Receta Ginger dressing: a recipe

by Julianne Puckett

Ginger dressing

I love sushi.

One of the best things about living in Southern California (when we did) was that there were at least eight bajillion good sushi restaurants within a two-block radius of wherever you were standing.

I'm nearly not kidding.

I miss sushi.

Up here in Vermont, it's a bit different, as you can well imagine. We've discovered one passable sushi place in downtown Burlington, but that's it. (If you can recommend another, please leave a comment below!)

Again, I miss sushi.

This also means that I don't get my fix of that ubiquitous yummy ginger salad dressing that every sushi restaurant serves on its side salad of iceberg lettuce and shredded carrots.

I found a similar bottled dressing a few years ago, but it's not quite the same -- a little too chunky. And I don't like being dependent on bottled dressing anyway, so I decided to explore making my own.

Of course, there are quite a few recipes for "famous Japanese restaurant-style ginger salad dressing" (go ahead, Google it for yourself, I'll wait). The one I chose to use as a baseline for my adaptation had an ingredient list that seemed to correspond pretty closely to the bottled version (without the additives), plus it called for blending, which I figured would eliminate the chunkiness.

Verdict (after a few tries)? A big hit!

Just the right blend of sweet and tangy with no chunks. It is especially good on a simple spinach salad. And I'd be willing to bet it would make a great marinade for grilled chicken, too.

Now I just need to find some good sushi to go with it.

Ginger Salad Dressing (adapted from allrecipes.com)

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup minced onion
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 1 heaping tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
• 1 1/2 tablespoons celery, minced
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2-3 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Using an immersion blender, blend until smooth.