Easy Sesame Ginger Dressing

Sesame ginger dressing hits all the notes you want on a salad. It’s sweet, tangy, spicy and nutty, and so easy to whip up with ingredients you probably already have on hand.

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This sesame ginger dressing is perfectly balanced. It’s got nutty sesame oil and seeds, sharp and acidic black and white wine vinegars, salty soy sauce, spicy ginger, and just a touch of honey. The addition of black vinegar gives the dressing a fermented umami kick. But if you don’t have black vinegar on hand you can use rice wine vinegar instead. It is perfect dressing for just about any salad. Try it on lettuce-and-avocado salad (my sushi restaurant go-to), cabbage coleslaws, and crisp and cool cucumber salad.

In my house, Sundays are for family dinners. While some weekends, especially in the summer, are spent away at our mom’s or dad’s or uncle’s or grandma’s, there are other weekends when we just laze around the house. So while everyone has a slightly different schedule during the week, we try to make sure that the whole household – my brother, my sister-in-law, my niece, my boyfriend Gabe and I – have family dinner together on Sunday. This past weekend, Gabe and I made the seared tuna recipe that has quickly become one of our staple dinners. And while he tends to be slightly over-ambitious in the kitchen, I wanted to keep the sides for this light dinner simple and fresh. That’s why I (literally) walked into my garden, picked a bunch of fresh lettuce, topped it with fresh avocado and cucumber, and whipped up this sesame ginger dressing.

THE MAGIC DRESSING RATIO

This is actually the acid-to-oil ratio that experts say makes the perfect tangy vinaigrette. While I used a few different acids (lime juice, black vinegar and white wine vinegar) and a few different oils (sesame oil and vegetable oil) in my sesame ginger dressing, I made sure to keep the ratios the same. You can add whatever ingredients you like after that. This dressing’s additions are ginger, honey, soy sauce and sesame seeds. But sticking to this basic ratio will ensure you make a tasty salad dressing every time.

GINGER LOVING HOUSEHOLDS STAY HEALTHY

Pretty much everyone in my household, my sister-in-law especially, absolutely adores ginger. We have it in everything from ginger tea to ginger rice to our fall favorite carrot ginger soup. And the good news for us is that ginger has sooooooo many health benefits. That’s why I love incorporating it into recipes like this sesame ginger dressing at every chance I get. It soothes sore muscles and arthritis pain. It lowers blood sugar and cholesterol and relieves indigestion, nausea and period cramps. Some studies even suggest that it can curb cancer growth. And the old wives tale of drinking ginger tea when you’re sick isn’t just superstition. Ginger is actually proven to fight germs and cold and flu viruses with a powerhouse dose of antioxidants and anti-inflammatories.