Tempura Sauce (Tentsuyu)

Someone dipping a shrimp tempura into a small ramekin of tempura dipping sauce.

This five-ingredient easy and authentic Japanese tempura sauce is salty, sweet and packed with umami flavors that only takes 5 minutes to make!

Course Sauce, Sauces

Cuisine Japanese

Keyword how to make tempura sauce, sauce for tempura, tempura dipping sauce, tempura dipping sauce recipe, tempura sauce, tempura sauce recipe, tentsuyu, tentsuyu sauce

Prep Time 1

Cook Time 4

Total Time 5

Servings servings

Calories 44kcal

Author Megan

Equipment

Small Saucepan

Ingredients

1 teaspoon dashi powder
1 cup water
¼ cup soy sauce
¼ cup mirin
1 tablespoon sugar

Instructions

Make dashi stock. In a small saucepan, mix together the dashi powder and water over medium heat.
Add remaining ingredients. Once the dashi stock reaches a simmer, add the soy sauce, mirin, and sugar. Simmer for 3 minutes to burn off the alcohol in the mirin.
Serve. Remove from the heat and serve with your favorite tempura.

Notes

Quality ingredients: Since this tentsuyu sauce only has 5 ingredients, using high-quality authentic Japanese ingredients will ensure that you’ll have the best flavor.
Adjust to taste: Every person will have a different preference. For the perfect tempura sauce, adjust the soy sauce, mirin, and sugar to your liking.
Simmer the mirin. Since mirin has alcohol in it, simmering the sauce when you add the mirin will allow the alcohol to burn off leaving the rich sweet flavors behind.
Allow the tempura sauce to cool. Tentsuyu is typically served at room temperature. After making the sauce, allow it to cool before serving so the flavors have time to meld together.
Storage Instructions: You can store this tempura sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Nutrition