepared mayonnaise that suits the selected filters. More oil and sugar alone will not restore the seasoning balance. |
To the Table
Serve it cold in a shallow bowl, dusted with togarashi if sesame is welcome at the table.
Serve a small bowl beside grilled shrimp or roasted broccoli. Taste it with the seasoned food before adding more sauce; the garlic, ginger or char on the food should still come through.
It earns its keep everywhere crisp meets rich: crispy fried shrimp, a fried chicken sandwich in place of plain mayo, and swiped hot over roasted broccoli or charred carrots, where the heat wakes the sauce up.
Keep both versions covered at 40°F or below and use within 4 days. The yolk branch requires commercially pasteurized eggs; vinegar does not establish a longer keeping window.
For the Cook Who Wants More
The Honest Ledger
| Serves | 11 |
|---|---|
| Shopping | 25 min |
| Hands-on (new to this) | 21 min |
| Hands-on (comfortable) | 16 min |
| Hands-on (experienced) | 13 min |
| Waiting (same for everyone) | 30 min |
| This page, including shopping | 1 h 8 min |
| You will dirty | 5 dishes |
The base uses commercially pasteurized yolks because it is served uncooked. The egg-free branch uses prepared vegan mayonnaise and omits the yolks and oil. Choose products that satisfy the selected filters; plain chile replaces garlic-containing sriracha for the FODMAP branch. Nutrition is pending a calculation from the selected product labels and finished yield.
Words We Used
- Kewpie
- The Japanese mayonnaise in the soft squeeze bottle: egg yolks only, rice vinegar, and MSG, richer and rounder than American mayo. This jar borrows its logic rather than cloning its label.
- Lecithin
- The emulsifier in egg yolk. Each molecule has a fat-loving tail and a water-loving head, so it coats sheared oil droplets and holds them suspended, which is how a cup of liquid oil becomes a sauce that stands on a spoon.
- MSG (monosodium glutamate)
- The sodium salt of glutamic acid, the amino acid behind umami. Chemically identical to the glutamate in tomatoes, parmesan, and soy sauce; a pinch seasons for savoriness the way salt seasons for salt.
- Sriracha
- A fermented red jalapeno-garlic hot sauce in the Thai style, made famous in America by Huy Fong's rooster bottle. Thick, tangy, garlicky, and medium-hot: the spec this sauce leans on.
We Hunt We Gather · Vol. 1 · No. 42