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Japanese Carrot Ginger Dressing - Authentic Restaurant Style!

Dressings are the soul of salads and this Japanese restaurant style carrot ginger dressing is like a garden fairy - bright, uplifting, refreshing, sweet, savory, and umami. And isn't it just extra wonderful when your dressing is not only delicious but also loaded with veggies ;)

This carrot ginger dressing is an iconic Japanese restaurant salad dressing and my personal favorite. I really thought this is such a simple recipe that it'd actually be difficult to mess it up, however, to my horror, a quick search on the internet and I'm speechless at all the ridiculous yet somehow common mistakes I found at so many sites, even some highly renowned cooking sites.

I'm sorry, I don't care how big and famous a cooking/recipe site is, if it's telling you one of these things below it is simply, with all due respect, wrong.

The two most basic ingredients in this dressing, besides carrot and ginger obviously, are oil and acid. And that's exactly where so many sites made all sorts of unacceptable mistakes.

1. Oil. The only appropriate oil that belongs in this dressing is neutral-tasting oil, your vegetable oil, canola oil, or sunflower seed oil. NOT olive oil, it's mind-boggling how so many "professional" recipe websites from some established publications all call for olive oil. I love olive oil with all my heart but it has such a distinctive taste and aroma that will completely turn this dressing weird. And frankly, olive oil hardly ever belongs in any eastern Asian recipes let alone a dressing where you'll absolutely taste the oil;

2. Acid, the right acid here couldn't be simpler, rice vinegar, unseason, plain, humble rice vinegar, that's it! Not apple cider vinegar, not balsamic vinegar, and not lime juice. Rice vinegar has a mild taste and mild level of acidity, and at the same time, it has a slightly sweet taste, all of which make it a perfect and only option here.

There really is no trick or flashy technique to this recipe, it's such a simple and humble combination of ingredients but when they all come together, magic happens - a beautifully balanced flavor profile of sweet, savory, and umami, with all the refreshing aroma from the vegetables.

Watch the video for a quick and simple visual guide and if you try this dressing please tag me on Instagram and Tiktok I'd love to see it!


INGREDIENTS:

1 large carrot, about 120 g

1/2 small sweet onion, about 55 g

1 1/2 inch fresh ginger

1 tablespoon white miso paste

1 tablespoon maple syrup or brown sugar

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1/3 cup unseasoned rice vinegar

1/4 cup canola oil or other neutral-tasting oil


TO MAKE:

- Wash and roughly chop the carrot, no need to peel, and roughly chop the onion;

- Peel the ginger with the back of a spoon, roughly chop as well;

- If using a hand-held blender/emulsifier, transfer everything into a blending cup, blend till very smooth and everything is well combined;

- If using a blender or kitchen processing, transfer everything but the oil in the container first, blend till smooth, then drizzle in the oil as the machine runs;

- Store the dressing in an airtight jar or container in the fridge for up to a week, shake well before you use. Enjoy!


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