Kewpie Mayo Is The Flavor Upgrade You Need For Creamy Salad Dressings

If you're looking to give your salad dressing a seriously creamy upgrade, put down the regular mayo and reach for a Kewpie bottle instead. In case you're unaware, there is a major difference between the two. While American jars incorporate whole eggs, Japanese Kewpie bottles only use the yolks (four of them per 500 grams of mayo, to be exact), so you get a much richer, umami-filled flavor. In addition, the Japanese condiment leaves out sugar and chemical preservatives but includes four types of vinegar, so you're left with a lovely tang without any padding from other additives.

You can probably start to see why Kewpie is an ideal component in creamy salad dressings. Egg yolks on their own are already a secret ingredient here, since they help balance out acid and spice. But when you incorporate a condiment based around just the yolks, you get an extra rich, thick dressing. Plus, these bottles don't just make a great substitute for regular mayo. You can insert Kewpie mayo in place of a multitude of creamy ingredients, from sour cream to yogurt, and you can use their blend of vinegars to bring tang to your salad.

If you're not sure where to start, simply combine a little Kewpie mayo with mustard and your vinegar of choice for a basic creamy, yet tangy, dressing. Start by whisking equal parts mustard and vinegar together, then add in 1.5 times the amount of each for the mayo. There's already plenty of oil in these Kewpie bottles (they're made of 70% vegetable oil), but if you like, feel free to toss a little olive or sesame in for more of a classic vinaigrette. In this case, deploy one quarter cup each of oil and vinegar, and then mix in a couple tablespoons of mayo (potentially with a couple tablespoons of mustard), adding more if you want a thicker dressing.

Of course, Kewpie mayo is also a tasty ingredient in more complicated dressings. Sub it in for regular mayo in Caesar chicken pasta salad; use it as the creamy element in potato, chicken, tuna, and macaroni salads; and pair it with seafood in dishes like San Fran shrimp Louie. You can even incorporate it in a green goddess dressing; combine it with sesame seeds, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and honey to pour on Asian-style lunches; or mix it with tahini and herbs to make a tahini ranch. And for more inspiration or to learn exactly how the brand itself does it, feel free to browse its line of Kewpie mayo-infused bottled dressings.