When I go out to sushi, I always look forward to the orange dressing on the salad – I KNOW you know what I’m talking about! It’s that vibrant color and the tangy, sweet flavor that is such a great starter to any Japanese meal. I’d always wanted to make it at home but so many of the recipes I found online were for the sesame oil Japanese dressing – not for the carrot/ginger variety. I kept looking and finally found some to give me an idea of what goes into the dressing (aside from carrots/ginger) and was surprised that so many added sugar or honey for that sweetness we all love and SO much oil. I knew I could do something a bit healthier and here it is!
The flavor of this dressing is so wonderful, I don’t want to limit it to being a salad dressing. I served it recently with tuna steaks and will be serving it later this week with Asian lettuce wraps in place of a mayo-type sauce. The options are endless, but definitely think of it as a may replacement – it can be used in so many ways!
Here is how you make it (3 cups dressing):
- Throw 4 roughly carrots, 1/2 cup white onion, 1/4 cup ginger, 1/4 cup rice vinegar, 1/2 cup applesauce, 1/4 cup sesame oil, 2 tbsp soy sauce and heavy dash of salt into a food processor
- Process until it has the smooth – but not TOO smooth – consistency, it should be a fairly thick dressing and SERVE!
How east is THAT? I love recipes that are simple with minimal cleanup and this is definitely one of them.
Ingredients:
- 4 roughly chopped carrots
- 1/2 cup roughly chopped white onion
- 1/4 cup grated ginger
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar
- 1/2 cup unsweetened, unflavored applesauce
- 1/4 cup sesame oil
- 2 tbsp soy sauce (or tamari)
- heavy dash salt
Let me know how you use this – I’m always looking for new ideas!!
Cheers!
CHH
