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Japanese

Tentsuyu (tempura dipping sauce)

Non-vegetarian

天つゆ · tentsuyu

Dashi, soy sauce and mirin in the classic 4:1:1 ratio, briefly simmered and served warm with grated daikon and ginger. The light, savoury dip that cuts through crisp tempura.

Tentsuyu (tempura dipping sauce) is a Japanese dip, ready in about 8 minutes and made with dashi, soy sauce and mirin. It serves 4 and is rated beginner to cook.

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Prep
5 min
Cook
3 min
Total
8 min
Serves
4
Level
Beginner
Calories
46

Ingredients

4 servings (about 90 ml)

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Finely grate the daikon (opens in a new tab) and lightly squeeze out some of its juice; grate the ginger. Shape each into small mounds.

    Grating on a box grater
    How it looks · Photo: Klaus Nielsen on Pexels

  2. Step 2

    Combine the dashi (opens in a new tab), soy sauce (opens in a new tab) and mirin (opens in a new tab) in a small saucepan (opens in a new tab) and bring to the boil over medium heat, then simmer 1 minute to cook off the mirin's alcohol.

    A curry simmering in a pot
    How it looks · Photo: Bachir Mamud on Pexels

  3. Step 3

    Pour the warm sauce into small bowls and serve the daikon (opens in a new tab) and ginger alongside, for each diner to stir into their sauce before dipping the tempura.

    • 1 min

About this dish

Origin
Japan · Well documentedThe 4:1:1 dashi-soy-mirin ratio is the standard tempura-house formula.More food from Japan
Dish
Lunch · Dinner · Dips & spreads · Sauces
Cooking method
Simmered
Taste
umami, savoury, sweet, fresh
Diet
Pescatarian · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients · Low-carb
All labelsPescatarian · Non-vegetarian · Flexitarian-friendly · Dairy-free · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · Pork-free · Beef-free · Low-carb · Low-fat
Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Everyday
Cook more with
Dashi · Soy sauce · Mirin · Daikon · Fresh ginger
Techniques
Boiling · Simmering

Allergens

  • Contains: Fishfrom dashi
  • Contains: Wheatfrom soy sauce
  • Contains: Glutenfrom soy sauce
  • Contains: Soyfrom soy sauce

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

46 kcal per serving

Estimated

1 serving ≈ 118 g · recipe makes 4

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 40%
  • Carbohydrate 42%
  • Fat 18%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g
Energy46 kcal39 kcal
Protein3 g2.6 g
Carbohydrate3.1 g2.6 g
Net carbohydrate2.5 g2.1 g
Sugars0.7 g0.6 g
Added sugars——
Fibre0.6 g0.5 g
Fat0.6 g0.5 g
Saturated fat0.1 g0.1 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol1 mg1 mg
Sodium1047 mg891 mg
Salt equivalent2.6 g2.2 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
233 mg
Calcium
15 mg
Iron
0.4 mg
Magnesium
23 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
1 µg
Vitamin C
6 mg
Vitamin D
0 µg
Vitamin B12
0.4 µg
Folate (DFE)
11 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • Dashi: Home-prepared fish stock (FDC 172885) used as a stand-in for katsuobushi-kombu dashi; both are very low in energy.
  • Mirin: Sake (FDC 167723) used as a stand-in; true mirin is sweeter, so sugar is underestimated.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • Serve it warm, not hot. Dip the tempura only briefly so the batter stays crisp.

Common mistakes

  • Using undiluted soy sauce, which overwhelms the delicate batter.

Serve with

  • Shrimp and vegetable tempura and kakiage.
  • Agedashi tofu.
  • Pour a slightly thicker version over tendon (tempura rice bowl).

Storage

  • Refrigerate the sauce (without the daikon) for up to 3 days.

Reheating

  • Warm gently just before serving.

Variations

  • Tendon tare (Japan): Same seasonings with less dashi and some sugar, reduced to a thicker sauce for tempura rice bowls.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Goes with

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Customise in Sauce & Drizzle

Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

  • Daikon, peeled and finely grated, lightly squeezed (daikon oroshi)100 g
Used in steps 1, 3

Make it milder, swap ingredients for your diet, change the batch size or thickness — the original stays as it is.

Customise in Sauce & Drizzle

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