I am obsessed with ordering side salads at sushi restaurants. Not because I feel the need to keep my body running with leafy greens—because I love that damn ginger dressing. Luckily, it’s easy to make at home; you just need three ingredients and five minutes (an immersion blender helps too).
I had tried to make ginger dressing at home before, never quite getting it right, until I stumbled on the secret while attempting to make a dipping sauce for dumplings. The key, my friends, to an uncanny dupe of that addicting, sweet, spicy, gingery dressing is using pickled—not fresh—ginger. Yes, I’m talking about the pink (or beige) slivers of sweet and vaguely spicy ginger that sit alongside a pile of wasabi.
Pickled ginger is already pretty sweet, which means you don’t have to add any sugar to this recipe, and it provides the perfect amount of tang. When pureed, then mixed with toasted sesame oil and soy sauce, you get what I can only describe as a perfect dupe for ginger dressing, much like the kind you’d find on the iconic Japanese side salad. (No wonder I hadn’t been able to nail this recipe before; I was making it much too complicated.)
Easy Sushi Restaurant-Inspired Ginger Dressing
Table of Contents
Ingredients:
- 50 grams of pickled sushi ginger
- 1/4 cup toasted sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
Combine everything using an immersion blender, “regular” blender, or food processor and puree until smooth. That’s it. You’re done. Spoon it on your favorite greens, use it as a dipping sauce, or drizzle it over roasted vegetables. It’s so good, you’ll be able to power through a head of iceberg. (Serve with grated carrots for the most authentic experience.)