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
I have never left a comment on a site like this before, but I had to regarding this dressing. It is absolutely, wonderfully, perfectly delicious!! I used honey instead of sugar because my husband is a beekeeper, 1/2 c of olive oil because I thought it looked thin enough, and a tad more ginger to my taste. FABULOUS.
Can’t wait to make it again!
Thank you so much! 🙂
Just wanted to say that my local Japanese restaurant used apple juice in the recipe. Perhaps it was used instead of sugar? Thank you for this recipe!
Thanks for sharing Shannon! I’ve never tried with apple juice but I bet it’s delicious and would add even more tang to the dressing 🙂
Love this recipe! I serve it on top of a bed of spring greens, steamed green beans, mixed beans (red kidney/chickpeas/romano/great northern white), grape tomatoes, celery, chopped bell peppers and shrimp. Delicious! Thanks!!
This recipe is exactly what I was looking for. It is absolutely delicious!! So glad I found this, thanks a ton!
I do not have rice vinegar, is there an alternative? Also I have butter lettuce, will this work v. Iceburg? Please let me know.
Hi CC! Apple cider vinegar would be the closest substitute to rice vinegar. I would not recommend using butter lettuce though since the leaves are so delicate, they will get crushed under the dressing, which is pretty heavy. If you have romaine, that would work!
What a game changer!
Made YOUR creamy dijon twice!
Your peanut butter protein balls are a staple now.
Recent follower of your recipes!
FYI, my grandparents lived in Tsuiki Chikujo!
Ken, that’s so close to where my mother and relatives live! I have family in Kitakyushu and my mother is in the Iizuka area! Do you go often to visit? I love Tenjin so much, especially shopping at Loft, lol!
I have made this once not having rice vinegar and subbing white vinegar and it was still great. I just looked for this recipe again to find out how long it can stay in the fridge. I bought rice vinegar band want to make more asap. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you so much Cristina! 🙂
Made this for the first time tonight with avocado oil, 1/2 mirin and 1/2 rice vinegar – ABSOLUTELY DIVINE!!! I added a tiny bit more sugar (1/2 tsp) and it was perfect for us. Served it with mirin marinated wild salmon and steamed rice.
Felt like we were back at our favorite Japanese restaurant 🙂 Thank you
Thank you so much for sharing this Liz! 🙂
amazing. you cannot mess it up. used shallot. did not have rice wine vinegar so used some mirin and apple cider vinegar. no sugar. no salt. 1/2 cup oil. frozen ginger. still turned out absolutely delicious. thank you ☺️
Thank you! 🙂
Is there a reason the recipe is calling for things to be finely chopped? I saw one person post that all the chopping took her a long time but it was worth it.
If it’s all going into the blender, why would it need to be finely chopped first? I put mine in the blender in big chunks and it turned out just as finely chopped or a little more so than the pictures.
It will save people a lot of time if they know there’s no need to chop things up if they’re putting it in the blender! 🙂
great recipe, tysm for posting it!
Hi Pam! If it works with the ingredients whole then for sure you don’t need to chop them. The result differs per blender though so I recommend chopping the veggies since I once had an issue with a blender when I didn’t chop the veggies small enough 🙂
This is my new absolutely favourite salad dressing. I have made it at least 3 times. I actually want to drink it….and lick my plate…it’s so yummy…Thank you for sharing this gem!
Thank you so much Suzanne! 🙂
Excellent! Just like at our local hab Hibachi restaurant!
Maybe better, I burred the complete dressing to smooth it’s texture.
Plus I added fresh grated orange
Thank you so much Christine! 🙂
is “burred” a type Christine? I’m trying to figure out what you did to smooth the texture. I put mine in the blender – is there something more that you did to make it even smoother?
Thank you! 🙂
I usually can’t eat this at sushi places because I’m allergic to soy and canola oils. But I can make it at home using light olive oil! Thank you! I can now enjoy this.
I made it and it is delicious!! Lots of chopping, but so worth it when it was all finished. Tastes just like the ginger dressing from the Japanese restaurant. I wonder if there’s any way to reduce the fat without compromising the taste?
I can’t eat onion, what could I sub?
Hi Crystal! I would suggest substituting with 1-2 celery sticks. The texture won’t be the same and you will taste celery but it should still be good. You could also try with fennel if you don’t mind the taste of anise.
Thanks for posting !
It is easy to make, no doubt but all of sudden, I was flabbergasted that there is no orange juice in this recipe lol… Serious, I always thought OJ is part of the recipe, so when started the preparation and found the recipe has none…
I promptly added my own…. and what the heck, 1/4 tbsp of the orange peel zest for good measure.
Also found out that 1/4 cup of the vinegar was a little too much for us, and that’s the reason I actually added the second orange and a little more salt and sugar.
It was like 11pm when I was making this as I was badly craving some salad and this sauce. Thank you again.
I will definitely make it soon enough !
That’s wonderful Alex! Late night salad cravings are the best in my book because they are almost guilt-free ;P Thank you for sharing!
Thank you so much for awesome recipe! Now I start eat salad everyday!
Made this tonight…..AMAZING!! It was so refreshingly delicious!! Fast and easy to make.
Thank you
This is my favorite dressing ever! Love this recipe. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you Dawn! 🙂
Restaurant style !! Definitely a big hit in our family. So very yummy!
I am going to make this ginger dressing, we love the dressing in our Japanese Restaurant, how long will this keep in refridge? Thank you
Hi Kathy! The dressing should be good for about a week, up to 10 days 🙂
Tastes just like the Japanese restaurants. Very refreshing and tastes so good. The recipe was very easy and quick.
Thanks for sharing!
Thank you Trang! 🙂