A Use for Yuzu / Ponzu Sauce

I have been trying to figure out what to do with my first ever Yuzu harvest, and I decided to go with their most famous use. The Yuzu is an odd, bumpy, almost ugly citrus compared to a Rio grapefruit or Meyer lemon. It is one of the most cold-hardy of all citrus, and is a thorny bush of a tree. Alison wondered why I bought this funny fruit tree, and it was specifically for homemade Ponzu. I really love the stuff, and here is my recipe.

Ingredients

¾ cup mirin (sweet rice wine) 
½ cup rice vinegar 
4 tablespoons soy sauce 
½ cup bonito flakes 
¼ cup fresh yuzu juice, or more to taste 
1 tablespoon grated yuzu zest, if available 

Directions: Combine the mirin, vinegar, soy sauce, yuzu zest and bonito flakes in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Remove from the heat and let cool. Pour the sauce through a strainer into a bowl; discard the bonito flakes. Add the yuzu juice and serve chilled.

Ezra loves to help.

 The Yuzu is also known as the Japanese Citron, which is a good description. It is extremely fragrant, and loaded with seeds. The zest is almost as useful as the juice.

 A quick stop in the garden provided us with some shelling peas and carrots.

The finished meal consisted of some Yellowfin Tuna, peas, and rice with ponzu. I also served a steamed carrot salad in an Asian vinaigrette.