This Asian-inspired sauce is a replica of that famous ginger sauce recipe (a Benihana copycat!) you love so much. This no-cook recipe goes great with steak, veggies, rice or seafood dishes!
Original post: March 2016 | Updated: April 2023
Why This Recipe Works
If you’ve ever eaten at Benihana restaurant or a similar hibachi grills, you have likely begun salivating when you dunk a succulent piece of steak into their famous hibachi ginger sauce.
Every time we go to Benihana, I end up dousing my steak, shrimp, veggies and rice with that stuff. That hibachi ginger flavor is just the best!
- This is one of those flavorful sauces that can be used with just about any type of dish.
- Benihana ginger sauce always pops into my head when I’m thinking up the perfect dressing for a simple green salad or a topping for my next healthy dinner.
- Turn this easy sauce into hibachi steak, hibachi chicken, hibachi shrimp or hibachi salmon!
- No need to pay a visit to a restaurant to get my hands on it. I can make it in my own kitchen easily!
- Acts as a great marinade for any type of meat.
Recipe Ingredients
Ginger – When at all possible, start with fresh ginger root. Substitute ground ginger only if needed.
White vinegar – This can be replaced with another variety such as rice vinegar or rice wine vinegar, if needed.
Soy sauce – To make this a gluten-free sauce, use a GF variety of soy sauce or replace entirely with coconut aminos. For a less salty end result, use a low sodium soy sauce for the recipe.
Lemon juice – Use freshly squeezed lemons for best results. Add 1 teaspoon of lemon zest for added freshness.
Onion – Replace a portion of the yellow onion with green onions, if desired.
Where To Buy Hibachi Ginger Sauce
According to their site, Benihana Japanese steakhouse prides themselves in preparing the sauce they serve fresh and making it daily. But that’s why we decided to concoct a recipe ourselves and share it with you!
Since they don’t share their recipe, we took what we know to be some very flavorful ingredients and tested it until it was the perfect combination of flavors to mimic their sauce.
How To Make Ginger Sauce
Start with your food processor. It’s handy, easy to clean and it’s a tool I use often.
Toss in the onions and fresh ginger root, followed by 3/4 cup soy sauce and remaining ingredients.
Transfer to a small bowl and stir, creating a chunky sauce that will be perfect as your condiment for many healthy recipes!
Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Recipe Notes
- This sauce can be enjoyed immediately but will taste even better after a day of marinating.
- If you don’t own a food processor, you can easily grate the onion and ginger by hand.
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge. Best when used within 5 days of preparing it.
- Add a minced garlic clove or two for a flavor boost.
- Spice up the recipe by adding red pepper flakes, cayenne pepper or a dash of hot sauce.
- For a touch of sweetness, consider adding 1 tablespoon of brown sugar or honey.
- A tablespoon of sesame oil or dark sesame oil adds a delicious flavor.
- Can be served chilled or at room temperature.
- There is absolutely no need to limit this sauce to only Chinese cuisine. There are so many delicious ways to enjoy it, including on Italian recipes, Thai recipes and even Indian recipes.
- Freeze sauce by pouring into an ice cube tray, then transfer cubes to a freezer storage bag.
Fresh Ginger vs Ground Ginger
When making this inspired sauce, when at all possible you want to use fresh ginger. Buying a small stalk of ginger root is very affordable and provides so much more pungency (in the best way) to the sauce.
Substitute ground ginger when needed, but ground ginger is more commonly used in baked goods or drinks.
Can Ginger Be Frozen
Ginger can definitely be frozen. To freeze, first peel and grate it or cut thinly. Flash freeze in a single layer for 20 minutes, then transfer to an airtight container. Use within 6 months for best results.
How To Tell If Ginger Is Bad
Ginger that is no longer fresh or safe to eat will be mushy to the touch, and may also have a sharp, unpleasant odor.
What To Do With Ginger Sauce
- It is a great condiment or marinade for seafood, steak, beef tips, pork chops, chicken or any type of main dishes.
- Use ginger dipping sauce to dip Asian appetizers into, such as egg rolls, wontons or potstickers (top with sesame seeds before serving!).
- Use as a salad dressing ingredients for green salads.
- Enjoy it tossed in a stir fry meal or over pasta.
- Use it as a topping on your next juicy burger.
- Add to a side dish of quinoa or fried rice.
- Great topping for baked sweet potatoes.
- Consider using it as a dipping sauce for Air Fryer Broccoli, Meatballs, Steak Bites or Slow Cooker Veggies!
- Any food you enjoy dipping in soy sauce will likely taste good with ginger sauce, too.
How Long Does Soy Sauce Last
How long does soy sauce last? If you have a bottle staring at you from inside your pantry or refrigerator and you don’t know whether to toss or use, you’ll want to read this post!
Best Homemade Sauces
I’m obsessed with making savory homemade sauces! Down with store bought! Here are a handful of my favorites that you are sure to fall in love with. These all make for great gifts, too.
- Homemade Enchilada Sauce is more delicious than anything you can buy at the store and it is super easy to make. It only requires a handful of ingredients and is done in 15 minutes.
- Alfredo Sauce is super easy to make, done in under 10 minutes.
- A copycat recipe of the famous Arby’s Sauce that makes sandwiches sing! This zingy flavorful BBQ style sauce is so delicious.
- This homemade Pizza Sauce takes less than 25 minutes to make!
- Asian Chili Paste is great to have on hand for homemade Asian recipes. Healthy, super affordable and packed with flavor.
- Make your own Taco Sauce to use in a variety of Mexican dishes, such as tacos, burritos and taco salads. Ditch the store-bought version so you know exactly what goes inside!
- Instant Pot tomato sauce tastes super fresh, made with fresh tomatoes and with no peeling or seeding required! Use it as a topping on pasta!
18 Homemade Sauces to Use Now or Freeze for Later
Making homemade sauces is a great way to know exactly what ingredients are going into them, they are more affordable than store-bought and they’re just tastier! Homemade all the way!
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Ginger Sauce Recipe – Benihana Copycat
Ingredients
- 1 yellow onion chopped
- 2 tbsp fresh ginger grated
- 1/4 cup lemon juice freshly squeezed
- 1/2 cup white vinegar
- 3/4 cup soy sauce
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender. Pulse/puree until a chunky consistency is achieved. Store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator.1 yellow onion, 2 tbsp fresh ginger, 1/4 cup lemon juice, 1/2 cup white vinegar, 3/4 cup soy sauce
- Serve with a salad, vegetables, steak, shrimp or pour over rice/grains.
Video
Notes
- This sauce can be enjoyed immediately but will taste even better after a day of marinating!
- If you don’t own a food processor, you can easily grate the onion and ginger by hand.
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge. Best when used within 5 days of preparing it.
- Add a minced garlic clove or two for a flavor boost.
- Spice up the recipe by adding red pepper flakes, cayenne pepper or a dash of hot sauce.
- For a touch of sweetness, consider adding 1 tablespoon of brown sugar or honey.
- A tablespoon of sesame oil or dark sesame oil adds a delicious flavor.
- Can be served chilled or at room temperature.
Perfect balance of flavors. I’m in LOVE with this recipe!
Fantastic recipe! So good !
This is a good base for sure. I added a tsp or 2 of maple syrup and I had some white miso paste and added about 2 tsps. Perfect. Maybe will add a little more miso after it sits but perfect.
Thank you Kathy, for sharing those tweaks. Sounds great!
I used rice wine vinegar and did add garlic, a splash of toasted sesame oil and then some brown sugar to tone down the saltiness. Then I added in about a tsp of toasted sesame seeds. Delicious base recipe…I may make it in bulk and try freezing it for future use. Thanks!
I like those recommendations – thanks Starry, definitely worth trying a recipe in more than one way!
This recipe is spot on!!!!! So good. It is exactly what I wanted for out Chicken fried rice. Thanks for this recipe. A keeper for sure and so easy!!!
Love that feedback, Kristin. I’m so glad it was enjoyed. Thank you for sharing!
Seems like 1/2 cup of white vinegar is to much for my taste buds. Wow.. may 2 Tsp
Great! You can easily tweak that and enjoy it too. That’s what I love about cooking. Finding your individual tastes to make things.
Great! I think you should try a couple of teaspoons. We all have different preferences but that’s the beauty of cooking – I share what I tested and liked and then you can tweak it for your preferences. Enjoy!
Spot on! Great base sauce. I don’t understand how people can complain about it. Simple and real easy to adjust for preference. Well done.
I’m glad you enjoyed it too. I love having this on hand. Thanks for sharing!
I’ve been wanting this sauce for a loong time and never thought I’d find the exact recipe. Until Google sent me here and I’m so glad it did! Your instructions are very clear and the flavor is the same I remember and loved. I’ve been using it as a dressing for my salad and even on fried rice and beef. Thank you!! I’ll keep this recipe forever!
Yay! That’s great to hear. Glad you enjoyed it.
Very delicious, Megan! I used a large onion, so a quarter cup of lemon juice is the perfect amount. Otherwise, the onion would overpower the sauce. Your ingredients are spot on. I wish people wouldn’t give low ratings just because they don’t know how to adjust amounts to their liking.
Thank you for your feedback Kim. I think its helpful to others to hear what worked! I enjoy this recipe to and find it easy to adjust to my preferences. Thank you for sharing!
Awesome! I make this regularly. Definitely recommend letting it sit in the fridge at least overnight – 2 nights if possible!
Yes, the flavors marinate so well if you can wait that long! Thank you for sharing!
Wonderful! Absolutely Wonderful,
I didn’t enjoy this sauce. I felt something was missing and it had too much lemon.
That’s an easy fix to reduce the amount of lemon but I’m sorry you didn’t love it like I did! Thanks for trying it.
Try it straight from Behinana: https://youtu.be/ILkcRDO3IAo
Do all other ingredients then soy sauce. Taste, then slowly add lemon zest, if more needed add juice. Lemons can be unpredictable, make sure they’re fresh. Smaller can be bitter. Try large meyer lemons for milder flavor.
I didn’t enjoy this sauce. I left something was missing and it had too much lemon.
Delicious! Thank you for sharing. I reduced the lemon juice and it is YUMMY!
I’m glad you enjoyed it! It really is a personal preference and I’m glad you found the sauce the way you enjoyed it – cooking is so personal. Thank you for sharing your tweak to it!
This recipe is just about perfect! I made it yesterday and both the wife and I agree it’s a little too much lemon. Could have been too small of an onion but I feel like the lemon overpowers just a bit. But this is pretty damn close. Thanks for the recipe!
That’s an easy tweak to change – glad you gave it a shot and hopefully make again with the perfect lemon amount! Thanks for sharing!
DELICIOUS! My fav sauce!
It’s so fun to be able to have it any time you want! Thanks for sharing.
Ingredients seem the same but measuremnets are clearly a complete guess!
I enjoyed this recipe but the beauty of cooking at home is making it the way you’d like it. Let me know what combination you come up with that works for you! Enjoy!
The recipe is on their website now. Everything is the same except they add lemon zest also
This looks great! How long does it last?
It is so delicious! Store it in the fridge for no longer than 2 weeks or so. Enjoy!
Megan
If you want it to taste good, DON’T use white vinegar. Use RICE wine vinegar. That’s what all hibachi joints use in theirs.
Thank you for the tip.
Wow… this is great. I am sure it is a very good dressing or dipping sauce for a steamed chicken. Of course, it will be really nice for steamed fish too. 🙂
This would be GREAT with chicken or fish! Yum!!
Megan