Japanese Salads

japanese salads
serves 1

My friend Cait put me on to these sesame salad dressings from Japan. They’re completely delicious but loaded full of sugar and quite expensive. So I wanted to create a similar tasting dressing made with simple ingredients.

In my first attempts I used soy sauce to season but I’ve since found I prefer the cleaner flavours of seasoning simply with salt.

1 tablespoon rice or sherry vinegar
1 tablespoon tahini
1 teaspoon sugar
2 handfuls chopped raw veg
1 handful baby spinach leaves

1. Combine vinegar and tahini in a small bowl. Mixing until smooth, which will take longer than you’d think.

2. Add sugar and 2 tablespoons water. Mix again until smooth. Taste and season generously with salt.

3. Place veg and spinach leaves on a plate and drizzle over the dressing. Serve with chopsticks to complete the vibe.

prepare ahead?

Prep the veg and make the dressing ahead. Keep veg in the fridge and dressing at room temp then just combine the two before serving.

leftover potential

The dressing will keep for a few weeks but the veg will depend on how fresh they were and the type of veg.

variations for fun

carnivore – brown a small piece of eye fillet of beef so still very rare in the middle. Finely slice and serve on top of the salad.

sesame-free – make a miso dressing instead – replace tahini with white miso paste.

different veg – I just used some carrot and red capsicum (pepper) but pretty much any veg you like that tastes great crunchy and raw will work.

sashimi salad – upgrade this little salad with a few slices of ultra-fresh sashimi grade tuna or other sashimi fish.

problem solving guide

too dry? Depending on your veg you may like to mix up another batch of dressing to enjoy if you’re finding it too dry..

bland – it’s important to season this one generously. A little soy sauce may help. The commercial Japanese dressings are quite sweet, so add more sugar if you think it needs a boost.

can’t find tahini? – most health food shops (and the health food section of supermarkets) will have it, But if not, try a nut butter like almond butter, or even PB.

no rice wine vinegar? – sherry vinegar would be the next best bet followed by white wine vinegar or lemon juice.

serving suggestions

In a big bowl with your chopsticks.

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