Creamy Japanese Sesame Dressing

Why This Recipe Works?

Squeezing grated ginger to extract ginger juice is a technique used in Japanese cooking. It’s an excellent way to add ginger flavor to dressings and sauces without adding fibrous pulp. Using a combination of sesame paste and toasted sesame oil is a quick way to add loads of sesame flavor to the dressing without grinding your sesame seeds. The balance of creamy ingredients like mayonnaise and sesame paste with tangy rice vinegar keeps the richness in check while making a creamy salad dressing that coats slippery vegetables like snap peas and cherry tomatoes. The perfect blend of rich sesame and the tangy flavors of rice vinegar and ginger makes it a refreshing salad dressing.

Ingredients for Creamy Sesame Dressing

Sesame paste - I used Japanese neri-goma. You can find it in Asian grocery stores and online. It’s similar to Middle Eastern tahini, but tahini is made by grinding just the inner kernel of the seed, while neri-goma is made by grinding the whole sesame seed, including the husk. Either one will work in this Japanese salad dressing, but neri-goma has a thicker consistency and more robust flavor. It’s not a lot of work to grind sesame seeds with a mortar and pestle, coffee grinder, or food processor, so feel free to use this method if you’re inclined. Mayonnaise - Mayonnaise is what makes sesame dressing thick and creamy. If you can find it, I highly recommend using a Japanese mayo like Kewpie because it tastes tangier and richer in umami than its Western counterparts. Kewpie also makes an egg-free version if you want to make this vegan. If you can’t find Japanese mayonnaise, you can use the mayonnaise you have available, but I would recommend adding an extra tablespoon of vinegar and an additional teaspoon of maple syrup. Vinegar - Vinegar provides a balancing acidity that keeps this sesame vinaigrette from getting too rich. Rice vinegar (also labeled rice wine vinegar) is the best choice here, as it has a fairly neutral flavor and mellow tartness. Be sure to use unseasoned rice vinegar, as seasoned rice vinegar will throw off the balance of sweetness and salt. If you can’t find it, other mild vinegar, like apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar, will work. Soy sauce - The soy sauce adds umami flavor and salt to the dressing. I recommend using a regular Japanese soy sauce such as Kikkoman. Maple syrup - A little maple syrup helps round out the vinegar’s tartness while adding a nice earthy flavor that complements the nutty sesame. You can also use a different sweetener, like granulated sugar, brown sugar, or honey, but keep in mind that each sweetener has a different level of sweetness, so you may need to adjust the amount you add. Toasted sesame oil - Toasted sesame oil has a marvelous nutty aroma that gives this Japanese salad dressing more sesame flavor than sesame paste alone. If you don’t have any, an equal amount of neutral vegetable oil, like canola oil, will work. Ginger juice - Making ginger juice is as simple as grating fresh ginger and squeezing it to remove the fibrous pulp. I’ve added a relatively small amount in this recipe to focus on the sesame, but if you like a more ginger-forward sesame dressing, you can add more ginger juice. Salt - Seasoning this Japanese salad dressing with soy sauce alone would make it dark brown. That’s why I only use a small amount of soy sauce in the dressing and augment it with salt.

How to Make Sesame Dressing

The first thing you’ll want to do is make ginger juice by grating fresh ginger on a rasp or microplane. Then, you can gather up the pulp and squeeze it with your fingers to extract the juice. Then you just need to add the ginger juice to a bowl along with the sesame paste, mayonnaise, rice vinegar, soy sauce, maple syrup, toasted sesame oil, and salt, and whisk the ingredients together until they form a smooth and creamy dressing. You can also add all ingredients to a bottle with a lid and shake the dressing together. This Japanese salad dressing will last for a few weeks in an airtight container in the fridge. It’s pretty thick, so I recommend keeping it in a plastic squeeze bottle to make it easy to dispense, but a glass jar will also work.

How to Make a Japanese Salad

Japanese cuisine has many different salads, but the side salads served alongside modern Japanese breakfasts and teishoku lunches have a few things in common. The lettuce used is usually iceberg lettuce. This is because it tends to have the most crispy texture without the bitter taste of other lettuce varieties. The lettuce is chopped or torn into bite-sized pieces and soaked in cold water to get it extra crisp. Then, it’s drained and dried before being used as the base of the salad. Romaine lettuce is another good alternative. Another defining trait of Japanese salads is the variety of toppings. It’s not uncommon to top the lettuce salad with five or six other vegetables, and the key is to include a variety of textures, tastes, and shapes. This makes it visually appealing while ensuring you’re eating a variety of nutrients. I’ve used tomato wedges, sliced cucumbers, julienned carrots, broccoli sprouts, and a whole radish for the salad in these pictures. Red cabbage, spring herb mix, red peppers, onions, and fresh herbs like shiso, mitsuba, or cilantro would give your salad a pop of flavor and color. Once your Japanese salad is assembled, you can drizzle it with this creamy sesame dressing to finish it off.

What to Serve with Japanese Sesame Dressing

A fresh, crisp Japanese salad with a mix of greens like iceberg lettuce and mizuna, combined with thinly sliced cucumbers, carrots, and cherry tomatoes, comes alive with a drizzle of this nutty, umami-rich dressing. It also makes for a delicious dipping sauce for chicken tempura, panko crusted chicken tenders, or coconut shrimp. Use it as a marinade for your favorite protein like boneless skin-on chicken thighs, pork chops, or salmon before grilling them. It also makes for a delicious sauce for an Asian noodle salad like Hiyashi Chuka or Soba Salad or somen noodles.