Best Japanese Steak Sauce (ready in 5 minutes)

Name: Best Japanese Steak Sauce (ready in 5 minutes)
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 10 min
Ingredients: ¼ cup toasted white sesame seeds; 2 tbsp onions; 1 tsp garlic; ¼ cup soy sauce; ¼ cup water; 1 tsp rice vinegar; 1 tsp mustard powder; 1 cup neutral oil (I used avocado oil)

This is the best steak sauce ever. This sauce is not only great on steak but rice, prawns, chicken, or fish. It only takes 5 minutes to make and 8 ingredients. It is like going to a Teppanyaki restaurant without leaving your house.

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This Japanese steak sauce or hibachi sauce was inspired by Japanese Village a teppanyaki spot in Vancouver Island. I knew I had to recreate this amazing steak sauce. If you've been to a teppanyaki place, then you know what I mean when it comes to this sauce.

Here's my Hibachi Bowl recipe that features this sauce!

Why This Is the Best Steak Sauce

5 minutes, no cooking. Everything goes in the blender.
8 pantry ingredients. Nothing fancy, nothing hard to find.
Tastes like a teppanyaki restaurant. Creamy, nutty, savory. Readers say it is spot on.
Works on everything. Steak, rice, prawns, chicken, fish, and veggies.
Makes a full jar. Sauce for the whole week.

What Is Japanese Steak Sauce?

Japanese steak sauce is the creamy, savory sauce served at teppanyaki and hibachi restaurants with grilled steak, seafood, and veggies. This version blends toasted sesame seeds, soy sauce, onion, garlic, rice vinegar, and mustard powder, then slowly emulsifies in a neutral oil until it turns thick and pourable.

Japanese Village Steak Sauce at Home

If you searched for Japanese Village steak sauce, you are in the right place. My recipe was inspired by Japanese Village. Same creamy, nutty, savory flavor. Made in your blender in 5 minutes. No reservation needed.

Hibachi Sauce vs. Teppanyaki Sauce

Same same but different. Teppanyaki means cooking on a flat iron griddle. A hibachi is technically a small charcoal grill, but most "hibachi" restaurants in North America actually cook on a teppanyaki griddle.

So whether you call it hibachi sauce, teppanyaki sauce, or sesame steak sauce, this creamy sesame sauce is the one they serve with steak.

Ingredients for Japanese Steak Sauce

Toasted white sesame seeds: the backbone. They give the sauce its nutty flavor and creamy body.
White onion: a little sweetness and bite.
Garlic: one clove. That is all you need.
Soy sauce: the salty, savory base.
Water: thins the base so everything blends smooth.
Rice vinegar: a little brightness to balance all that richness.
Mustard powder: the secret kick. It also helps the oil and liquid stay together.
Neutral oil: avocado or grapeseed. This is what makes it thick and creamy.

The full measurements are in the recipe card below.

Substitutions

Only have raw sesame seeds? Toast them in a dry pan over medium heat, stirring, until golden and fragrant. Let them cool before blending.
Gluten-free? Swap the soy sauce for tamari. Check the label.
Want it less salty? Use low-sodium soy sauce.
No avocado oil? Grapeseed, canola, or any neutral oil works. Skip olive oil. It fights the sesame.
No rice vinegar? Apple cider vinegar works in a pinch.
No Vitamix? A regular blender or food processor works. Blend the base a little longer before adding the oil.

How to make Japanese Steak Sauce

sesame garlic sauce — blend all the sauce ingredients EXCEPT THE OIL!

toasted sesame seed garlic sauce — blend all the sauce ingredients EXCEPT THE OIL!

sesame sauce — blend until smooth and creamy

sesame steak sauce — blend until smooth and creamy

How to Fix a Thin or Broken Steak Sauce

This is the number one way this sauce goes wrong, and the fix is easy. Usually the oil went in too fast and never emulsified.

Pour the sauce into a cup. Add a tablespoon of water to the empty blender, turn it on, and slowly drizzle the sauce back in. It should come right back together.

Too thick? Blend in a splash of water. Too thin? Slowly stream in a little more oil with the blender running.

To keep it from breaking in the first place: blend the base until it is completely smooth before any oil goes in. Then pour the oil in a slow, thin stream with the blender running. Never dump it in all at once.

Best Steaks for Japanese Steak Sauce

Any steak works. These are especially good with it:

Ribeye: rich and buttery. Try my Air Fryer Ribeye.
New York strip: beefy with a nice chew. My Air Fryer Strip Steak is perfect for a weeknight.
Skirt steak: big flavor and cooks fast. Slice it thin against the grain. Try my Asian Marinated Skirt Steak.
Steak bites: made for dipping. Try my Miso Garlic Butter Steak Bites.

What to Serve with Japanese Steak Sauce

Steak and rice: drizzle it over a bowl of rice with sliced steak, or make my Hibachi Bowl with Steak and Vegetables.
Fried rice: spoon it over Filipino Garlic Fried Rice or Ribeye Steak Fried Rice.
Seafood: prawns, scallops, lobster, and fish.
Chicken and veggies: grilled chicken, zucchini, mushrooms, and onions, teppanyaki style.

How to store your steak sauce

Store the leftover sauce in a jar for up to 14 days in the fridge if it lasts that long. I could drink this stuff.

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Carmen Spillette

Best Japanese Steak Sauce (ready in 5 minutes)

5 from 7 votes

This is the best steak sauce ever. This Japanese steak sauce is great on steak, rice, prawns, chicken, or fish. It is like going to a Teppanyaki restaurant without leaving your house.

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Prep Time 5

Cook Time 5

Total Time 10

Servings: 8 servings

Course: sauce

Cuisine: Japanese

Calories: 274

Ingredients Equipment Method Nutrition Notes

Ingredients

¼ cup toasted white sesame seeds
2 tablespoon onions
1 teaspoon garlic
¼ cup soy sauce
¼ cup water
1 teaspoon rice vinegar
1 teaspoon mustard powder
1 cup neutral oil I used avocado oil

Equipment

vitamix blender

Method

Using a Vitamix or a high-powered blender. Blend all the ingredients except the oil.
¼ cup toasted white sesame seeds, 2 tbsp onions, 1 tsp garlic, ¼ cup soy sauce, ¼ cup water, 1 tsp rice vinegar, 1 tsp mustard powder
Once the mixture is fully blended, slowly incorporate the oil. Let the blender emulsify until it creates a thick sauce.
1 cup neutral oil
Keep the sauce in the fridge until you are ready to serve.

Notes

Use a high-powered blender like a Vitamix or a food processor.
Slowly drizzle the oil to help the sauce emulsify.

Nutrition

Calories: 274kcalCarbohydrates: 1.9gProtein: 1.6gFat: 30gSaturated Fat: 3.5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4.7gMonounsaturated Fat: 20gSodium: 440mgPotassium: 46mgFiber: 0.7gSugar: 0.2gVitamin A: 1IUVitamin C: 0.3mgCalcium: 49mgIron: 0.8mg

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Japanese Steak Sauce vs. A1 and Yum Yum Sauce

Is it like A1? Not even close. A1 and most bottled steak sauces are tangy brown sauces made with things like ketchup, Worcestershire, vinegar, and raisins. This one is creamy and nutty with a salty soy kick.

Is it yum yum sauce? Nope. Yum yum sauce is the pink, mayo-based sauce you get at a lot of hibachi restaurants. This one has zero mayo. It gets its creaminess from blended sesame seeds and slowly emulsified oil.

If you love the creamy sauce they serve with steak at a teppanyaki grill, this is the one you want.

Easy Ways to Switch It Up

Spicy: blend in a teaspoon of chili crunch or sriracha.
Gingery: add a teaspoon of grated fresh ginger.
A little sweeter: add a teaspoon of honey or mirin.
Extra garlicky: go up to two cloves.

Japanese Steak Sauce FAQs

What is Japanese steak sauce made of?

Japanese steak sauce is made from toasted sesame seeds, soy sauce, onion, garlic, rice vinegar, mustard powder, water, and a neutral oil. Everything except the oil gets blended smooth, then the oil is slowly streamed in to make it thick and creamy.

How do you make steak sauce at home?

Blend all the ingredients except the oil, then slowly drizzle in the oil with the blender running. It takes about 5 minutes and there is no cooking.

Does this taste like the sauce at Japanese Village?

Yes, it is a homemade version of that creamy teppanyaki-style sesame sauce. Every restaurant makes theirs a little differently, but readers say this one tastes just like the restaurant.

Is Japanese steak sauce the same as yum yum sauce?

No, yum yum sauce is a pink, mayo-based sauce. This one has no mayo. It is a sesame and soy sauce emulsion with a nutty, savory flavor.

Is hibachi sauce the same as teppanyaki sauce?

Yes, in North America the names are used interchangeably. Most hibachi restaurants here actually cook on a flat teppanyaki griddle, and this creamy sesame sauce is the one they serve with steak.

Can I use Japanese steak sauce as a marinade?

It is best as a finishing or dipping sauce. Serve it with cooked steak, rice, seafood, and veggies instead of cooking the meat in it.

How long does homemade steak sauce last?

Homemade Japanese steak sauce keeps up to 14 days in a sealed jar in the fridge. Give it a shake or stir before serving, since a little separation is normal.

Can you freeze Japanese steak sauce?

Freezing is not recommended. Emulsified sauces like this one tend to split when they thaw.