A sweet, tangy dressing that will take your boring salad to the next level! This quick and simple Japanese carrot ginger dressing is full of flavor, made with minimal ingredients in less than 10 minutes!
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Japanese Carrot Ginger Dressing is made of carrot, ginger, apple and red onion with soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, sugar and cold water.
It's popularly served at many Japanese restaurants over a refreshing salad and it's absolutely delicious thanks to the sweet sesame ginger notes!
I love to serve this dressing over crisp lettuce, cucumbers, carrots, tomatoes, red onion and radish!
This Japanese-style dressing really makes eating veggies feel like less of a chore and the best part is it's so easy to make at home.
Ingredients & Substitutes
Please scroll down to below recipe card for exact measurements.
Note: Most grocers will carry these ingredients. You may find some online, like on Amazon.
- Fresh Carrots: ideally medium sized ones to make prep easier!
- Red onion: for that sharper flavor! Or substitute with white onion.
- Fresh ginger
- Apple: ideally gala apple, honey crisp, or fuji apple or substitute with any apple you have on hand (not shown in visuals)
- Rice vinegar: or sometimes known as rice wine vinegar. Or substitute with apple cider vinegar. Avoid other vinegars if possible.
- Neutral oil: like avocado oil, sunflower oil, grapeseed oil, peanut oil, vegetable oil or canola oil with a high smoke point. Avoid olive oil that has a low smoke point.
- Regular soy sauce: or substitute with low sodium soy sauce or light soy sauce. If you’re gluten-free, substitute with tamari sauce, coconut aminos or a gluten-free soy sauce.
- Cold water
- White granulated sugar: or substitute with honey, maple syrup, brown sugar, or cane sugar.
- Sesame oil: for that nutty flavor! If you're allergic, omit altogether.
Expert Tips
- Use fresh ingredients especially when it comes to the carrots and apple! This makes a difference in the taste.
- Dice the carrots and onions to create a smooth dressing and to help your blender out!
- Use a high powered blender for extra smooth dressing!
- Chill the dressing in the fridge for 1 hour for best taste.
Instructions
Below are step-by-step instructions on how to make Japanese carrot ginger dressing:
Blend Ingredients Until Smooth
Add all ingredients into a high speed blender or food processor.
Blend until very smooth and there are no chunks left. It should be runny.
Enjoy with Salad
Pour the dressing over your salad and mix to enjoy!
Storage
- Leftover dressing lasts 1 week stored in an airtight container stored in the fridge.
- Freezer-friendly? You can freeze the dressing in a freezer friendly bag and thaw to enjoy. Note: the dressing will separate so just mix it again when you're ready to serve.
Pairing Suggestions
This dressing and salad would serve well with other Japanese dishes like:
FAQ
This can be made in advance and stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.
The ideal salad for this dressing is chopped iceberg lettuce or romaine lettuce, julienned carrots, tomato wedges, sliced cucumbers, thinly sliced radish and julienned red onion. Or feel free to enjoy over a simple cucumber salad.
📖 Recipe
Easy 10-min. Japanese Carrot Ginger Dressing
Ingredients
- 4.4 oz carrots peeled & chopped
- 1 oz red onion
- 0.35 oz ginger peeled
- 1 oz gala apple or sub with any peeled apple
- ¼ cup rice vinegar or substitute with apple cider vinegar or white vinegar
- ¼ cup avocado oil or any neutral oil
- 1 tablespoon regular soy sauce not dark soy sauce
- 2 tablespoon cold water
- 4 teaspoon white granulated sugar or substitute with brown sugar, cane sugar, honey or maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil toasted kind
Instructions
- Add all ingredients into a high speed blender or food processor.
- Blend until very smooth and there are no chunks left. It should be runny.
- Enjoy with your salad. Salad options can include chopped iceberg lettuce, julienned carrots, tomato wedges, sliced cucumbers, thinly sliced radish and julienned red onion. Or feel free to enjoy over a simple cucumber salad.
Robert
I've been waiting for a Japanese ginger dressing. The one at the local restaurant has some toasted sesame oil . Yours is the first one I've found with sesame oil. I can't wait to try it.
Christie Lai
Thanks Robert! I hope you enjoy my version of this Japanese ginger dressing!
John
Hey Christie. I love all your recipes! BIG REQUEST. Some of your recipes use metric measures. I then have to covert to the American system. Confusing and irritating. Can you put the equivalent measurement in parentheses next to the metric. Would be SO HELPFUL! THANKS MUCH. JOHN.
christieathome
Hi John, thanks for the support of my recipes! I will have to look into your suggestion and see if it's viable for the blog.