I am certain that I have tasted ponzu many times before but it was not until last month that I actually had a bottle in my possession to play with myself. And since I got my grubby paws on it, I have been liberally dousing pretty much everything with a splash of ponzu. It is, in short, the new balsamic and, in my view, there isn't much that can't be livened up by a slug or sprinkle of ponzu.

For the uninitiated, ponzu is soy sauce mixed with yuzu juice, a Japanese citrus fruit crossed between grapefruit and lemon. Bottles of ponzu also include mirin, katsuobushi (dried tuna flakes) and konbu (seaweed). So, while it looks just like a thin brown liquid, you can imagine that it packs an umami punch.

As well as tipping it on any grilled fish and using it to dress salads, I have found myself whipping up the following concoction pretty much every lunchtime. A spiralized courgette, dressed with a generous slug of ponzu and a few drops of sesame oil. This is then topped with ground sesame seeds. Ready in minutes and with a level of deliciousness that is far greater than the sum of its parts.