Sometimes, I realize I don’t have ponzu sauce when eating steamed vegetables or meat with a seiro (bamboo steamer)! But don’t worry—you can easily make it at home using common ingredients like lemon, soy sauce, and vinegar. This is a great alternative if you don’t have ponzu or if you live outside of Japan where it’s hard to find.
Ingredients
| Vinegar (Mizkan) | 2 tbsp |
| Soy sauce (Kikkoman) | 3 tbsp |
| Lemon juice | 2 tsp |
Mizkan’s vinegar is a seasoned vinegar. I will update this article after confirming whether grain vinegar or rice vinegar can also be used without any issues!
How to Make
1⃣ Mix vinegar, soy sauce, and lemon juice together.
I personally think Mizkan’s classic ponzu goes well with steamed vegetables and meat, but at my parents’ house, we often used yuzu ponzu. When I visited Okinawa, I tried shikwasa ponzu, which was delicious! In Japan, there are so many variations like mikan ponzu, and it’s really interesting.
You can also use lime instead of lemon to make lime ponzu or try using local citrus fruits from your area to create your own unique ponzu. There are so many ways to enjoy ponzu—give it a try!
If it looks delicious, feel free to share it on Twitter/X! And if you try making it, I’d be even happier if you tag me in your post!
