Wajos Umami Sauce. Red onions, ginger, soy sauce, and cherry peppers, sweet-savory and spicy – the condiment that finishes off burgers, wraps, and rice stir-fries.
Wajos Umami Sauce is a savory sauce made from 14 percent red onions, 3.8 percent ginger, Condimento Bianco, soy sauce, mustard seeds, and red cherry peppers, with sugar as the primary ingredient; 245 ml from Dohr on the Moselle. Not ketchup, not pure soy sauce, and not chili sauce, but a thick, sweet-savory sauce with a mild kick for the grill, skillet, and wrap. Contains soy, mustard, and sulfites.
Umami Sauce by Wajos sits between two bottles found in almost every refrigerator: ketchup is sweet and sour, while soy sauce is salty and thin. This sauce takes a bit from both – the sweetness and thickness of ketchup, the depth of soy sauce – and layers on red onions, ginger, and cherry peppers. The result tastes hearty and well-rounded, just like a sauce that has simmered for an hour, only straight from the bottle. It is a popular request among our team, and anyone who has tried it on a burger once will reach for it again next time.
Sweet and savory at once, with ginger and the warmth of cherry peppers
The sauce is dark, thick, and glossy; when opened, it smells of sautéed onions and soy sauce. On the tongue, the sweetness hits first – sugar is the first ingredient, 45 grams per 100 milliliters – followed by the red onions, which, at 14 percent, provide the body. Condimento Bianco, a light vinegar made from wine vinegar and cooked grape must, adds a mild acidity. Soy sauce provides the savory, deep tone described by the word "umami," and mustard seeds add a subtle heat.
Then comes the ginger, distinct at 3.8 percent yet restrained – a fresh warmth that balances the sweetness. Red cherry peppers provide fruitiness and a zesty note that you can feel, far from the intensity of a chili sauce. Wajos calls it "pikant" (zesty/spicy), and that hits the nail on the head: those who like it mild will handle it just fine, while chili fans can add more. A spice extract and herbs round out the flavor, while sunflower and rapeseed oil provide consistency.
What you should know: The sauce contains soy, mustard, and, due to the Condimento Bianco, sulfites. And it is sweet – as a condiment, use one to two tablespoons per serving rather than spooning it out like a dip. For those expecting a hot sauce or a salty Asian condiment, this sauce is not the right choice – in that case, the Teriyaki Sauce is a better fit.
On burgers, in wraps, over rice, on the grill
Its first mission is the burger: a tablespoon on the meat, ideally with fried onions – the sauce replaces both ketchup and barbecue sauce. In a wrap with chicken, lettuce, and cucumber, it is the sauce that is thick enough to stay put. And over a rice stir-fry with vegetables, egg, and spring onions, it turns leftovers into dinner: stir in two tablespoons just before serving.
On the grill, it works as both a glaze and a side. Brush chicken drumsticks, spare ribs, or halloumi with it in the last five minutes – the sugar caramelizes to create a dark crust. As a marinade, dilute with a little oil and lemon juice one hour beforehand. As a dip for baked potatoes, sweet potato fries, or veggie sticks, it is a favorite even for those who usually stick to ketchup.
In everyday cooking, it helps when time is tight: a spoonful in gravy, a spoonful in a pan with ground meat for pasta, a spoonful in scrambled eggs with spring onions. Frikadellen (meatballs) benefit from it both in the mix and on top. What it doesn't handle well: long cooking times. The sugar burns, the onions turn bitter – always add it at the end, or as a glaze during the final minutes.
Shake before use, refrigerate after opening. The sauce is not suitable as a dressing for leaf salads, as it is too thick and sweet, nor as a substitute for soy sauce in Asian recipes that require salt rather than sweetness.
Our tip: Burger with cheddar, fried red onions, and a tablespoon of Umami Sauce, served with fries and the Burger & Sandwich Sauce for dipping – the Friday night dinner that makes us want to stay in.
A condiment from Dohr, where Wajos cooks its sauces
This sauce belongs to the product line that Wajos manufactures in Dohr near Cochem on the Moselle – the facility where the majority of their roughly 900 items are created and tested in their own laboratory. It comes from the same place where their cremas and oils originate.
The fact that a business with winemaking roots produces savory sauces has to do with its history. The Oster family from Ediger-Eller has been making wine for 15 generations; Walter Josef Oster, whose initials form the brand name, established a liqueur manufactory alongside it in the 1980s. Peter Oster and Ulf Schwichtenberg developed the Wajos brand from this starting in the 2000s: the first store opened in Trier in 2008, and today there are stores all over Germany and over 80 employees on-site. The Condimento Bianco in this sauce – a vinegar made from wine vinegar and grape must – is the link to the wine where it all began.
The bottle for burger nights, barbecue season, and leftover stir-fries
The Umami Sauce is for anyone who wants more than just ketchup for grilling and burger nights, and for anyone who wants to cook in ten minutes on a weeknight while still having flavor on their plate. As a gift, it belongs in a grill package alongside the Barbecue Sauce with Hickory Smoked Salt; all sauces can be found on our Wajos page.
Store unopened in a dry, dark place; keep refrigerated once opened – at one tablespoon per serving, 245 milliliters will last for a summer full of barbecue evenings. It is not suitable for those who must avoid soy or mustard, or for those seeking a sugar-free sauce.
Red onions, ginger, soy sauce, and cherry peppers, thick and sweet-savory – the condiment from the Moselle that ends up on every burger we make.
