ponzu

noun

pon·​zu ˈpän-(ˌ)zü 

: a tangy sauce made with citrus juice, rice wine vinegar, and soy sauce and used especially on seafood

Did you know?

The word ponzu is relatively new to English; our earliest English-language evidence of the word - which we borrowed from Japanese - is from 1972. But the word's history isn't as simple as that fact suggests. The Japanese word, which literally means "juice squeezed from sour oranges" is itself from the Dutch word pons. And "pons" comes from (and shares the meaning of) the English word punch as it's used to refer to the beverage concoction that's often served at parties, weddings, and wakes.

Examples of ponzu in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

There are fresh Pacific oysters with ponzu and yuzu tobiko ($11 for three) and the savory Japanese custard chawanmushi ($8). —John Metcalfe, The Mercury News, 1 May 2024

Seeing a crudo dish on any menu these days isn’t unusual, but the hamachi with white ponzu, serrano and garlic oil is a standout, as is the show stopping lobster risotto, made with sushi rice instead of the usual arborio. —Connie Ogle, Miami Herald, 22 Apr. 2024

For starters, there was redfish sashimi flavored with miyagawa ponzu and chili oil, and globe artichokes stuffed with kale cream. —Gisela Williams, New York Times, 15 Apr. 2024

And the Spicy Gringo Roll ($12.50) has salmon, bigeye tuna, dutch yellowtail, ginger, garlic chip, barbecue paper, shallot and a serrano ponzu sauce. —Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 4 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Japanese ponsu, ponzu juice squeezed from sour oranges, from Dutch pons, literally, punch, from English punch entry 4

First Known Use

1966, in the meaning defined above

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