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Yuzu Kosho Aioli

A five-minute condiment that behaves like a much longer project: fermented chile-citrus paste whisked into mayonnaise, sharp and salty enough to cut through fat. Make it while something else cooks.

Used in Breakfast Sandwich, Yuzu Kosho Aioli

OriginJapanese-inflected
Active5 min
Total35 min
EquipmentSmall bowl and whisk
Yield
1/2cup
Enough for 4 sandwiches with plenty left over
Whisk
2min
Until smooth and evenly flecked green
Rest
30min
Refrigerated, before the first use
Keeps
1week
Airtight in the fridge
1 · WHISK 2 · REST
1/2 cup ≈ 118 mL mayonnaise Base for everything else.1 Cover and refrigerate 30 min before the first use.2
2 tsp ≈ 10 mL yuzu kosho paste Start with 2 tsp.3
1 tsp ≈ 5 mL fresh lemon juice Whisk in. Thins the mayo just enough to spread without tearing bread.
pinch kosher salt A pinch, whisked in last. Taste and adjust -- the paste is already salty.
  1. mayonnaise · WHISK Whisk with the yuzu kosho, lemon juice, and salt until smooth and evenly flecked green.
  2. mayonnaise · REST Usable immediately if you are in a hurry.
  3. yuzu kosho paste · WHISK Brands differ a lot in heat and salt -- taste before adding more.
Protein
Produce
Dairy & Egg
Pantry & Grain
Spice & Seasoning
Liquid & Fat

Notes

Rest it before the first use. Yuzu kosho is a coarse paste. Half an hour in the fridge lets the salt pull the citrus and chile out into the mayo, so it tastes like one sauce rather than mayonnaise with something stirred through it.
Spread it thin. Fermented chile-citrus paste is sharp and salty -- a thick layer overwhelms whatever it is on. A scrape on each cut side is enough.
Sourcing yuzu kosho in St. Louis. Global Foods Market in Kirkwood stocks it, and Jimmy's Iron Plow / larger H Mart-style Asian grocers in the metro carry it too. In a pinch, sub 1 tsp sriracha or sambal plus the zest of half a lime.
Make the full batch even for one sandwich. It does not scale down usefully -- a pinch of salt and 2 tsp of paste are already near the floor of what you can measure. It keeps a week refrigerated and is good on fries, sandwiches, or grilled fish.
Where this came from. Built as the condiment for Breakfast Sandwich, Yuzu Kosho Aioli, which is still the best argument for it.
Original Developed in this project, August 20, 2026, as part of a breakfast sandwich interpreting a restaurant menu Jason photographed (fried egg, applewood smoked bacon, American cheese, yuzu kosho aioli, Martin's Potato Bun). Split into its own card September 4, 2026. The ratio is original to this project -- no exact published match turned up in a search of restaurant menus and recipe sites.