Hot sauce is my favorite condiment. Whether you're talking Tapatio, Sriracha, or Blair's Ultra Death, I love them all. You could put that stuff on crusty boot-leather and it would make it taste good. I mean what else can you think of that can be squirted onto airline food to make it palatable?
In the world of fruit though, my love for hot sauce is paralleled by citrus. That's why yuzu kosho (yuzu chili paste) is perhaps my favorite hot sauce of them all. For those of you that have never had yuzu, it's a small Japanese citrus with a taste somewhere between Meyer lemon, grapefruit and lime. In Japan the zest is combined with green chili peppers to make a potent paste that not only adds heat, it adds a heavenly fragrance that goes with just about anything.
While yuzu kosho in paste form is concentrated and delicious, I like to add some citrus juice so you can use it as a sauce. Yuzu isn't the easiest citrus to find, but you can get it in Fall at Japanese supermarkets. If you can't find yuzu, this is also delicious made with other citrus zests such as Meyer lemon, lime, or even orange.
Use this sauce to liven up Katsu, add some zing to Yakisoba, or give a kick to a Tomago Sando. It's probably not the best thing for polishing crusty boots, though!
Warning: These are some seriously potent chilis. After handling them, my hands literally felt like they were on fire for almost 24 hours. I'd recommend using gloves. If you happen to make the same mistake I did, scrubbing your hands with vegetable oil, then washing with dish soap helps a little.
📖 Recipe
Units
Ingredients
- 2 green togarashi chili pepper (or 3 thai bird chilis)
- 6 green yuzu
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Remove the seeds and white membrane from chili peppers. I recommend wearing gloves when doing this. Mince the chilis as fine as you can make them. Use a microplane to zest the yuzu.
- Place the chili, yuzu zest and salt in a mortar and pound with a pestle until it turns into a smooth paste. Add the juice from the yuzu and mix well until the sauce is the consistency you want it.
- Because of the salt content it will keep for a month in the fridge, or longer if you freeze it.
Kathy Stroup says
Hi Marc! I was thinking that zesting citrus might make a good technique video. You could explain the science behind extracting the flavor and show some different ways to zest. Ways to preserve citrus zest would be great to cover, too. I recently infused some alcohol with Meyer Lemon zest, and it's wonderful!
I came across this recipe in a Google search. What if you revisited it as part of the video? I'm always finding ways to use citrus zest in sweet dishes, so finding this has piqued my interest.
I recently made a Meyer Lemon and Jalapeno hot sauce following your Preserved Lemons method. It is FANTASTIC! I'm going to have to make another batch. This sounds very similar. You turned me into a Chili Head!🥵😁 (I have always been a Lemon Head!🍋😉)
Marc Matsumoto says
Thanks for the idea Kathy! We're past green yuzu season here but will definitely add this to the list for late summer/early fall. It's funny in retrospect, but I have some bad memories associated with this one. I minced the chilies by hand without wearing gloves, and my hands turned bright red and I felt like I was holding them in boiling water for over a day. I was holding an ice pack all night. I've been careful around chili peppers since then. Your Meyer Lemon hot sauce sounds fantastic! Love the idea of using citrus juice instead of vinegar and I bet the fragrance from the Meyers is amazing.
Kathy Stroup says
So sorry to make you revisit painful memories! I was really thinking about a non-yuzu version of this condiment, since most people have trouble finding them, including me. I have a ton of citrus right now, and I'm struggling to keep up with processing it all.
I was online researching yuzu a few months ago and came across a Japanese bath at a citrus farm. They had ripe yuzu floating in the bath. It looked so magical! I have so many Meyers right now that I decided to try taking a bath with some of them. It was wonderful, but probably not as amazing as the one I saw.
I'm going to try dehydrating and pulverizing some Meyer Lemon zest. I'm not sure how long it will keep. I might try making some lime salt, too. I also like to make my own version of Tajin, which is so much tastier than the commercial version. I love using the candied peels for garnishes, so I'm going to make some of that. I've been dehydrating mandarin peels for tea and cooking. I will try making some Kosho with a combination of citrus (maybe not with super-spicy chilis😉), and I will make another batch of Meyer and Jalapeno hot sauce. I always make marmalade, too. It's been quite popular with the neighbors! At least it's a great time of year to be standing at the stove all day!
Eileen says
Do you have an estimation of how many grams of yuzu zest we should have? I have different size yuzu fruits
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Eileen, I'm sorry but this recipe was made before I started using weight measures for this site. The yuzu I used was about the size of a golf-ball.
kathy moody says
Other recipes for Yuzukosho say it is fermented........but yours is used "fresh". Please explain.
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Earlene, great idea! Once you freeze the juice, I'd recommend taking the cubes out of the trays and transferring to a sealed container to prevent freezer burn.
Earlene says
If I find fresh yuzu this fall will it work to zest and juice them and freeze in ice cube trays?
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Annie, yuzu is quite different from kaffir lime taste wise, but you could do something similar to this using it.
ATB says
Yuzu is it like as Thailand citrus ?
Marc Matsumoto says
It wouldn't be yuzu kosho, but you could replace the yuzu zest with lemon or lime zest and make lemon chili or lime chili paste.
Chef A says
I can't get fresh yuzu, but I do have a bottle of Ponzu, fresh limes, lemons and oranges, and access to plenty of different kinds of fresh chili peppers. Would this recipe work, with which ingredients?
Kristian M says
Thanks! then I´ll try both types, green and ripe. I like your blue/grey noodle bowl by the way, I have the same one bought in Japan. I´ve just "discovered" your website and next up is trying out your wonton noodle soup. Have a good weekend! (from Norway)
Marc Matsumoto says
Yep the fragrance does change from green to ripe, however yuzu kosho is made both with green yuzu and ripe yuzu. Usually for green yuzu, they use green togarashi, and with ripe yuzu they make it with red togarashi. Green tends to be more intense than the ones made with ripe yuzu. I think that's a great idea trying to use meyer lemons! I love their fragrance and think they'll make a great condiment.
Kristian M says
Thank you for posting this. I also enjoyed this when living in Japan, sometimes with sashimi and on top of nigiri sushi. I want to try to make yuzu kosho from my Meyer Lemons. They are starting to ripen, some are still green. Should I use them for yuzukosho while they still are green? I understand this is a point with the yuzu, that there is a differense in fragrance between green and ripe yuzu?
Maggie G says
Thank you! I enjoyed this condiment a lot while living in Japan. Now, in the United States, I have to buy it online. I never thought of making it myself! SUPER!
phd thesis says
Awesome and adorable!
Chang Pick Yin says
I love yuzu! Recently made a cheesecake with the zest and juice of ripe (yellow) ones. Heaven. Very difficult to find here in Singapore.
Peko says
You made yuzu kosho. Good going! I still have yet to make this one.
I would like to try this made with Meyer lemon or other non-Japanese citrus. Could be interesting.
professional resume says
very green))))
essay writing service says
Its looks great! iNTERESTING HOW IT TASTE!
Nisrine M. says
I bet this tastes zestily fabulous. Will have to try it sometime. Hope all is well, Mark.
lemonsandanchovies says
I can't ever eat anything without a condiment on the side, especially Asian dishes. This one is new to me but it has already won me over with its citrus component. Before I try to use my Meyer lemons, I will see if I can find yuzus in my area. Thanks!
the indolent cook says
This must have quite a nice kick to it! I love yuzu, though I don't know if I've ever had the pleasure of sampling a fresh one.