This delicious Japanese-style Amai sauce is so quick and easy to make. Perfect with noodles or as a Wagamama-style dipping sauce!
🍴 Why you will love this recipe
Amai Sauce is essentially a sweetened and thickened soy sauce, which is perfect for dipping, or serving over noodles, grilled vegetables and tofu. It is sweet, sour and deeply savoury all at the same time - totally delicious and so easy to make!
If you've ever eaten at Wagamamas (or any Japanese ramen bars) you'll probably be familiar with this delicious sauce. It is often served with gyoza dumplings, or as a sauce with the traditional yaki soba noodle dishes.
A traditional Amai might contain more ingredients and be simmered for longer, but I've simplified and speeded up the recipe here, and I think this quick sauce is just as good as the original!
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📝 What you need
Ingredients
Soy Sauce is the main ingredient in amai sauce. It is made from fermented soya beans and gives a salty, umami flavour to the sauce. You can use a lower-salt soy sauce if you prefer, but taste and adjust seasoning before serving.
Rice Vinegar is sweeter and more delicate than western vinegars. You can use half-and-half rice and malt vinegar if you like.
Tamarind Paste gives the sour taste to the sauce. It is made from a dark, sour and sticky pod that grows in a pod on a tamarind tree.
👩🏽🍳 How to make your Amai Sauce
For a full, printable recipe with ingredients and detailed instructions, scroll to the bottom of this page 👇🏼 .
Put the caster sugar, rice vinegar and soy sauce in a saucepan and simmer for 2-3 minutes until the sugar has dissolved. Add the tamarind paste and ketchup, stir and remove from the heat.
🔪 Top Tips & FAQs
If your sauce is a little too runny, keep it bubbling for a further minute or two until thickened.
For a spicy amai sauce, add a squeeze of sriracha or a pinch of chilli flakes.
If kept in an airtight container, you can keep the sauce in the fridge for up to 10 days.
Yes, just substitute the soy sauce (which contains gluten) with Tamari (which is gluten-free).
🍽 If you liked that...
.... you might also enjoy these vegan recipes from The Veg Space:
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📖 Recipe
3-minute Amai Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon caster sugar
- 1.5 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1.5 tablespoon tomato ketchup
- 2 tablespoon tamarind paste
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce
Instructions
- Put the caster sugar, rice vinegar and soy sauce in a saucepan and simmer for 2-3 minutes until the sugar has dissolved.
- Add the tamarind paste and ketchup, stir and remove from the heat.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Claire says
Hi - what would be a good sub for the tamarind please? I can't find it locally. Thanks!
Kate Ford says
Hi Claire, you can just leave out the tamarind paste if you can't find it, still really tasty!
Mirlene says
I dont think i've ever had this sauce before but I'm going to make this. I plan on pouring it all over my noodles for a quick meal!
gunjan says
Looks excellent and very attractive. To me its a new concept and I am definitely making this over the weekend.
Kali Alexandria says
Amazing flavor and easy to make. Perfect for me -- thank you!!
Chav Guevara says
To truly achieve that Wagamama Yaki Soba taste firstly stir fry the veggies with ginger & garlic then set aside. Then in a wok heat some oil on a high heat add the amai sauce stirring as not to burn it. Heat for at least a minute. Then add the noodles and fry for a further 3 to 4 minutes.
Then finally combine veggies with noodles for 30 secs. Remove from heat & serve.
Tara says
Oh yum! Such a delicious and easy sauce. It sounds so good paired with noodles.
Dannii says
This is my favourite wagamamas sauce and this was a delicious alternative. 10/10
Kate Ford says
Oh that's great to hear, thanks Dannii!
Heidy says
This Amai Sauce was perfect on my fried tofu! I loved it only took 3 minutes to make and tasted so wonderful! I will be trying it on some of your other suggestions this week.
Dana says
I love how simple this is, not just method-wise but by keeping it simple with minimal ingredients! So much flavor!