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| Ginger dressing |
One of the best things about living in Southern California (when we did) was that there were at least eight bajillion good sushi restaurants within a two-block radius of wherever you were standing.
I'm nearly not kidding.
I miss sushi.
Up here in Vermont, it's a bit different, as you can well imagine. We've discovered one passable sushi place in downtown Burlington, but that's it. (If you can recommend another, please leave a comment below!)
Again, I miss sushi.
This also means that I don't get my fix of that ubiquitous yummy ginger salad dressing that every sushi restaurant serves on its side salad of iceberg lettuce and shredded carrots.
I found a similar bottled dressing a few years ago, but it's not quite the same -- a little too chunky. And I don't like being dependent on bottled dressing anyway, so I decided to explore making my own.
Of course, there are quite a few recipes for "famous Japanese restaurant-style ginger salad dressing" (go ahead, Google it for yourself, I'll wait). The one I chose to use as a baseline for my adaptation had an ingredient list that seemed to correspond pretty closely to the bottled version (without the additives), plus it called for blending, which I figured would eliminate the chunkiness.
Verdict (after a few tries)? A big hit!
Just the right blend of sweet and tangy with no chunks. It is especially good on a simple spinach salad. And I'd be willing to bet it would make a great marinade for grilled chicken, too.
Now I just need to find some good sushi to go with it.
Ginger Salad Dressing (adapted from allrecipes.com)
Ingredients:
1/4 cup minced onion
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 heaping tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
1 1/2 tablespoons celery, minced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2-3 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Using an immersion blender, blend until smooth.
Fantastic- thank you so much! I miss great sushi too- there was plenty just near us in Sydney. Now that we're over in London, it's harder to find. I think this dressing is going to save me.
ReplyDeleteTori, I'm just jealous that you live in London -- my favorite city! If you try the dressing, please consider posting a comment on how it turned out for you or if you make any modifications. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI can't comment about the dressing, but the pictures are fantastic!!
ReplyDeleteOh, this looks super good. I love the dressing, but I almost always skip getting a salad at a sushi place because a.) iceberg and carrots = not a real salad and b.) HELLO MORE ROOM FOR SUSHI.
ReplyDeleteThis looks just like my recipe, except I sub miso for the tomato paste, and it turns out just as good (if not better) than any I've had in restaurants. I may try the tomato paste, since it's something I'm more likely to have on-hand at a given moment. Thanks!
ReplyDelete@Kristen: b) is a really, really good point!!
ReplyDeleteI loved Ginger Salad Dressing, and it was so easy to make, I did not have fresh ginger[ store is 30 miles away] and used power and it came out very good, will use fresh next time. Thank you again
ReplyDelete