Yuzu Kosho

Of all the saucy, savory condiments is Asian cuisine, the amazing yuzu kosho has to be among the top three! It’s spicy, it’s salty, and most of all, it’s the perfect topping for adding a bit of zing to a bowl of delicious immi ramen!

This interesting and deceptively simple condiment has developed a reputation as a topping on a huge variety of Asian dishes. However, its role as a ramen topping got us interested in exploiting a bit more of its history, why it goes so great with ramen, and how to make it at home. 

What is yuzu kosho?

This alone makes it perfect as both a condiment and topping with meaty and hearty meals such as tonkotsu ramen. The citrus helps cut some of the richness of such dishes while the aroma blends with the meat to give it more vibrant notes. 

Although there are several brands that make great yuzu kosho, our favorite is the version you make from scratch. You have much better control over the ingredients, you can adjust the ratios for specific flavor profiles, and it’ll probably be a lot fresher. 

Plus, it’s very easy to prep and store for long periods, making it a versatile addition to your homemade sauce range. 

History of yuzu kosho

Unlike many other prepared toppings we have featured, the history of this delicious paste only goes back around 50 years or so, making it a relatively recent culinary invention. 

First made in the Kyushu region, the name puts together yuzu (fruit) and kosho (Japanese for chili pepper). Interestingly, the word kosho refers to black peppercorns in the rest of Japan. It’s only in the Kyusu dialect that we get a reference to the standard green chili. 

The cultivation of yuzu has been going on for over a millennium and then some! The earliest records of it reach as far back as 1,200 years. Because it’s a local variety, it has protected status and has retained much of its original flavor. 

The addition of chili is a very recent occurrence since various parts of the yuzu fruit have been used in food preparation for many, many years. 

Since it originated in that local region, the name stuck and spread to the rest of the country, and indeed, the world with it. While it was originally made as a condiment, the delicious sauce has legendary status today as a representative of the region. In fact, it’s also sold as a souvenir in cultural shops with some shops having the original recipe from 50 years ago. 

Which dishes can you have yuzu kosho with?

The versatility of that specific sweet, tart, and spicy flavor makes it almost a universal addition to any savory dish that can benefit from a little bit of a kick. 

However, for the most part, the condiment is great for:

Soups: It can add a delicious vibrancy to soups, especially those that already use either citrus peel or zest. Because it’s a floral and citrusy vibe, it works better with shabu shabu, nabeyaki udon, kimchi nabe, or mille-feuille nabe.

Stews/hotpots: Depending on the individual recipe, the sauce has a slightly gritty yet jelly-like consistency that works super well with chunky stews and hotpots. Dishes like chanko nabe, sukiyaki, and tonjiru are ideal for adding yuzu both while cooking or mixing it in with the broth right before serving. 

Ramen: Ramen is the perfect conduit for all kinds of sauces and condiment pastes, including yuzu kosho. It offers the perfect blend of textures and flavors, not to mention a whole range of flavor bases that you can build on and upgrade with this delicious topping. 

Why yuzu kosho pairs well with ramen?

To understand why a topping pairs well with a dish, you have to look at both their constituent parts, and how they compliment each other. 

In the case of ramen and yuzu, you have a salty, savory, umami base that often carries strong notes of earthiness and spice (in some cases). This usually comes from either the salt in shio ramen or the soy sauce in shoyu ramen, or even the miso tare in miso ramen. 

Looking at yuzu kosho, we see a citrusy blend with a significant kick from the chili peppers, but also a sweetness and a vibrancy that we have all come to associate with citrus fruits. 

When you combine these together, you get a powerful flavor combination that’s not all mixed together to a point where you can’t tell them apart. Instead, you get layers of flavor that each reveal themselves as you chew and slurp.

That last bit is also because while it can be used as a central ingredient, kosho is generally used as a topping (which is the usage we’ll focus on here!). 

Breaking down the aforementioned flavor layers, we find the sweet heat of the topping as soon as we take a bite of it with ramen. Right after the initial kick dies down, we have a brilliantly sweet yet deeply savory flavor that sets in as soon as you taste the broth. 

All of this combines to make the experience very enjoyable for the taste buds. 

Which other toppings go well with yuzu kosho?

To be honest, some toppings have so much flavor packed into them that you need not another flavor punch, but an added texture. 

This is why, for the sake of achieving the best possible mouthfeel, we’ll go through the toppings that provide the best texture addition. 

These are:

• Kikurage: The humble kikurage is a delicious mushroom variety that almost melds into the ramen with its perfect mix of soft yet chewy texture that feels very similar to the noodle itself. Of course, it doesn’t have a flavor as strong as yuzu which makes it ideal for the spicy paste as an accompaniment. 
• Enoki: Enoki mushrooms are popular toppings for ramen because of their unique shape which is very similar to the noodles, and their subtle yet noticeable umami that breaks down in the chew. Of course you can never go wrong by tossing the mushrooms in a little bit of yuzu kosho right before using them as a topping. 
• Negi: The fresh crunch of negi feels like the natural texture for the vibrant sweet-spicy combo of the paste. Plus you get an added pungence from the onion that’s subdued to where it feels like the chopped onions are an ingredient in kosho. 

You can also definitely use this with the most flavorful toppings such as chashu and ajitsuke tamago. It will create an awesome kaleidoscope of flavors that lend themselves very well to ramen. 

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