5 Minute Recipes/ Asian Recipes/ Condiments and Sauces/ Japanese/ Most Popular Recipes/ Recipes/ Vegan
11/12/2020
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A quick and easy dumpling dipping sauce you can serve with Japanese gyoza or potstickers. Just 4 ingredients, with extra ideas to make it your own. Use it with your favourite homemade or store-bought dumplings.
Why We Love This
This is a super quick homemade gyoza sauce with simple ingredients that work together to bring out the flavour in your dumplings.
No cooking or chopping required – you can whip it up in less than a minute!
We love mixing together a small bowl per person so everyone can enjoy the perfect balance of flavour for them.
Store-bought dumpling dipping sauces can be pretty expensive to buy. Once you master this recipe, you’ll always have fresh dipping sauce when you need it at a fraction of the cost!
What is Gyoza Sauce?
Traditionally, gyoza sauce it is half soy sauce and half vinegar, with optional chilli. Our version adds a touch of sesame oil, which pairs perfectly with the acidic tang of vinegar and salty soy. It’s so easy to play with the ratios and adapt to your own personal taste. Once ready, just dip, drip off the excess and enjoy.
This dipping sauce is not just amazing for dumplings, splash it over almost anything. Try it over noodles or even swap out the ponzu in your homemade shabu shabu hot pot.
What You’ll Need
The 4 basic ingredients in this simplified dumpling sauce are listed below along with variations. This recipe uses basic Asian pantry staples that you may already have. While some brands or styles might give you better flavour than others, we encourage you to use whatever is available in your pantry so you can get dipping as quick as possible!
- Soy Sauce – Regular soy sauce (rather than light or dark soy) works best for this sauce, it has the perfect intensity of flavour. No stress if you need to use one of the other varieties, you just may need to add more or less to get the right balance.Tamari is also fine for a gluten-free option.
- Rice Wine Vinegar – For a more traditional flavour, make this with rice vinegar, which is a little sweeter than regular vinegar. You can substitute with apple cider vinegar, black vinegar or white wine vinegar if you need, but if you only have simple white vinegar on hand that will also do the trick. You may like to add a sprinkling of sugar for a hint of sweetness if you do.
- Sesame Oil – This is essential for its rich, nutty flavour. Choose a high quality brand for the best flavour as some sesame oils can have less flavour than others.Make your own homemade sesame oil in a pinch, or for an extra chilli kick, replace this with sesame based rayu chilli oil.
- Chilli Powder – You can use any kind of chilli powder, red pepper flakes, chilli paste, sambal or chilli oil. We’ll often use shichimi togarashi (Japanese 7 spice) because it has an even heat and a hint of citrus. You could always use slices of fresh chilli if you prefer – deseed them first if you think they might be too hot.
Wandercook’s Tips
- Individual Dipping Bowls – Our gyoza sauce recipe is for one small dipping bowl. You can double, triple, quadruple etc to have some now and keep some for later. Better yet, get each person to make their own batch in a separate dipping bowl and get the flavours just right for them. Some may like extra chilli, while others will want to leave it out completely.
- Only Keep ‘Clean’ Sauce – If you decide to make a bigger batch to keep for later, we recommend only pouring out what you need, and store the rest in an airtight container in the fridge.Discard any sauce that has been dipped in.
FAQs
How long does homemade dipping sauce last?
Fresh, unused sauce will last for 2-3 days in the fridge when stored in an airtight container. We don’t recommend keeping sauce that has already been used for dipping.
What else can I use it with?
Just about anything where you want to add some seriously delicious flavour! We love it with:
– Homemade gyoza / potsticker dumplings
– Thai crispy fried spring rolls
– Vietnamese fried rice paper spring rolls
–
– Hot simmered tofu
– As a dip for blanched bean shoots or veggies (perfect for Chinese greens like gai lan, bok choy, morning glory etc)
– Splash it over stir fries
Variations
- Flavour Upgrades – Grate fresh ginger and/or garlic straight into the bowls – it’s quicker and easier than slicing or chopping. You could also add a little sugar to sweeten the sauce if you like.
- Add Ponzu – For a citrus umami hit, add ponzu to the existing sauce, or use it instead of the regular soy sauce.
- Extra Heat – Add fresh chillies or your favourite hot chilli oil. Try Sichuan peppercorn oil for its delicious ‘numbing’ effect.
- Optional Garnish – Top with slices of fresh spring onion, crispy fried shallots, sesame seeds (toasted or regular) or a sprinkling of shichimi togarashi.
- Too Spicy? – Leave out the chilli.
- Too Salty? – Water down with a little warm water, use less soy sauce, or swap for a low sodium soy sauce.
- Too Intense? Add a splash of hot water to thin it out a bit.
- Different sauce? Try these other Japanese Sauces.
Serve your gyoza up with these popular Japanese bites:
★ Did you make this recipe? Please leave a star rating below!
Super Quick Gyoza Sauce (Just 4 Ingredients!)
A quick and easy dumpling dipping sauce you can serve with Japanese gyoza or potstickers. Just 4 ingredients, with extra ideas to make it your own. Use it with your favourite homemade or store-bought dumplings.
5 from 135 votes
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Prep Time: 1 minute minute
Total Time: 1 minute minute
Course: Condiment
Cuisine: Japanese
Servings: 1 dipping bowl
Calories: 54kcal
Author: Wandercooks
Cost: $5
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp rice wine vinegar
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- chilli flakes to taste
Optional:
- sugar to taste
- garlic
- ginger
Instructions
In a small dipping bowl add your soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil and chilli flakes.
1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tsp rice wine vinegar, 1 tsp sesame oil, chilli flakes
Add any optional extras, give one final mix and serve with hot gyoza.
sugar, garlic, ginger
Video
Recipe Notes
- Ingredient Tips –
- Soy Sauce – Regular soy sauce (rather than light or dark soy) works best for this sauce, it has the perfect intensity of flavour. No stress if you need to use one of the other varieties, you just may need to add more or less to get the right balance.Tamari is also fine for a gluten-free option.
- Rice Wine Vinegar – For a more traditional flavour, make this with rice vinegar, which is a little sweeter than regular vinegar. You can substitute with apple cider vinegar, black vinegar or white wine vinegar if you need, but if you only have simple white vinegar on hand that will also do the trick. You may like to add a sprinkling of sugar for a hint of sweetness if you do.
- Sesame Oil – This is essential for its rich, nutty flavour. Choose a high quality brand for the best flavour as some sesame oils can have less flavour than others. For an extra chilli kick, replace this with sesame based rayu chilli oil.
- Chilli Powder – You can use any kind of chilli powder, red pepper flakes, chilli paste, sambal or chilli oil. We’ll often use shichimi togarashi (Japanese 7 spice) because it has an even heat and a hint of citrus. You could always use slices of fresh chilli if you prefer – deseed them first if you think they might be too hot.
- Individual Dipping Bowls – Our gyoza sauce recipe is for one small dipping bowl. You can double, triple, quadruple etc to have some now and keep some for later. Better yet, get each person to make their own batch in a separate dipping bowl and get the flavours just right for them. Some may like extra chilli, while others will want to leave it out completely.
- Only Keep ‘Clean’ Sauce – If you decide to make a bigger batch to keep for later, we recommend only pouring out what you need, and store the rest in an airtight container in the fridge.Discard any sauce that has been dipped in.
- Flavour Upgrades – Grate fresh ginger and/or garlic straight into the bowls – it’s quicker and easier than slicing or chopping. You could also add a little sugar to sweeten the sauce if you like.
- Add Ponzu – For a citrus umami hit, add ponzu to the existing sauce, or use it instead of the regular soy sauce.
- Extra Heat – Add fresh chillies or your favourite hot chilli oil. Try Sichuan peppercorn oil for its delicious ‘numbing’ effect.
- Optional Garnish – Top with slices of fresh spring onion, crispy fried shallots, sesame seeds (toasted or regular) or a sprinkling of shichimi togarashi.
- Too Spicy? – Leave out the chilli.
- Too Salty? – Water down with a little warm water, use less soy sauce, or swap for a low sodium soy sauce.
- Too Intense? Add a splash of hot water to thin it out a bit.
- Storage – Fresh, unused sauce will last for 2-3 days in the fridge when stored in an airtight container. We don’t recommend keeping sauce that has already been used for dipping.
- Usage Ideas –
- Homemade gyoza / potsticker dumplings
- Thai crispy fried spring rolls
- Vietnamese fried rice paper spring rolls
- Hot simmered tofu
- As a dip for blanched bean shoots or veggies (perfect for Chinese greens like gai lan, bok choy, morning glory etc)
- Splash it over stir fries
Nutrition
Nutrition Facts
Super Quick Gyoza Sauce (Just 4 Ingredients!)
Amount per Serving
Calories
54
% Daily Value*
Fat
8
%
Saturated Fat
1
g
6
%
Sodium
1022
mg
44
%
Potassium
38
mg
1
%
Carbohydrates
2
g
1
%
Fiber
1
g
4
%
Sugar
1
g
1
%
Protein
2
g
4
%
Vitamin A
297
IU
6
%
Iron
6
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Hey hey – Did you make this recipe?We’d love it if you could give a star rating below ★★★★★ and show us your creations on Instagram! Snap a pic and tag @wandercooks / #Wandercooks
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11/12/2020 By Wandercooks
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About Wandercooks
Wandercooks is an Australian recipe site reaching over 9 million views annually. Our recipes are here to inspire you with fresh and exciting food ideas from a range of Asian, European and Australian cuisines. As seen on Google.com, Today.com, Buzzfeed, Jetstar Asia and Lonely Planet.Read more...
26 Comments
Reply
Vanessa
28/04/2024 at 4:12 am
WOW!!! This was absolutely amazing. I decided to heat up some gyoza & realized I had no sauce, but may have the ingredients to make some. This was the first recipe I came across, and I was NOT disappointed!! Keeping this to use for all kinds of Asian dishes that I like to make. Simple, yet so very flavorful. Thank you for this!!
Reply
Wandercooks
29/04/2024 at 9:23 am
Nice work Vanessa! No need for store-bought anymore hey! We love how quick this comes together. 😀
Reply
ERIKA JEFFRIES
02/01/2024 at 10:13 am
Its perfect. Just what I was looking for. Thanks
Reply
Wandercooks
04/01/2024 at 9:35 am
You’re very welcome Erika!
Reply
txmissyd
27/07/2023 at 7:22 am
Thanks for the recipe. I have a question. In the description it says “What is Gyoza Sauce? Traditionally, gyoza sauce it is half soy sauce and half vinegar,” but the recipe is 1 TBSP soy sauce and 1 tsp vinegar. Is that correct to use less vinegar instead of half each?
Reply
Wandercooks
27/07/2023 at 9:02 am
Hey, that’s correct. What we’re saying is traditionally gyoza sauce is half and half, but we prefer less vinegar, which is why our recipe is different. You can of course put as much in as you prefer.
Reply
Carol
28/06/2023 at 11:00 pm
Thanks!!!
Reply
Wandercooks
29/06/2023 at 10:16 am
You’re welcome!
Reply
Kathy
14/05/2023 at 11:18 pm
Immediately tried this recipe. A fact, it is easy and delicious. Your recipe is the best format and information I have yet to see. Thank you.
Reply
Wandercooks
16/05/2023 at 11:15 am
You’re very welcome Kathy, so glad you enjoyed!
Reply
Leanne
29/01/2023 at 8:47 pm
Fabulous dipping sauce! Thank you so much for the recipe 😘 Like being at the restaurant in the comfort of your own home, cant wait to try more recipes 😋
Reply
Wandercooks
30/01/2023 at 11:13 am
Aww thanks Leanne! You’re very welcome. Let us know what you cook next!
Reply
Elizabeth
22/09/2022 at 1:37 am
Made some handmade dumplings and needed a quick sauce that I had all of the ingredients for. This sauce turned out amazing and will definitely be my go to for the next time I make dumplings. Great recipe!
Reply
Wandercooks
22/09/2022 at 12:27 pm
That’s great Elizabeth! Glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
Reply
Kirsten Moss
20/11/2021 at 6:13 pm
My 7 year old daughter made this – it is delicious! Thank you for the recipe.
Reply
Wandercooks
22/11/2021 at 1:36 pm
That’s so good Kirsten! Thanks for sharing, and so happy you all enjoyed it. 🙂
Reply
George
18/11/2021 at 11:43 am
I dont even have a kitchen!!!!!!
Reply
Wandercooks
19/11/2021 at 3:57 pm
Glad to hear you didn’t need one to make this – nice and easy! 😀
Reply
Biff Tanner
11/11/2021 at 7:54 am
4 Ingredients? Looks like 7…
Reply
Wandercooks
12/11/2021 at 11:02 am
Only 4 Biff – Soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil and chilli flakes. This is the staple we usually use – we’ve then added the optional extras that some people like to add – like garlic and ginger. 🙂
Reply
Anonymous
09/11/2021 at 10:12 pm
This is so delicious!
Reply
Wandercooks
12/11/2021 at 11:03 am
Thank you!
Reply
Jeremy
21/10/2021 at 5:28 am
You guys are a lifesaver with these great recipes. Your travels have really paid off it seems, just absolutely wonderful tastes you’ve collected from all over, it’s magical!
I see that you have both a Ponzu Dipping Sauce recipe and a Gyoza Dipping Sauce recipe, are these distinctly different? Are they interchangeable? In the typical Japanese restaurant which one is it they serve with an order of Gyoza?
Again, thank you so much for sharing.
Reply
Wandercooks
21/10/2021 at 10:44 am
Hey Jeremy, thanks for the feedback and that’s a great question!
SO! There is a big difference between the two:
Gyoza Dipping Sauce is what you’ll find with your gyoza at a typical Japanese restaurant. It is soy sauce based but has vinegar added to give it the flavour kick (and the optional hot pepper powder).
Ponzu Sauce is also sometimes served with gyoza, which is where it is tricky, but while it’s also soy sauce based, it’s mixed with lemon or yuzu juice to get it’s tang instead. Ponzu you’ll find is more commonly paired with Japanese hot pot known as Shabu Shabu as one of two dipping sauces – goma dare being the other one.
I hope this clarifies things and you enjoy your taste testing!
Reply
Zaina
24/03/2021 at 11:53 am
So good yes ran out of the one that came in the frozen package so tried this it’s pretty much exact!
Reply
Wandercooks
24/03/2021 at 12:51 pm
Brilliant Zaina, so glad we could help. 😀 Enjoy your gyoza!
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