Mentsuyu (noodle sauce) is a very versatile savory sauce that gives many dishes a great Japanese flavor. This is perfect for dipping cold Soba or Somen noodles, tempura and more.
What’s Mentsuyu?
Mentsuyu (麺つゆ) literally means “noodle sauce” in Japanese and is used primarily as a dipping sauce. Store-bought versions typically come in bottles and are available in two varieties: one to be used straight from the bottle and another to be diluted with water. Mentsuyu is easy to make at home with simple ingredients, without unwanted additives. Making it at home also allows you to achieve the perfect flavor for your taste by adding more sweetener or different umami ingredients such as kombu instead of katsuobushi (bonito flakes).
Although Mentsuyu is called noodle sauce, it’s a versatile condiment that can be used in many dishes. It’s a combination of essential Japanese seasonings—soy sauce, sake, and mirin—flavored with katsuobushi. This can be a quick sauce for stir-fry dishes, nimono (simmered vegetables), tamagoyaki (rolled omelet), hiyayakko (cold tofu), and numerous other preparations. When you’re unsure about the proper ratio of soy sauce, sake, and mirin for a dish, mentsuyu provides perfect flavoring without having to measure each seasoning individually. It’s truly a great multi-purpose sauce for preparing many Japanese dishes.
Tips and usage of Mentsuyu
- Our Mentsuyu is the concentrated kind, and you’ll want to add water depending on what it’s used for.
- For noodle dipping sauce, add 2 parts water. For tempura dipping sauce, add 3 parts water. For soup for udon and soba noodle soup, add to 4 parts boiling water or dashi. Of course, adjust the amount of Mentsuyu to suit your taste..
- When making Mentsuyu, let it boil long enough (2 minutes or so) so that unwanted alcohol flavor is evaporated and only umami remains, otherwise bitterness will stay.
- When cooling Mentsuyu, leave katsuobushi (bonito flakes) in the sauce until cool so that the umami from the bonito flakes diffuses into the liquid.
- Mentsuyu keeps well in the refrigerator for 3-4 weeks in a clean container. Consider how much you’ll use and cut the recipe in half or make a double batch accordingly.
What can Mentsuyu be used for?
- Zaru Soba (cold Soba noodles)
- Chicken Udon Noodle Soup
- Tempura
- Stir-Fry Vegetables
Video
Full recipe video is also available in the recipe box below and on our YouTube channel.
Multipurpose sauce (for noodles and tempura)
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Soy Sauce
- 1/2 cup Mirin
- 1/2 cup Sake (Japanese rice wine)
- handful of Dried Bonito Flakes
Instructions
- Put all the ingredients in a pot.
- Let it boil for 2 minutes and remove from heat. Cool completely in the pot.
- Strain bonito flakes, and store in a clean container.
Video
This recipe was originally published in August 2012. The post was updated on March 19, 2025 with more useful content, new photos and a short video.
32 Comments
How long do you boil it? 20 minutes?
Hi Lisa, you don’t need to boil for long at all. In fact, as soon as it reaches to a boiling point, you can turn off the heat, cover, and let it sit until it cools off. You don’t even need to stir.
Hello Yuko,
i’m a muslim,so i can’t put mirin or sake in my cooking as it contain alcohol. Could you tell me, what can i subtitute both mirin and sake with?
It will be so great if you could tell me.
Thank you Yuko (⌒‐⌒)
Lisa,
it is hard to substitute Mirin and Sake… but if you can’t use them, just omit them. You may add some sugar to compensate the sweetness of Mirin.
Lisa, you can boil it some more until you no longer can smell alcohol. Allah surely won’t mind if it won’t have any alcohol anymore, but if alcohol was just used in the process of cooking.
I once heard that you can substitute sugar for murin. But I don’t know how much. Google should be able to tell you
Hello! I was just looking in the store and saw alcohol free mirin
Can I leave out the sake?
Morice,
you could, but doesn’t taste the same.
I am eating vegetarian, what is the substitute for bonito flakes? thank you
Frank,
Use Kombu dried kelp, and you’re good.
Nota Bene: Konbu without soy or any other proteins will pose danger to the stomach, which will literally start to digest itself. Use konbu with caution.
Hi Frank,
I’m vegetarian too. I found granulated shiitake mushroom broth at my Asian store. I used about 1/2 tsp and the sauce came out great! The shiitake has a deep umami flavour that is almost smoky. Great substitute for bonito flakes, I highly recommend it.
Hey, I really love the Japanese food, but unfortunately I don’t always have time to make all the recipes. Are there some recipes or dishes on your site I can use to freeze them in and take out when I want to eat?
Natalie,
Beef or Pork Shigureni is a great make-ahead dish.
I’ve made this twice since last week!! It’s delicious w soba or drizzled on steak w green onions! Tonight I’m going to cook scallops w it ^___^
Jodibabe,
glad you liked it!
In all the recipes, when it says soy sauce does it refer to Kikoman or light soy sauce?
Stephanie,
we use regular (not light) soy sauce.
How long will this sauce stay good in the refrigerator? Thanks!
Scott,
two weeks or so.
Is Bonito a kosher fish?
Yes it is. Fins etc. Make it so
Thanks for the great site! Just made the sauce as I couldn’t remember the recipe. It was just what I wanted.
nui,
glad you liked our Mentsuyu recipe!
Can I substitute chinese cooking wine (hua tiao wine) for sake?
We have not used hua tiao wine before for this recipe, but it may come out OK.
Hi, I recently bought some organic soba noodles and I wanted to use a traditional dipping sauce. When I googled it, I came across your recipe and checked it out. I just made my first batch of Mentsuyu and I can’t wait to try it out.
Although I am going to use it as a cold dipping sauce, I also read somewhere that it can be used as a hot soup base, maybe for Udon noodles.
My question is, how can I use it hot and for what noodles would it be good with?
Arigatou
May I use fish sauce instead of Bonito flakes ?
Grge,
sorry, but no fish sauce. That has a very different flavor.
I just order some yakisoba disk from a Japanese restaurant yesterday and the sauce was amazing. I was wondering what type of sauce it was. I open a future cookie from someone elses order and it said that I receive good news in the mail. 😊 when I turned on my computer today there was this Web site showing me how to make my own Mentsuyu sauce. 😄☺😊😀😁. The universe it an amazing and wonderful place. Thanks to Ms. Noriko
Hi ,
I’m a vegetarian . So , I can substitute Wakame seaweed for bonito flakes .
I Would use kombu but it is not found and I try online but its not .