How To Use Japanese Sesame Dressing? Let Us Count The Ways.
If you’ve ever been out to a Japanese restaurant you know the dressing I am talking about, that nutty tangy sesame ginger dressing that is drizzled over that shredded lettuce salad or served as a sauce with Hibachi grilled steak and chicken. It’s nutty, slightly sweet, tangy and pretty addicting.
{Now I am not talking about our Ginger Soy Sauce, that is similar to the Benihana’s ginger dipping sauce, it’s sweeter and more of a dipping sauce - if you are looking for this kind of sauce, you can find that here.}
Our Japanese Sesame Miso Sauce is tangier, nuttier and more savory than sweet and is one of my favorites of all our sauces and dressings (not that I like to pick favorites). We make this in the most traditional way, we simmer together tahini and sesame with organic tamari, a homemade dashi stock, fresh ginger, saki and mirin. We balance the flavor with a touch of sweet, umami and vinegar tang.
Our Japanese Sesame Miso Dressing is one of our routine go-to’s for not only a salad dressing but a marinade and sauce for a number of dishes - and the clincher – it’s very low in sugar, vegan and still so good (a good pick for healthy keto dinners or plant based meals). From dipping wontons to drizzling over avocado toast, to marinating chicken skewers and dressing noodles and simple greens, here are our favorite ways to use our Japanese Sesame Miso Dressing, Sauce and Marinade.
1. Japanese Sesame Dressing As A Salad Dressing
Well of course, one of our favorite ways to use our Japanese Sesame Miso Dressing is as a dressing for a variety of salads. Drizzle this dressing over a simple spinach or shredded lettuce salad, mix in an Asian coleslaw or add to a chopped Oriental chicken salad with almonds, shredded cabbage and carrots.
Pictured Recipe Below: Kale Salad with Crispy Chickpeas and Japanese Sesame Miso Dressing
2. Japanese Sesame Miso Dressing as a Dipping Sauce
From grilled chicken skewers to fried shrimp, rice paper rolls and potstickers, our Japanese Sesame Miso makes a fantastic dipping sauce! It’s got all those flavor profiles going on, the slightly sweet, the nutty, the tang…the creaminess…it’s all there…so let’s dip.
Pictured Recipe Below: Rice Paper Rolls with Japanese Dipping Sauce
3. Japanese Sesame Miso Sauce Drizzled Over All Your Roasted Vegetables
Our Japanese Sesame Sauce makes all those roasted vegetables taste so good. I like to slow roast carrots in the oven with our Japanese Sesame Miso drizzled over top then finish with a little drizzle of honey, more sesame miso and sesame seeds. You can also add a sprinkle of chili flakes if you want a bit of heat. I use our Japanese Sesame Dressing over roasted brussels sprouts, butternut squash and roasted eggplant and it's vegan, so if you are focused on eating more plant based foods, this sauce is a good one to have on hand.
Pictured Below: Roasted Carrots with Japanese Sesame Dressing and Honey
4. Japanese Dressing Makes A Fantastic Steak Sauce
Grilled hibachi steak drizzled with our Japanese Dressing or serve on the side to dip your steak in. That's all I have to say about this one.
5. Japanese Sesame Dressing as a Marinade For Chicken, Pork and Beef
My number #1 simple go-to healthy dinner is chicken skewers marinated in our Japanese Sesame Dressing / Sauce served with a side salad of baby spinach drizzled with the Japanese Sesame as well. It’s easy and incredibly satisfying. When protein and salad or veggies is what you want, with no lack of flavor, this sauce is the b-o-m-b. I also mix our Japanese Sesame Dressing with mayonnaise and serve it as a drizzle sauce over pork schnitzel (panko crumbed and fried thin pork cutlets). It's delicious.
Pictured Recipe Below: Chicken Skewers Marinated in Japanese Sesame Sauce
6. Japanese Sesame Miso Sauce As A Seafood Sauce and Fish Marinade
Slow marinated cod, salmon or mahi mahi with our Japanese Sesame Miso Sauce is a classic way to prepare fish. Pat dry your fish pieces, then marinate for 24 hours in the Japanese Sesame Miso Dressing. Pan fry the fish fillets in a skillet with hot oil for a couple minutes each side then transfer to oven at 400 degrees F and bake for 5-8 minutes and serve (cooking times will vary based on size of fish fillets). You can drizzle extra Japanese Sesame Sauce on your fish right before taking out of oven for an extra glaze.
7. Japanese Sesame Miso Dressing As a Sandwich Sauce
Slather our Japanese Sesame Dressing over a roast beef bulkie roll, banh mi, fried chicken sandwich, veggie wrap or drizzle over your next avocado toast. It also makes a great marinade for grilling portabello mushrooms. Try this Japanese Sesame Marinated Mushroom Burger recipe pictured below:
8. Japanese Sesame Dressing Over Noodles
Drizzle this dressing all over your cold noodle salads, add a bit of cucumber, red pepper, scallions or bean sprouts with a dash of sesame seeds. This makes a simple, delicious lunch option and makes a nice side salad for a picnic, outdoor summer dinner or bbq event. I like to use soba noodles.
Pictured Recipe Below: Soba Noodle Salad with Japanese Dressing, Cucumber and Nori
There you have it. A variety of ways to use our Japanese Sesame Miso Dressing, Marinade and Sauce at home. Now you don't have to wait till your next Japanese hibachi restaurant experience to indulge in the goodness.
