HEALTHY FOOD so TASTY you'll
want to eat it EVERYDAY.
ASIAN SALAD DRESSING
I was lucky enough to travel throughout Asia quite a bit in my previous career, and often found myself in Thailand (lucky me)! And I can tell you, I always looked forward to the food! The freshness of ingredients and the complexity of flavors are my inspiration for this salad dressing.
PREP TIME: 10 min
MAKES: 3 cups (720 ml) dressing
KEEPS: 5-6 weeks in refrigerator*
INGREDIENTS
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1 cup, packed (30 g) cilantro (coriander)
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6 cloves garlic
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1 Tbsp (10 g) diced ginger
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½ tsp red chili flakes
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2 cups (480 ml) dark sesame oil
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¼ cup (120 ml) rice vinegar (can substitute white wine vinegar)
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¼ cup (120 ml) mirin
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2 Tbsp (30 ml) soy sauce
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2 Tbsp (30 ml) fresh lime juice
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1 tsp fish sauce
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2 Tbsp (30 ml) Dijon mustard
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4 tsp (20 ml) honey
INSTRUCTIONS
Place the ‘dry’ ingredients (cilantro, garlic, ginger and chili flakes) in a food processor or blender and pulse into a fine dice.
Add the remaining ingredients and blend until smooth.
SERVING INSPIRATION
Super-foods Asian Cole Slaw of cabbage, carrot, red bell pepper, green onion and black quinoa, topped with bean sprouts and chopped almonds.
Recipe & Photo Credit: Cathy Menees
COOK'S NOTES
INGREDIENTS:
As with many Asian recipes, the list of ingredients is longer than most of my salad dressings, but the complexity of flavor is worth it! But don’t worry, many of my other recipes call for these things, so they will earn their mileage.
This recipe is a double batch as I use about half of it for my Asian Coleslaw (pictured) and the rest I like to have on hand for other salads and marinades..
INSTRUCTIONS:
Pay attention here - It’s important to blitz the dry ingredients first as they need more ‘pulses’ to be diced down to size. If you add all the ingredients at the same time, the oil can start to become ‘whipped’ and you may end of with a bizarrely thick paste (it's happened to me and it's not nice...).
KITCHEN BUDDIES:
A good food processor or blender is neccesary to get the smoothness you want from a salad dressing made with fresh (vs dried) herbs and aromatics. If you don't have one, then better have a sharp knife and don't be afraid to be happy with a slightly lumpy dressing...it will still taste great!
STORING:
Our refigerator is set to 3 Celsius, which is about 37 Fahrenheit. At that temperature, and stored in a caraffe with a tight-fitting lid, this dressing lasts easily 5-6 weeks. *Refrigerators and storage containers vary, so just observe your own to get a feel for how long it will last. You will know by the smell (or growning mold) when something is not right!
