Japanese-Style Carrot-Ginger Salad Dressing

Here’s an easy recipe for carrot-ginger salad dressing — just like the kind you enjoy on salads in Japanese restaurants. A simple leafy salad enveloped in this dressing is a good accompaniment to noodle and dishes, and vegetable sushi.

Whenever I go out for veggie sushi or tofu teriyaki at Japanese eateries, I love the carrot-ginger dressing that’s used to dress the simple salad that comes with them. It turns out that this delicious Japanese-style salad dressing is easy to duplicate at home.

Salad with carrot-ginger dressing is a nice appetizer to count on when eating out, because the customary miso soup that comes with meals isn’t always vegan (it often contains bonito, aka fish flakes).

Ingredients for Carrot-Ginger Dressing

This recipe requires just a few basic ingredients, most of which you likely have in your refrigerator and pantry — carrots, ginger, and a mild vinegar.

Fresh or bottled ginger: Fresh ginger isn’t always reliable (it can be dry and stringy inside, even if the outside looks fine), so there’s always the option of using bottled ginger — something I love and always have in the fridge!

Here’s what you’ll need:

• Carrots (3 medium, or 1 cup baby carrots)
• Fresh ginger (1- to 2-inch piece) or bottled ginger
• Rice vinegar, white wine vinegar, or apple cider vinegar
• Mellow white miso
• Natural granulated sugar
• Dark sesame oil (optional)

Salads with carrot-ginger dressing go with …

• If you enjoy vegetable sushi from the supermarket or natural foods store, a salad topped with this Japanese-style carrot-ginger dressing is a perfect pairing. 
• A salad served with in this carrot-ginger is also companionable with tofu dishes; a good choice is Tofu and Bok Choy Stir-Fry.
• Serve with Asian-style noodle dishes like Stir-Fried Soba Noodles with Corn and Cabbage.

More Easy Vegan Salad Dressings to Make in Minutes

If you love easy dressings to embellish your salads, explore more …

• Green Goddess Salad Dressing
• Coconut-Peanut Sauce or Salad Dressing
• Vegan Blue Cheese Dressing
• Sesame-Ginger Miso Salad Dressing

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Yield: 4 to 6

Japanese-Style Carrot-Ginger Salad Dressing

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This carrot-ginger dressing, which is so easy to make, is the kind serves with simple salads in Japanese restaurants.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Total Time 10 minutes

Ingredients

• 3 medium carrots, peeled and cut into chunks, or 1 cup baby carrots

• 1- to 2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled if desired, or 2 to 3 teaspoons bottled ginger
• 3 tablespoons rice vinegar, white wine vinegar, or apple cider vinegar

• 1 tablespoon mellow white miso, or to taste
• Pinch of natural granulated sugar

• 2 teaspoons dark sesame oil, optional

Instructions

1. Combine all the ingredients in a food processor. Pulse on and off until the carrots and ginger (if using fresh) are finely chopped. 
2. Add 2 tablespoons water and let the machine run until the mixture is a coarse puree. Scrape down the sides of the work bowl from time to time. If you’d like a little thinner consistency, add just a little more water at a time and let the machine run again. This is meant to be fairly thick, so don’t overdo it with water. 
3. Transfer to a small bowl and taste. See if you'd like to add any more vinegar, salt, sugar, and/or sesame oil to create a flavor balance that pleases your palate.
4. Spoon about 1/4 cup of the dressing over the top of whatever kind of salad you're serving.
5. Store any leftover dressing in an airtight container, where it will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Nutrition Information:

Amount Per Serving: Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgProtein: 0g

Nutrition data is always an estimate, depending on program used to calculate and specific products used. The nutrition facts above don't include the optional sesame oil.

See lots more salads and sides and sauces and dressings