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 Asian-style meals. 

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).

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.

See more easy vegan salad dressings.

What to serve this salad dressing with

If you enjoy taking home 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 topped with this dressing is also excellent with tofu dishes; a good choice is this simple Tofu and Bok Choy Stir-Fry.

Fresh ginger isn’t always reliable (sometimes it’s drier and stringier inside than one would like), so I give the option of using squeeze-bottle ginger — something I love and always have in the fridge!

If you love easy dressings to embellish your salads, you may also be interested in:

• 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 squeeze-bottle ginger
• 
3 tablespoons rice vinegar, white wine vinegar, or apple cider vinegar

• Pinch of salt

• 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.

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