Eureka! A Japaneseish Salad Dressing That Gets The Thumbs Up From The Kid






Today is The Kid's 14th birthday so this recipe is dedicated to him. I have been trying to replicate his favourite salad dressing for a decade. AN ENTIRE DECADE dedicated to trying to meet this punk's standards and failing time after time. There is no one else on earth I would do this for, but such is a mother's love. Insert heavy sigh.

He isn't wrong when he says that the salad dressing at Yumei Sushi in the Beaches is the shiz. It is.  It's fresh and light, full of grated apple and carrot, probably rice vinegar, sugar and mirin and very little oil. There must be some sort of unicorn blood in there or something because I just can't get it right and, frankly, last year I finally gave up trying. Instead, I turned my attention to finding a recipe for the creamy, sesame salad dressing that many of the japanese restaurants serve. I did find an acceptable version of bottled dressing that they sell at J Town and K Town (Toronto's Japanese and Korean malls, respectively) but I would prefer to make it myself. I have tried and tried but to date nothing has been quite right. I mean, The Kid is nothing if not polite so he never tells me anything is terrible but I can tell he hasn't been totally loving anything up until this point. He may be polite but he is also a terrible liar, like his father. The difference is that his father will just take one bite, push his plate away, get up and get a bag of chips. That one doesn't even try.

 Cut to the other day when I was perusing Tastespotting and clicked on these cute salads in a jar. One click and I was transported to a great blog called Back To Her Roots. As I scrolled down, I spied a salad dressing that looked promising called Lemon Sesame Dressing so I made it. Close but no cigar although the tahini was taking it in the right direction. Hmmmmm, I tweak it a bit and it's still not quite right but so close. Finally, I make this version and I serve The Kid his salad, waiting with baited breath to see his reaction. The lights go down, a hush falls over the audience and I quiver in anticipation as he takes a big mouthful of salad, chomps down and looks up and says through a mouthful of food  "OH MY GOD, THIS IS GREAT!"

WINNER WINNER, CHICKEN DINNER!

My work is done. I can die now. 
Does this mean I still have to buy The Kid a birthday present?


This little shot glass felt like an appropriate serving vessel 


Sesame Ginger Salad Dressing 

adapted from Back To Her Roots
makes approx 1/2 cup




2 tbls tahini

2 tsp sesame oil

4 tbls rice vinegar

2 tsp honey

1/2 tsp salt

couple grinds of black pepper

1 clove garlic, minced or grated

1/4 tsp minced or grated ginger

1 heaping tsp sesame seeds (i did a mixture of black and white)

2 tbls water optional (if the dressing seems to thick add water. Start with a tablespoon and go up to 2 tbls to get it a good, creamy consistency - some tahinis are thicker than others)

place all of the ingredients into a jar with a tight fitting lid and shake the crap out of it until it's creamy.As always, I encourage you to taste, taste, taste. It's up to you if you like your salad dressing really thick or a bit runnier. It's up to you whether you LOVE ginger and would like to add even more, bit by bit, while you taste until it's perfect for you. Maybe you hate ginger. Leave it out.


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