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Ginger Salad Dressing

This fresh Ginger Salad Dressing is a copycat of the dressing commonly served at Japanese Steakhouses and will jazz up an iceberg salad. It’s tangy, a little sweet, and has tons of fresh ginger flavor.

 

Pouring salad dressing over a green salad with carrots.

Who doesn’t love going to a Japanese Steakhouse? You get good food and entertainment all at once.

But no, I do not want to try to catch a shrimp in my mouth. Why don’t they get that?

I can pass on the brothy soup, but I always look forward to the iceberg salad with ginger salad dressing. It’s such a simple salad, but the dressing has such a complex flavor. And no wonder . It’s chock full of awesome ingredients (Or at least Todd Wilbur’s Copy Cat of Benihana’s Ginger Salad Dressing is.)

Onion, celery, a hefty dose of fresh grated ginger, celery, ketchup and soy sauce all combine to form a dressing that can make even boring old iceberg lettuce shine. I always think iceberg lettuce tastes better if it’s really cold and crisp. So wash it, chop it, and put it back in the refrigerator until just before serving. Add a few carrot sticks for a crisp and colorful ginger salad.

Recipe Tips:

This dressing will keep in the refrigerator for about 10 days.

For extra flavor try adding 1/2 teaspoon of sesame oil.

Salad with carrots with Ginger Salad Dressing.

 

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Try These Other Salad Dressing Recipes:

To see how quick and easy this recipe is to make, watch the short video below:


Ginger Salad Dressing (Benihana Copy Cat)

Ginger Salad Dressing

This fresh Ginger Salad Dressing is a replica of the dressing served at Japanese Steakhouses. It's tangy and a little bit sweet and tastes great served over a simple salad of iceberg lettuce.
PREP: 10 minutes
TOTAL: 10 minutes
SERVINGS: 6

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup minced onion
  • 1/2 cup peanut oil
  • 1/3 cup rice vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • 2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
  • 2 tablespoons minced celery
  • 2 tablespoons ketchup
  • 4 teaspoons soy sauce
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoons lemon juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

  • Place all ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth, about 45 seconds.
  • Refrigerate until ready to use.

Notes

Yield: 1 3/4 cups

Nutrition

Calories: 174kcal
Author: Christin Mahrlig
Course: Salad Dressing

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Originally published March 18, 2014.

Adapted slightly from Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 3: The Secret Formulas for Duplicating Your Favorite Restaurant Dishes at Home

Disclosure: Spicy Southern Kitchen is an amazon.com affiliate.

 

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54 thoughts on “Ginger Salad Dressing”

  1. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! I am gluten free and I have not had this dressing in years. This hit the spot and I used coconut amino acids instead of soy sauce. I will definitely make it again.

  2. Corina Rodriguez

    Love this dressing! Hard to get my 10 year old to eat salad but she loves it. I did sub peanut oil for olive oil and added a few drops of toasted sesame oil as well as adding maybe a half cup chopped carrots before blending. No need to go to the hibachi restaurant just for the salad dressing anymore!

  3. This recipe is really good! Dressing is thicker and sticks to salad better!! Very tasty!! Thank you!!

  4. Great recipe, tastes just like the restaurants! I didn’t have any peanut oil so I subbed it for just under 1/2 cup canola oil and a splash of sesame oil, it was perfect!

  5. Like others, I did tweak this recipe – I added an additional teaspoon of soy sauce, 2 additional teaspoons of sugar, 2 more tablespoons of ginger (I like the ginger flavor to really pop), 1 large diced carrot. After blending & still not quite having the flavor I wanted, I added 1 teaspoon of toasted sesame seed oil. Perfect. Thank you for this recipe. I’ve searched high & low & found this, which is great.

  6. Amazing! Thank you for this as every bottled version out there is disappointing. I did tweak mine by adding carrots and doubling the amount of ginger. YUM! Having this salad with grilled T-bone steaks tonight. The family will love this Sunday dinner!

  7. This recipe sounds delish. Is there any substitute for the sugar for all us diabetics out there?

    1. I’m not a doctor but am a health coach and have heard good things about erythritol as a sugar substitute as far as taste/safety. You need to use about 1/3 more than sugar to get the same sweetening power. It’s a little on the pricey side, however.

  8. I love the salad at the Japanese restaurants and always wondered how the dressing was made. Now I know thanks to you!! Thank you!! I’m going to try it soon!!!

  9. can i substitute a different oil instead of peanut? also can i reduce the amount of oil? can i add a splash of sesame oil?

  10. Mark C Underkofler

    Using a full cup of Peanut Oil is a bit strong. I’d suggest cutting that down and substituting a less distinctive flavored oil.

  11. I added carrots to mine too before blending. Yum! I tried making it before but the recipe I had was all wrong. This one is right on except needing some carrots.

  12. Just out of curiosity, just how essential is the ketchup? It tends to give me headeaches, so I try to steer clear of it.

    1. Christin
      Christin Mahrlig

      I haven’t tried it without the ketchup, but I would think it would taste quite different. Might still be good though. Could you try using a little tomato sauce and a little extra sugar?

    2. Darrin Brown

      There’s a Thai place I go to with a ginger dressing that is whiter; really good. Mayo instead?

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