Japanese Steakhouse Inspired Ginger Salad Dressing or Marinade
A good friend of mine once remarked that she didn't think she could ever get enough of those little ginger dressing salads that are sometimes served at Japanese or sushi restaurants. You know the ones with the magical dressing that transforms plain old iceberg lettuce and some half-hearted carrot shreds into a treat that you eat every bite of (I even do this with chop sticks... very quickly).
I've been making an "eeehhhhh that looks right" eyeballed version of it for years using a small blender cup and some very basic ingredients. So I gave her a big jar of it, and tried to make her promise that she wouldn't just tip up the jar and chug. She refused to make any promises, and I just didn't want to ask at that point.
With ginger dressing power comes great responsibility. Some people are nearly addicted to this stuff. It's also a great marinade for chicken, beef, fish, tofu, etc. before grilling or broiling. Once made a lot of it and broiled up some delicious gingery melt in your mouth sea bass...
Course: prepared ingredient
Cuisine: Japanese Inspired
Keyword: ginger, ginger dressing, Japanese steakhouse, marinade, salad dressing
- 1/4 cup soy sauce or wheat free tamari
- 3 T water
- 1/2 oz fresh ginger peeled and chopped somewhat (also feel free to use more if you're a real ginger fiend))
- 1/2 tsp toasted sesame seed oil toasted or black!
- 1 tsp rice wine vinegar choose "unseasoned" that means no extra salt
Add all the ingredients into a small blender cup and blend until everything is obliterated and maybe a little frothy too. Can be used as is, or diluted to taste.
If you're looking for the restaurant experience, chop up some iceberg lettuce and shred a carrot then pour a little of the dressing over the top.
Broiled chicken tenderloins are fantastic if they've been soaking in a slightly diluted form of this dressing. Same with steak strips you can cook hibachi style or in a stir fry.
Broiled fish like salmon, sea bass, or other mild flavored fish taste great with this as a marinade or simply poured on top (for a milder flavor before broiling).
An alternative to the iceberg lettuce salad is to pour it on top of a bowl of chopped cucumbers and carrots, let sit for an hour (stirring at least once during the time) and serve topped with black sesame seeds for a fancy looking but simple salad. When no one is looking, I've even dunked cucumber slices in it as some kind of twisted form of "chips and dip".
How will you use your batch?!?