Japanese Kewpie mayonnaise
When you think of Japan, do you think of sushi, tempura, green tea or maybe even soba. One of the less noble of the Japanese classics is Kewpie Mayonnaise. I have no idea of the history behind it. All I know is that there would scarcely be a kitchen in Japan that does not contain a bottle of Kewpie Mayonnaise.
In some ways it Kewpie is just like any factory mayonnaise you have used in the past. It is creamy, sweet, salty and absolutely loaded with fat. The only difference between Kewpie and its foreign cousins is that it is creamier, sweeter, saltier, and loaded with even more fat.
Japanese people will squeeze out the Kewpie on anything that sits still long enough to eat, that is if nobody is looking. This is because it is necessarily seen as a low class, junk food. In a country where even most fast food can be recognised by it’s original ingredients, Kewpie mayonnaise is a total mystery.
It has earned its position in Japanese kitchens primarily because it is versatile, easy to use and, in moderation, very nice to eat. It makes the difference between a dry tonkatsu and a feast, between an inedible mound of shredded cabbage and a pile of delight. It is probably the only substance known to man that guarantees to add more than it’s own weight to your body mass. How this is possible I don’t know, it is just science.
Kewpie mayonnaise comes in all different sizes from one squeeze wonders, all the way up to 2 litre jumbo bottles. All of the bottles that I have seen are ugly looking half clear and squashy numbers with star shaped nozzles on top. This makes it way too easy to absolutely smother your food with cool Mr Whippy swirls of mayonnaise.
All in all, Kewpie Mayonnaise is something that should really be tried. But don’t tell your high class connoiseur friends that I told you. Lets keep this one a secret.
You are right. When I think Japanese food, I think everything from soba to sushi, but not mayo! We have a lovely Japanese place around the corner and this is just the excuse I need to pop by.
Cheers!
It’s very expensive to get a jap mayo so I ususally replace it with ordinary mayo.
You know, it even comes in the same squishy bottle once a year in Aldi stores in Australia. It even has the same I’m-really-gonna-lather-it-on-oops-maybe-not-that-much-dang-I-wish-i-had’t… quality about it.
Can you please explain to me the main difference, between Jap mayo and western Mayo, i have read that the main difference is the addition of rice vinegar, as it is also an emulsified sauce. Is this the only difference, or is the adding of additional sugar important, and what of the oil, what is the preferred type.
Sorry Duncan
I can’t really help with the technical difference, but I’m sure someone out there could! Can anyone else help?
Thanks
Tom
I do love your blog, dear.
But, to the people who are commenting here, it is very bad taste to shorten “Japanese” to that racial epithet, as in, “J** mayo”. Please stop using it, you could totally get in trouble if you said that on the street!
There’s MSG in Kewpie. I believe that’s the difference.
My personal taste buds tell me that Kewpie Mayonnaise is much saltier, yet somehow also creamier than regular mayonnaise.
Nice blog. Can I link this article to my website? Thanks.
At my local sushi place, they make their spicy tuna handrolls with a sauce made of Kewpie mayo and Rooster hot sauce. Yum!