Tartar sauce is thick and creamy with the perfect amount of zing. Whether it's served with English fish and chips or Japanese Ebi Fry, I'd say that tartar sauce is a sauce well-loved all over the world!
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Tartar Sauce
What is Tartar sauce?
Tartar sauce is a thick, creamy and tangy sauce that pairs very well with seafood, especially of the deep fried variety. Tartar sauce originated from France and has made its way all over the world. (for good reason!)
What are the main ingredients in Tartar sauce?
There are many variations of tartar sauce, but the main ingredients used in the UK and European countries are:
- Mayonnaise (or aioli)
- Capers
- Gherkins
- Lemon Juice
- Dill or Parsley
- Mustard
How is Japanese Tartar Sauce Different?
Of course the base of the sauce is very similar, but Japanese Tartar sauce omits some surprising ingredients! Maybe because it's hard to get capers in Japan, but there's also some additional ingredients that you might not expect.
- Mayonnaise (Japanese mayo made with rice vinegar like Kewpie)
- Onions
- Boiled Egg
So, although some recipes do contain pickles, the main crunch in Japanese Tartar sauce is onion!
Extra Eggs
In addition to mayonnaise, Japanese tartar sauce contains boiled eggs. The egg yolk is mashed and mixed in with the mayonnaise. That's what gives it more of a yellow colour.
Then the egg whites are finely chopped and add an extra texture to the sauce.
Which one is better?
Well of course I couldn't possibly decide... English tartar sauce is a bit more sour and runny while Japanese tartar sauce is a bit thicker and slightly milder in taste.
They're both delicious! But for Japanese dishes you should definitely try the Japanese version!
Check out our video for How to make homemade Japanese style tartar sauce
Step by step recipe
Homemade Japanese Tartar Sauce (タルタルソース)
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4 portions 1x
Description
How to make tangy Japanese Style Tartar Sauce from scratch.
Ingredients
- ⅛ White onion (25g)
- 2 Large Eggs
- 4 tbsp Mayonnaise (Preferably Japanese Mayonnaise)
- 1 tbsp Lemon juice
- 2 tsp Sugar
- 1 pinch Salt
- 1 pinch Black pepper
- 1 pinch Dried Parsley
Instructions
Tartar Sauce
- First, bring a small pot of water to the boil and add your eggs. Cook for 10 minutes to make them hard boiled.
- While the eggs are boiling, take your ⅛ onion and very finely dice it. Feel free to use a food processor to get it extra fine.
- Once they're ready, put your boiled eggs in a bowl of cold water and peel the shells. You can wait for them to cool down properly if you prefer (I'm impatient!).
- Take the 2 boiled eggs at cut them into halves.
- Scoop the yolks out into a medium sized bowl.
- Add 4 tbsp of mayonnaise, 2 tsp sugar, 1 tbsp lemon juice and a pinch of salt, pepper and dried parsley to the egg yolks.
- Mix everything together, mashing up the egg yolks as you mix and incorporating it into the rest of the sauce.
- With a sharp knife, finely dice the egg whites. Cut it as small as possible, don't use a food processor for this part as the egg white will lose its texture.
- Add the diced onion and egg whites to the sauce and mix well.
- Preferably let it rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before serving.
- Serve with ebi fry or some crispy fish dish and enjoy!
Notes
If you want to soften the onion taste you can soak the onion after its been finely diced. (make sure to dry it well before adding it to your sauce) or reduce the amount to 18 of an onion.
Homemade tartar sauce can be kept in the refrigerator for 1-2 weeks depending on the freshness of your ingredients!
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 15
- Category: Sauces
- Method: Boil
- Cuisine: Japanese
Keywords: Japanese style tartar sauce recipe, Japanese tartar sauce, Japanese ebi fry sauce, how to make tartar sauce, homemade tartar sauce, Japanese sauce recipe, easy tartar sauce, tartar sauce with eggs,
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