Spicy Mayo (The Easiest, Best Condiment!)

Spicy mayonnaise is the best condiment and it’s only 2 ingredients! It adds flavorful richness to sushi, poke bowls, burgers and more.

Want the best drizzle or brush to add richness to your meal bowl, taco, or burger? Enter: spicy mayo! It’s an Asian condiment that’s often served with sushi and adds a spicy umami to every bite! Alex and I make it often: it adds just the right touch to our vegan poke bowls. Luckily, it takes literally 2 minutes to prepare: and keeps in the fridge for months! Here’s how to do it.

What’s in spicy mayonnaise?

Spicy mayonnaise consists of only two main ingredients: mayonnaise and sriracha! What is Sriracha? It’s an Asian-style hot sauce, and you 100% need that bottle in your fridge if you haven’t already. You can make this sauce in just 2 minutes to add umami and richness to so many different dishes. Here we added an optional third ingredient to enhance the flavor. To get that full of flavor, all you need is a little drizzle when you serve it. Here’s what you’ll do:

• Start with ½ cup mayonnaise. Use any kind, vegan mayo or Kewpie mayo for the most authentic flavor (see section below).
• Stir in about 1 ½ tablespoons Spicy Sriracha Sauce. Try it and see if you like it hotter. A range of 1 tbsp (not very hot) to 2 tbsp (very hot) is a good range, but if you like it even hotter, go for it!
• Add ½ tbsp soy sauce (optional) to add even more umami. So stir!

Storage of spicy mayonnaise

When you mix the sauce it will have a slightly runny texture. It makes a great drizzle for bowl dishes like a poke bowl. If you would like the texture to thicken, place in the fridge until cold, about 2 hours. Spicy mayonnaise will keep in the fridge for around 3-4 months, so you can make a large batch and use it whenever you feel like it!

Ways to use spicy mayonnaise

There are so many delicious ways to use spicy mayonnaise! Here are our favourites:

1. poke bowls. Try this Hawaiian bowl meal with a filet and it’s to die for! Head to the Poke Bowl or Vegan Poke Bowl.
2. Sushi. Use it for diving! Use store bought or try our maki sushi recipe.
3. Citizens. Our Perfect Black Bean Burger gets even more perfect with this sauce.
4. tacos Try it with crispy cauliflower tacos or quinoa tacos.
5. sandwiches Try our vegan banh mi or vegetarian banh mi with spicy mayonnaise to spice it up.
6. Fish. Try our Seared Ahi Tuna or Ahi Poke.

To be totally authentic, use Kewpie mayonnaise

Want the signature flavor that comes with sushi? You need a special kind of mayonnaise: kewpie! What is Kewpie mayonnaise? It is a Japanese mayonnaise that is even richer and creamier than the American one. It uses rice vinegar instead of distilled vinegar.

Because people are so obsessed with Kewpie, it’s showing up in mainstream grocery stores. You can also find it in Asian grocery stores and here is a link to buy Kewpie online. You can really taste a difference!

Variants of spicy mayonnaise

Finally, here are some variations you can make with the spicy mayonnaise concept:

• Lime Mayonnaise. If you’re also serving people who can’t stand the heat, make a batch of lime mayonnaise! Just add lime juice instead of hot sauce: it adds all the zesty flavor without the heat.
• Latin/Mexican Spicy Mayo. Swap out the hot cholula sauce for the sriracha and you’ve got a Latin flair.
• Sauce yum yum. Ok, it’s not spicy at all. But it’s a Japanese-style condiment made from mayo and looks and tastes similar. Try our Yum Yum sauce.

Another delicious mayo recipe? Do it with lawyers! Try our avocado mayonnaise.

This recipe is…

Vegetarian, gluten free and dairy free. For vegans and plant-based, use vegan mayonnaise (available at most traditional grocery stores or online).