Can I use sake instead of mirin?

I don't recommend you do that since the strong taste of sake will overpower the delicate flavors of the sauce. Plus, sake alone isn't sweet enough to complement the savory and salty taste of soy sauce.

Can I make tempura sauce without using grated daikon?

Yes, you can absolutely do that! The traditional way to serve tempura sauce is with daikon but feel free to omit it if you don't like radish.

The Best Tempura Sauce (Tentsuyu)

Name: Tempura Sauce (Tentsuyu)
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 15 min
Cuisine: Japanese
Ingredients: 1 cup dashi broth; 3 tablespoon soy sauce; 3 tablespoon mirin; 1/4 cup bonito flakes; 3 ounces daikon

Tempura Sauce (Tentsuyu)

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Salty, savory, a little sweet, and full of umami, this sauce only takes 15 minutes to make from start to finish.

Author: Caroline Phelps
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
Yield: about 1 2/3 cup 1x
Category: Sauce
Method: Boiling
Cuisine: Japanese

Ingredients

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1 cup dashi broth
3 tablespoon soy sauce
3 tablespoon mirin
1/4 cup bonito flakes
3 ounces daikon

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Instructions

Peel the daikon. Start by washing the daikon and peeling in until you get to the part where the flesh is almost translucent. I recommend using a knife – it’s faster and easier to see where the thick outer part stops and the flesh begins.
Grate the daikon. Grate and set it aside in a bowl.
Make the tempura sauce. In a small pot over medium high heat, add the dashi, soy sauce, and mirin. Bring to a boil and turn off the heat.
Add the bonito flakes. Leave them for 20 seconds and strain through a sieve. Discard the bonito flakes or make furikake by following this recipe.
Serve. Divide the tempura sauce among dipping bowls and add 1-2 tablespoon grated daikon to each bowl.

Notes

To make the sauce stronger: Add an additional 1 tablespoon soy sauce and 1 tablespoon mirin. To make the sauce milder: Use 1 tablespoon less of both soy sauce and mirin. Make it vegan: Omit the bonito flakes and use kombu dashi instead of regular dashi. Make kombu dashi from scratch by following my recipe, or buy it in granules. To lower the amount of sodium: Use tamari sauce instead of regular soy sauce, or use Less Sodium Soy Sauce (not to be confused with light soy sauce).

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1/4 cup
Calories: 41
Sugar: 4.5g
Sodium: 473.8mg
Fat: 0.3g
Saturated Fat: 0.1g
Unsaturated Fat: 0.1g
Trans Fat: 0g
Carbohydrates: 6.4g
Fiber: 0.4g
Protein: 2g
Cholesterol: 0mg

Find it online: https://pickledplum.com/tempura-sauce/