Fresh and tangy Asian Salad Dressing is perfect for salads, and it can also be served as a dipping sauce! Made with sweet honey, sesame oil, and salty soy sauce, this homemade salad dressing will become a staple in your house in no time.
Tangy Homemade Asian Salad Dressing
The secret to every top-tier salad is the dressing – it’s what ties all of the ingredients together, adding a burst of flavor to each bite. Today, we’re sharing this homemade Asian Salad Dressing with you because it’s fantastic on side salads of all kinds, as a dip for an appetizer, and on and on.
Sesame ginger dressing is made with savory soy sauce and sesame oil, sweet honey, homey grated ginger, and minced garlic. Needless to say, it is PACKED with tons of umami flavor. You’ll be looking for excuses to use it all the time – on lunchtime salads, with carrot sticks as a light snack, etc.
The best part about it, though? It’s so, so easy to make. All you have to do is add the ingredients to a jar and give it a couple of good shakes. If you’ve never made homemade salad dressing before, you’re in for a treat. It tastes so much better than store-bought dressing!
Why We Love This Sesame Dressing
We use this sesame dressing year-round, especially in the summer. Here’s why we think that you’ll fall head-over-heels in love with it, too:
- Flavor, Flavor, Flavor: Sesame oil and soy sauce add nutty umami flavor, then there’s some honey for a little sweetness, and finally there’s a hearty dose of fresh ginger and garlic for balance. This dressing is a flavor explosion that you can add to all of your favorite salads!
- Super Easy: As we noted above, once you have all of the ingredients assembled, this dressing comes together in a snap. It should take you 5 minutes, tops.
- Make Ahead: If you want, you can make this dressing ahead of time and store it in the fridge for later. It keeps for about a week, so you don’t have to use it up immediately.
What You’ll Need
Let’s talk ingredients! Here’s what you need to know about each one. Additionally, if you’re looking for exact ingredient amounts, you can find them in the printable recipe card below.
- Olive Oil: If you would rather use avocado oil, that will also work.
- Sesame Oil: This adds a distinct, nutty flavor to the dressing. It is quite strong, so be sure to start with 2 tablespoons, taste, and then adjust from there if you would like the flavor to be more intense.
- Rice Vinegar: Both unseasoned and seasoned rice vinegar will work here. If you use the seasoned vinegar, though, note that it contains sugar and salt, so you’ll want to adjust how much honey/salt you add in later.
- Soy Sauce: Reduced sodium soy sauce will work here, or you can just use regular soy sauce. You can also use tamari or coconut aminos.
- Honey: The sweetness will balance out the strong savory flavors listed above. You can also use agave or maple syrup if you don’t have any honey.
- Fresh Grated Ginger: If you are in a hurry, you can buy ginger paste at the grocery store. Fresh ginger definitely has more flavor than the paste, though.
- Garlic: Freshly minced garlic provides the best flavor, but store-bought minced garlic will work in a pinch.
- Salt and Pepper: Make sure to taste the dressing before adding salt because soy sauce has a lot of sodium in it already.
How to Make Asian Salad Dressing
While there are quite a few ingredients that are required for the assembly of this sesame dressing, the process of actually making it is really simple! This is all you have to do:
- Shake the Ingredients to Combine Them: Using a medium size jar, add all of the ingredients to it, then cover the jar with a tight-fitting lid. Shake everything until the dressing is well-blended.
- Let Rest, Then Enjoy: Let the dressing rest for 5 minutes before serving, or store it in the fridge until it’s ready to serve. Remember to shake well before serving!
Tips & Recipe Variations
Couldn’t be easier, right? That said, there are a couple of tips that we’d like to share with you before you get started to make sure that you get the best results with this Asian salad dressing recipe.
- Remove the Skin From the Ginger: The brown papery skin covering fresh ginger needs to be removed before mincing the ginger. Cut off a piece of the ginger then use the edge/end of a spoon to peel off the brown skin.
- How to Mince Ginger: To mince the ginger, you can use a sharp knife and chop it, or you can use a garlic press.
- Adjust the Amount of Ginger/Sesame Oil Used: If you love the taste of ginger add a little more. Also, if you love the nutty toasted flavor from the sesame oil, (carefully) add a little more of that, too.
- Add Sriracha: If you’d like to add some heat, you can pour in a teaspoon (or more!) of sriracha.
Frequently Asked Questions
There is no difference! They are the same thing, so if you only see bottles that are labeled rice wine vinegar at the store, go ahead and use them.
Sure. Toasted sesame oil has a deeper, nuttier flavor that will also work quite well in this salad dressing, so you can use either version.
Yes, this Asian sesame dressing can be used to marinate chicken or some other kind of protein, instead of being poured over a salad. Toss whichever kind of meat you are using in the marinade in a glass bowl or ziplock bag, then let it rest in the fridge for 1-2 hours before cooking.
How to Use This Asian Dressing
Obviously salad would be the most natural choice for this Asian dressing, but you have other options, too! These are our favorite ways to enjoy sesame salad dressing:
- Chicken Salad: Asian Chicken Salad – with tender, chopped chicken, fresh vegetables, and crunchy chow mein noodles – is a great choice for this Asian salad dressing.
- Pasta Salad: Something like this Orzo Salad would pair really well with a sesame dressing. You could also use this dressing over our favorite Cucumber Salad!
- Dip: We like to serve this easy salad dressing as a dip with carrot sticks, chopped cucumber, bell peppers, and more. Any crisp, fresh vegetable will do.
How to Store
This sesame ginger dressing keeps in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Keep in mind, it’s best to remove it from the refrigerator a few minutes before using it in case the olive oil has slightly solidified in the fridge. And, of course, shake the jar well before each use.
More Salad Dressing Recipes
Once you start making homemade salad dressing, you’ll never go back to the store-bought stuff! Here are some more easy dressing recipes that we just can’t get enough of!
Asian Salad Dressing
Ingredients
- ½ cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Using a medium size jar, add all the ingredients, cover jar with tight fitting lid. Shake until well blended.
- Let the dressing rest for 5 minutes before serving or store in the fridge until ready to serve. Shake well before serving.
