Pour a little gourmet on a plain dish Dressing works on pasta, veggies, rice, beans
Posted by Kim Davaz • 01/11/12 • 1:15am
I first tasted Ginger Sesame Salad Dressing at The Mustard Seed restaurant in Missoula, Mont. I can’t recall anything else from the menu, and I ate there often, but the salad dressing was memorable. I would go there just to have the salad.
I’ve had this recipe for so long, there is no paper trail as to where I found it, but I’m glad I did. This delicious blend of fresh ginger, toasted sesame seeds and soy sauce fancies up almost any salad or vegetable, so you can use it to perk up a plain main dish.
The one essential piece of equipment in this recipe is a blender, a food processor, or an immersion blender (that’s what I use.) You can’t possibly get the right consistency by chopping with a knife.
Use this dressing on a green salad (it makes even bland iceberg lettuce delicious) and to make a slaw with shredded cabbage. It is equally good on hot vegetables such as steamed bok choy or broccoli florets.
Toss with warm pasta and add shredded vegetables for a pasta salad.
For a heartier main dish, top with some shredded leftover chicken, grilled shrimp, or sauteed tofu. Try it drizzled over rice and beans.
Add a couple of tablespoons of mayonnaise to 1/3 cup of the dressing to make a chicken salad with leftover diced or shredded chicken, chopped apple, chopped celery and toasted almonds.
It’s a little thin to make a good dip for steamed or raw vegetables, but that hasn’t stopped me from using it that way.
The recipe makes about two cups, so you’ll have plenty to experiment with.
Ginger Sesame Salad Dressing
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 2½ tablespoons minced fresh ginger
- ¾ cup chopped onion
- ½ cup chopped celery
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- ¼ cup lightly toasted sesame seeds
- Dash pepper
- Dash of celery seed
- ½ teaspoon ketchup
- 1/3 cup soy sauce
- 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
Place all ingredients except for soy sauce and vinegar in a blender. Blend 30 seconds. Add soy sauce and vinegar and blend another 30 seconds. Keep airtight in the refrigerator and shake well before using.
Kim Davaz of Eugene writes the biweekly Eating In column.
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