Buying mayonnaise at a grocery store is a newish thing in Vietnam. Vietnamese people - whether they are home cooks or street food vendors, traditionally made mayonnaise fresh for banh mi because it's cheaper and all the ingredients are readily available. Buying sốt bơ trứng (buttery egg sauce) at the market is a new and splurgy notion.
Abroad in places like America, the reverse is the case. Most people buy mayonnaise! I've been tinkering with making mayo since I was a teenager. I spent about a month developing mayonnaise recipes for The Banh Mi Handbook.
Given that cultish Kewpie is globally popular nowadays, including in Vietnam where it's a leading brand of the sauce, I decided to make an easy Kewpie-style dupe of it to (1) save money and (2) enable you to easily play with mayonnaise.
Kewpie versus Q.P. mayo?
I call this Q.P. Mayo because it stands for Quick Prep. It delivers the creamy richness and savory, slightly sweet tang of Japanese Kewpie-style mayonnaise, but it comes together in about two minutes using pantry ingredients. Among the ingredients is monosodium glutamate (MSG), part of the signature Kewpie flavor. Moreover, the method is failsafe and foolproof because I use an immersion (stick) blender. In Vietnamese, sốt bơ trứng is also known by its hybrid name, sốt mayonnaise. However you call it, this mayonnaise recipe is super delicious and a surefire way to boost your banh mi mastery. This mayonnaise not just for Viet sandwiches. Use it on literally everything else! A few recipe suggestions are below!
Why an immersion blender works for perfect mayonnaise?
Put all the ingredients in a container and the oil floats to the top. Slide the immersion blender in to touch bottom and as it works, you create a vortex. The oil gets worked into the other ingredients in a systematic way - like as when you stream it into a blender or processor while the machine runs. But you don't have to be so precise because the stick blender is doing the work for you and the oil is already in the container! Broken up by the immersion blender, the oil melds with the other ingredients at the bottom to create a perfect emulsion. Other questions you may have:
- Did I (Andrea) invent this method? I'm not that brilliant. Using an immersion blender for mayonnaise is a method I found in a Cuisinart stick blender user manual!
- What if you do not have an immersion blender? The recipe below has instructions for using a blender and processor. It works well but you just have to be patient with streaming in the oil.
Watch me make this Kewpie-style mayonnaise
Because this method may seem strange, here's a video showing how the mayonnaise gets made!
Ways to play with Q.P. mayo
You may not have all the ingredients and/or want to tinker with this recipe. Some ideas for your mayonnaise fun:
- Instead of MSG or Asian mushroom seasoning granules, use 1 teaspoon of fish sauce, Marmite, or finely ground nutritional yeast. The flavor will not be equal as with the flavor enhancers, but you'll have an umami boost.
- Make Banh Mi Shop Mayonnaise: Add 2 pinches turmeric with the salt to mimic the cheery version at banh mi shops. Blend or process as usual.
- Make Umami Sriracha Mayonnaise: Omit the mustard and sweetener, use the vinegar instead of lemon juice, and add 2 tablespoon sriracha. Blend or process as usual.
Recipes to use Q.P. mayonnaise Vietnamese style
With the mayonnaise on hand, nothing stops you from making extra-tasty dishes like banh mi. Use my master banh mi blueprint recipe to make the Viet sandwiches of your dreams. In summer, I like to make hot dog banh mi extra special with this mayonnaise. For a fun and easy spread or sandwiches, create a special umami tofu "egg" salad to wow omnivores. Plop some on shucked oysters and briefly broil to barely cook the oysters then eat with a little wasabi as a Hanoi-style beer snack!
Umami Q.P. Mayonnaise | Sốt Bơ Trứng
Ingredients
- 1 large egg, near or at room temperature
- 1 big pinch garlic powder, or 1 small garlic clove, minced and mashed or put through a garlic press
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon MSG, or ½ teaspoon Asian mushroom seasoning, pounded to a powder
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 ½ teaspoon agave syrup or mild honey
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice or vinegar, distilled white or unfiltered apple cider
- 1 cup | 240ml neutral oil, such as canola or peanut
Instructions
- To make with an immersion blender: Put the egg, garlic, salt, MSG, mustard, agave syrup, lemon juice, and oil in a 2-cup container (such as a measuring cup or glass jar) that's wide enough for the blender to fit into. Insert the blender to the bottom. Blend on high speed to create a creamy, thick emulsion, pulling up the blender as ingredients become incorporated to ensure things are well blended.
- To make with a regular blender or food processor: Put the egg, garlic, salt, MSG, mustard, agave syrup, and lemon juice in the blender jar or food processor's work bowl. Put the lid on and replace the cap with a funnel to minimize splattering; if using a processor simply remove the pusher. Start the machine, and after a creamy yellow mixture forms, 5 to 10 seconds, start pouring the oil through the funnel (or feed tube) in a slow, steady stream as thin as angel hair pasta. Midway through, after things thicken, pour a thicker stream, as wide as spaghetti. After 1 to 2 minutes, all the oil should be incorporated and the mayo should be creamy and spreadable.
- Taste and tweak: Taste and, if needed, adjust with extra salt (for savoriness), lemon juice (for tang), or water by the teaspoon (for softer texture). Blend or pulse to incorporate. Transfer the mayonnaise to an airtight container. Wait 30 minutes before using to allow the umami depth to develop. Keeps well in the refrigerator for at least a week.
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