Must-Have Asian Salad Dressing (three recipes)

This post is sponsored by Vitamix. All opinions expressed are my own. Thank you so much for supporting the companies that keep this blog going.

These three Asian salad dressing recipes are too good to pass up. Each one takes just two minutes to make, and they last for weeks in the fridge. And they’re not just for salad; they make great sauces for noodle bowls, roasted and steamed veggies, and even dipping sauces.

Despite the fact that I prefer to cook and serve fresh meals every day, whenever I can, the opposite applies when it comes to making salad dressings or sauces. Pulling out all the bottles and spices, then returning them is just too much of a hassle when I’m trying to whip up dinner in 15 minutes.

For a long time, I just used olive oil and vinegar to season my salad. Then things got a bit out of hand. My husband and I were bored with the same dressing, so we started to pour bottled mayonnaise and ranch dressing onto our daily meals. Not very helpful when we’re trying to stay healthy and lose the extra few pounds from our last trip.

Lately we’ve been exploring all the cool dishes we can make with our new Vitamix (Ascent Series blender). One of the first things I did was start to make salad dressing in bigger batches on the weekend and serve it over the next couple weeks. Making three salad dressings was such a breeze when I could clean up my Vitamix using its self-cleaning function.

Today I want to share three of our favorite Asian salad dressing recipes with you—vegan sriracha mayo, Chinese sesame, and Japanese miso.

How to use Asian salad dressing

These dressings are so versatile that they go great with both Asian and Western food. Let’s look at what you can do with them:

1. Easy salad in no time.

Simply purchase a box of mixed greens and mix it with any of the sauces. To make the salad more interesting, use sliced tomatoes, onions, canned artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes, olives, and/or cheese.

2. One-bowl dinner made easy.

When the weather gets cold, we use the the dressing on roasted veggies and noodle bowls. Here are some examples of the dishes I made with these dressings:

• Vegan sriracha mayo: Charred cauliflower with spinach, pistachios, dates, mint, and chickpeas, garnished with pomegranate seeds.
• Chinese sesame dressing: Soba noodles with crispy tofu, baby bok choy, and mushrooms, garnished with green onion.
• Japanese miso dressing: Steamed squash, kale, white beans, pumpkin seeds, and ricotta, garnished with sage.

3. Awesome things to bring to a potluck.

Because they work great as dipping sauces, you can also pair these dressings with chips, crackers, and veggie sticks.

4. A homemade gift for holidays and special occasions.

These dressings are perfect edible gifts because they are easy to transport and stay good for quite a long time. You can use either mason jars or glass bottles to give them an artisanal feel.

Give any of these sauces a try and you’ll be surprised how easy it is to make great salad dressing that tastes way better than bottled sauce!

Vitamix giveaway! (Closed)

Here comes the exciting news – to celebrate the upcoming holidays, I’m partnering with Vitamix to give away a Vitamix A3500 (Ascent Series) to one lucky winner. Enter for a chance to win so you can start making delicious salad dressing in your own kitchen!

How to enter

1. Follow Vitamix on Instagram and tag a friend. (*required)
2. Leave a comment at the bottom of this post answering “What you would make if you had a Vitamix?” plus your Instagram handle. (*required)
3. (Bonus entries) Tag one or more friend(s) on Instagram. For each friend you tag, leave a separate comment at the bottom of this blog post with your Instagram handle and your friend’s Instagram handle.

You must complete the first two steps to enter the giveaway and you have unlimited bonus entries to increase your chance of winning.

Giveaway rules

• This giveaway will be open on November 30th (Thursday) and will close on December 9th (Saturday) at 11:59 pm CST.
• This giveaway is open to U.S. residents 18 years of age or older.
• One winner will be selected via Random.org and contacted via email so please include a valid email address in the email address entry box (Your email address won’t appear in the comments below).
• The winner is required to respond within 48 hours to claim the prize.

Good luck and I hope you win!

Congratulations Karen D for winning the giveaway!

More healthy dinner ideas

• Vegetarian pho noodle soup
• Easy vegetarian lentil stew
• Palak paneer (spinach curry with cheese)
• Vegetarian chow mein

If you give this recipe a try, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it (once you’ve tried it), and take a picture and tag it @omnivorescookbook on Instagram! I’d love to see what you come up with.

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Must-Have Asian Salad Dressing (three recipes)

4.84 from 12 votes

Each takes just two minutes to make, and these sauces last for weeks in the fridge. It is the best item to have on hand for whipping up a quick and healthy dinner in no time. {Vegan, Gluten Free adaptable}

Author: Maggie

Course: Sauce

Cuisine: Asian

Keyword: sauce

Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Total Time: 5 minutes minutes

Servings: 0

Print Recipe Pin Recipe Rate Recipe

Ingredients

Sriracha Mayo (Yields 2 1/2 cups dressing)

• 1 1/2 cup grapeseed oil (or vegetable oil)
• 24 whole chickpeas
• 1/3 cup of liquid from 1 can of chickpeas
• 1/3 cup sriracha sauce
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon agave syrup (or sugar)
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Chinese Sesame Dressing (Yields 2 1/2 cups dressing)

• 2/3 cup Chinkiang vinegar (*Footnote 1)
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons soy sauce (or tamari for gluten-free)
• 1/2 heaping cup unsalted natural peanut butter (*Footnote 2)
• 1/3 cup agave syrup (or sugar)
• 1/4 cup toasted sesame oil
• 2 teaspoons ginger powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

Japanese Miso Dressing (Yields 1 1/2 cups dressing)

• 1/2 cup white miso paste
• 1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup water (*Footnote 3)
• 1/4 cup grapeseed oil (or vegetable oil)
• 3 tablespoons agave syrup (or sugar)
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon oil (toasted)

Instructions

• For each dressing, add all the ingredients into a blender (I used my

  Vitamix). Start at low speed and gradually increase to high, until everything is incorporated into a consistent texture. The total blending time for each dressing should be about 20 seconds.
• Store the dressings in airtight containers in the fridge for 2 to 3 weeks. I suspect they could stay good longer but you probably won't get a chance to test it out because you'll finish all three bottles in no time.

Notes

1. Use rice vinegar if you need to create a gluten-free dressing. The flavor profile of the dressing will change and become less pungent, but it will remain tasty.
2. The consistency of peanut butters varies a lot. If you find your dressing too thin, add 1 to 2 tablespoons more peanut butter.
3. If you plan to store the dressing for a long time, boil some water and then let it cool down before adding to the dressing. This process will sanitize the water so it stays good for longer.

Did You Make This Recipe?Don't forget the last step! Leave a comment below, and tag me @OmnivoresCookbook and #OmnivoresCookbook on Instagram!