How to Make Japanese-Style Mayo at Home (Kewpie Mayonnaise Copycat Recipe)

Ever wondered how to recreate Japanese mayo? The gentle splash of golden egg yolks hitting the bowl, the intense circular motion of whisking as oil drips in, the distinctive tangy aroma filling your kitchen, that's the start of my Kewpie style mayo recipe. For a printable version of this recipe visit my website, just google Japanese mayo sudachi to find me. Start by taking a glass or porcelain bowl, then add 2 room temperature pasteurised egg yolks. I recommend glass because copper or aluminium can affect the flavour of the mayonnaise and plastic will absorb bits of the oil. Then add half teaspoon of smooth dijon mustard and half teaspoon of karashi mustard. Whisk this up until it gets slightly pale and thickens a bit. This first mix is actually really important, we're breaking down those proteins in the egg yolks so they can better coat all those tiny oil droplets later on. Now for the tricky part, adding the oil. This recipe uses 175ml of oil and I'm going to add half of it here. I'm starting with literally just 3 or 4 drops of rapeseed oil along the edge of the bowl while whisking continuously. You've got to be patient here, I'm only adding about a quarter teaspoon at a time for the first minute. If you rush this step your mayo will break and nobody wants that. You might be wondering how Japanese mayo is different from regular mayo. It comes down to 3 things. First, Japanese mayo often uses just the yolks, not whites. Second, they incorporate Japanese vinegar. And third, and I'm not going to sugar coat it, there's usually a touch of flavour enhancers. I'm neither a supporter nor an opponent of MSG but that's just a fact about Kewpie mayo. What's actually happening here is pretty cool, the lecithin in the egg yolks is wrapping around these tiny oil droplets, keeping them suspended in the water compounds. Companies like Kewpie get their oil droplets tiny, like 2-4 micrometres, but even at home we can get a pretty stable solution. The smaller these droplets, the smoother and richer your mayo is going to be. Look at that, I've added about 2 tablespoons of oil now and you can see it's already getting noticeably thicker and slightly lighter in colour. At this point, I can start adding a bit more oil each time. I'm still whisking like crazy though, you've got to keep that energy up until you've got about half of the oil incorporated. I'm using a balloon whisk which has wide spaced wires. Using one of these makes it a bit faster and easier to emulsify the ingredients. You might wonder why I don't use an electric whisk or immersion blender, but I find a balloon whisk is perfect for making smaller batches and having more control of the thickness. It's a good workout too. Alright, I've added half the oil now and it's looking nice and thick. Time to mix in some acidic ingredients. I've got one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and two teaspoons of rice vinegar mixed together in this little bowl and I'm adding about half of this mixture now, drizzling it along the walls of the bowl just like I did with the oil. You might be wondering why I'm using this combo of vinegars instead of just rice vinegar. Kewpie doesn't actually make their mayo using just rice vinegar according to their website. Back in 1962, they created this special vinegar blend using stuff like apple juice and malt, actually to recreate western mayonnaise. So I'm using rice vinegar and apple cider vinegar to get similar to that taste. Now I'm going back and adding the other half of the oil, pouring it slowly along the edge of the bowl while I keep whisking. This alternating between oil and vinegar lets the emulsion adjust gradually without shocking it. Once all the oil is incorporated, I'll add the rest of that vinegar mixture and whisk until everything is combined. Time for the final seasoning. I'm adding half teaspoon of salt, half teaspoon of lemon juice, a pinch of white pepper, quarter teaspoon of sugar and a tiny bit of ajinomoto. Don't freak out about the MSG, it's completely optional. I'm using this only because Kewpie uses flavor enhancers like this. If you're not into it, you can use a pinch of dashi granules or just leave it out entirely. Your mayo will still be delicious. This is the great thing about homemade version, you can control what goes in. Now I'm going to hit this with an electric whisk for about 20 to 30 seconds. No longer than that though, or you might break your emulsion. This brief mechanical blending creates even smaller oil droplets for a smoother texture, making it more like store-bought stuff. See how it's getting smoother, fluffier and slightly paler? That's exactly what we want. Now I'm going to transfer this to a sealed container and pop it in the fridge for about an hour to let it thicken fully. When you take it out, give it a taste and feel free to adjust. If it's a bit flat, add a little more salt. Too acidic, just a pinch more sugar will balance it out. Since this is homemade mayo without any preservatives or stabilizers, you've got to handle it with care. Always store in a clean sterilized airtight glass container and keep in your fridge door or vegetable drawer rather than near those cold air vents, which could make the oil solidify and separate. And never try to freeze homemade mayonnaise. This stuff will last about three to five days in the fridge. Always use clean, dry utensils when scooping it out. And you can even store the container upside down once it's partly used. This pushes everything towards the lid and reduces air contact. If you see a little bit of liquid on top, no big deal, just give it a stir. But if you notice any major separation, weird smells, color changes or mold, you should throw it out. Okay, let's go over the ingredients one more time. And if you're ready to cook, grab the written instructions by clicking the full recipe box with a picture that's about to pop up on your screen. Here we go, the link to the full recipe is on the screen for you now. And if you want to watch more similar videos, don't miss my homemade ingredients playlist popping up on your screen as well. Thanks so much for watching and I hope to see you in the next one. Bye.