Make my iconic Japanese carrot ginger dressing in less than 10 minutes! Inspired by Japanese-American steakhouses, the sweet and tangy flavors make the perfect pairing to ice cold iceberg lettuce!
If you’ve been to a Japanese restaurant in the US or Canada, chances are excellent that you’ve had a variation of this carrot ginger dressing. I‘ve been a fan of the sweet and tangy taste of this bright orange dressing ever since I was a college student, back in Montreal. My friends and I used to sneak out of campus and take the bus to our favorite Japanese restaurant, where we always ordered the lunch special consisting of maki rolls, a side of miso soup, and a simple green salad topped with a carrot ginger dressing.
Since then I have had different versions of this dressing – some were more on the savory side, others had a strange bitter taste, and my least favorites very watery and somewhat bland. I decided to make my own version after discovering how easy it was to make. I like assertive flavors so this dressing is anything but boring! It has plenty of sweetness, a little fruitiness, and some tanginess. The flavors offset each other beautifully, bringing the perfect balance to this Japanese-American classic.
Table of contents
Japanese Carrot Ginger Dressing Ingredients
- Carrots: I’m using 7 ounces of carrots which comes to about 200 grams. Since everything will be blended the carrot can be roughly chopped here.
- Onion: A yellow sweet onion is best for this recipe but you can also use a regular yellow or white onion. I’m using 4 ounces which is about 110 grams.
- Ginger: You can use more than 2 tablespoons of ginger if you like your dressing to have some heat. Two tablespoons, which is what I’m using, is just enough to infuse it with ginger flavor without feeling any tingling on the tongue.
- Sugar: Granulated sugar is preferred but you can use brown as well. One tablespoon is all you need.
- Soy Sauce: The soy sauce adds umami and earthiness to the dressing. Use a Japanese soy sauce such Kikkoman or Yamasa.
- Rice Vinegar: That’s the famous zing you taste in the dressing. Plain rice vinegar is recommended. If you have seasoned rice vinegar only, I suggest omitting the sugar for this recipe.
- Salt: I use kosher salt which has bigger granules. If you are using regular salt, start with 1/4 teaspoon, do a taste test, and work your way up if needed.
- Oil: Any neutral oil will do here. You can use organic canola oil, vegetable oil, grapeseed oil, corn oil.
Variations
- Make it fruity. Use apple cider vinegar instead of rice vinegar for a fruitier taste.
- Add some nuttiness. Add 1 or 2 tablespoons of toasted sesame oil to introduce a nutty element.
- Intensify the umami factor. Add a little white or awase miso paste to bump up the umami and savory notes.
Kitchen Equipment Needed
Blender: You will need a small or a regular size blender.
How To Make This Dressing
- Add all the ingredients, except for the oil, in the blender and press start. Blend until the texture is smooth.
- While keeping the blender on, slowly add the oil so that it emulsifies (blends) with the other ingredients. It’s important to do it slowly otherwise the oil can separate and ruin the dressing, so take your time for this step!
- Do a taste test and if you think it needs adjusting, add a little more sugar or salt.
Expert Tips
- Do not overblend. This dressing tastes best when it’s not completely watery. Leave a little graininess to the carrots so they can sit on lettuce leaves and make every bite taken, more intense.
- Use fresh ingredients. Make sure that the carrots, onion, and ginger you are using are in great condition. Fresh carrots and onions have a natural sweetness that older ones don’t have. And fresh ginger is juicier and milder in flavor.
Storage
Save the dressing in a jar or storage container with a tight fitting lid. It will keep in the fridge for up 2 weeks.
What to Serve With It
Serving this dressing over a bed of crispy iceberg lettuce is by far my favorite combination. However, you can use romaine lettuce or endives as well, or any other type of crunchy greens to enjoy this lovely dressing.
A side salad is usually served as part of a sushi meal here in the US but there are many other meal combinations where you can serve green leaves and carrot ginger dressing. Some of my favorites are:
- Japanese fried rice (yakimeshi)
- Japanese curry rice
- Honey sriracha tofu
- Singapore chow mei fun
- Korean sticky chicken
- Miso ramen
If you liked this Japanese carrot ginger dressing, you might be interested to try these other Asian dressings:
Frequently Asked Questions
You can use olive oil but keep in mind that if you are using a high quality olive oil with strong fruity and floral notes, the overall taste of the dressing might taste slightly different.
Unfortunately, I don’t recommend that you freeze this dressing as the texture of the fresh ingredients will deteriorate and get mushy and unpleasant.
No, this dressing is not gluten-free because it contains soy sauce. However, it’s very easy to make it gluten-free! Simply use a gluten-free soy sauce or use a substitute like tamari or liquid aminos.
Did you like this recipe? Are there changes you made that you would like to share? Share your tips and recommendations in the comments section below!
Print
Japanese Carrot Ginger Dressing
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: About 2 cups 1x
- Category: Dressings
- Method: Blender
- Cuisine: Japanese
- Diet: Vegan
Description
The classic sweet and tangy carrot ginger dressing from your favorite Japanese restaurant! Make it at home in just 10 minutes.
Ingredients
- 7 ounces carrots, peeled and chopped
- 4 ounces onion, peeled and finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons ginger, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/2 cup rice vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup organic canola or vegetable oil
Instructions
- Blend. Put all the ingredients except for the oil in a blender and blend until smooth.
- Add the oil. Slowly add the oil and blend until the mixture has emulsified.
- Serve. Use this dressing with a crisp lettuce like iceberg or romaine.
Notes
Save the dressing in a jar or other storage container. Refrigerate for up to 2 week.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/4 cup
- Calories: 212
- Sugar: 3.7g
- Sodium: 372mg
- Fat: 20.5g
- Saturated Fat: 1.5g
- Unsaturated Fat: 5.8g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 6.3g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 1g
- Cholesterol: 0mg
Could someone give me the details if I use ground ginger instead?
Hi Stephanie! Ground ginger is much more concentrated than fresh ginger so I suggest using 1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger as a substitute. The difference will be that there won’t be the same level of zing (or bite) in the dressing since ground ginger doesn’t provide that.
Use 2 tablespoons of sugar and add 1 cup of water and this recipe is perfect. Tastes just like the recipe at my hibachi restaurant I love so much.
Very much YUM! Tastes very much like the dressing used at our local Japanese Steak House, Sakura.
I’ve tried making several other versions of this dressing and they were all okay. This recipe is AMAZING. I’ve made it a couple times and I’m about to make another batch or two. I’m going send some to my sister because we can’t get enough of this. I am going to try adding a little lemon and see how I like it.
I just followed this recipe and we both love it! Tastes really yummy like the one we eat at a Japanese Resto!
Sounds wonderful. Any ideas to work around not having a blender or food processor? I’m renting a house for two months and neither is available. Hate to have to buy a piece of equipment I would be leaving behind.
Lin
Hi Linda, I’m so sorry but I don’t think this dressing can be made without a blender 🙁
It won’t have the texture of the carrots but maybe you could try pureed carrots from the baby food aisle or a little carrot juice.
I haven’t made this specific recipe yet, but i did make one very similar and used pre-minced/blended ginger in a bottle and onion powder, then I used a mason jar to “blend” by shaking it. Worked very well. (I’m sure freshly graded/blended ginger tastes significantly better, but this is what I had on hand.)
I would be trying this one next…
What a great idea! Thank you for sharing this tip!
YOu can get a hand emulsion blender. They are small
What about a white sauce from same type restaurant?
Fan favorite on our house! Thank you for the recipe. We all loved it.
This ginger dressing is delicious!! I made it exactly as you instructed and I will not change a thing♥️♥️ I had it over crispy Romain lettuce with a salmon cake on top!! Fantastic lunch
Thank you Dawn! 🙂
Love this receipe didn’t make it yet i dont know how to measure carrots and onion .Could you please use tbs.or cups to measure
Thank you
I found the answer in 1 of the comment’s so glad i decided to read all the comments
This is hands down my FAVORITE recipe of all time. My husband loves Japanese food so he asked me to recreate this salad after we visited Japan together. We frequently host dinners and everyone always asks for this recipe. We like it best on butter lettuce with cherry tomatoes and cucumbers, but my husband eats it on literally anything – takeout sushi, plain rice. Thank you!
Wonderful Cat, thank you for the comment, I love it!
My wife and I have enjoyed ginger Japanese dressing at so many states from coast to coast. Reading your recipe somehow motivated me to give it a try.
It is just world class with subtle flavors absent in those restaurants which I think just cut corners. Savor this but my palate tells me I wouldn’t substitute or change one element.
Thanks so much!
Thank you so much Tom! 🙂
I loved this recipe but I used Monk sugar instead and used about 4 full tablespoons…….I used healthy amino acids instead of regular soy sauce……..I also used a healthier oil instead of regular vegetable oil…….I used grape seed oil and the liquid coconut oil……….Next time I will add about 2-3 Tablespoons of lemon juice………thanks so much for this recipe, to me it is Keto friendly the way I changed it…..thanks again ……..
Thank you Carol and for your tips on making this recipe keto friendly! 🙂
This is the real thing! It is absolutely delicious!!
To smooth out this recipe a bit would u add more oil or more rice vinegar? It was a little grainy but absolutely amazing! Thanks!
Hi Andria, I’m so happy you liked the taste! The dressing is supposed to be grainy so I’m not sure how I would go about smoothing it out… You could zap the carrots in the microwave to soften them, this might help with the texture. Let me know if it works 🙂
Hi, can I use coconut oil instead?
Thanks!
Hi Erin, the taste of coconut might be overwhelming for the dressing, I would suggest using another neutral oil such as grapeseed or vegetable oil instead 🙂
Oh my goodness, thank you so much for posting this. My fiance took me to a restaurant a fee weeks ago and I couldn’t get enough of the dressing I got on my starter salad. I had no idea how to recreate it at home, I could only taste the predominant flavors were carrots and ginger. I’ve been looking for a recipe to match what I tasted that night, and I’m so excited I found your post today! Will be making it today for lunch! Thank you!
Hi Caroline,
Do you have the original Japanese recipe? I’d like to compare them and decide which I like better. I’m typically a less sugar kind of person 🙂 Thanks for posting!!
Hi Aimee, there are no original Japanese recipes but I can tell you that this is pretty close to what I’ve tasted in Japan. I would recommend adding the sugar slowly so you can do a taste test until you like the flavor 🙂
We are trying to do more Paleo but I needed to have this. 😉 I used avocado oil, coconut sugar, and coconut aminos instead of canola, sugar, and soy sauce. It is amazing! Thank you so very much for this.
Hi can I use olive oil instead?
Hi Amy, olive oil should be good although the flavor will be slightly different than the authentic dressing 🙂
Hi! What kind of onion did you use? Xo
Hi Carmen! I use a regular onion, yellow or sweet 🙂