Ginger Salad Dressing

This recipe tries to replicate the house-made ginger salad dressing that one can usually find with a Japanese restaurant's entree or bento salad. It comes together fairly easily; though you will have to procure or make-from-scratch a couple of the ingredients.

Yes, there is such a thing as toasted sesame oil and you can buy it in any grocery store that also stocks Asian goods. In the Portland or Seattle areas, Whole Foods and Uwajimaya definitely carries both oils. Read the ingredient label since not all brands carry pure sesame oil--where it is the only ingredient. You could also make it yourself by using toasting white sesame seeds before grinding it into an oil; though that takes special kitchen equipment to extract the oil from the seeds. That is too much trouble. Just buy the stuff.

Making your own sushi ginger is fairly simple, if you can get your hands on fresh young ginger. Sometimes

Ingredients

50 gm pickled sushi ginger
1/4 c toasted sesame oil
1 tbsp soy sauce

Directions

Purée until smooth using an standard electric blender or immersion blender. Serve over fresh greens or roasted vegetables.

Papaya Salad Dressing

I picked up an unripe red papaya from Trader Joe's the other day ($3.29 each large). It's typically used ripened, either as an eating fruit, in fruit cocktail, or sweetened and dried in a tropical trail mix. I thought it might be a good option for a papaya salad. I'm sure it's done. Most papaya salads call for shredded green papaya; I'm assuming that the flesh stays green through the ripening phase. The partially ripened red papaya looks like an evening sunset, mostly yellow on the outer part and that characteristic salmon red color towards the center. The papaya yielded about 4 tablespoons of seeds. 

Ingredients

1 c extra virgin olive oil
1/4 c rice vinegar
2 tbsp fresh papaya seeds
1 tbsp raw honey
2 scallions, white part only, minced
1 tsp dry mustard -or- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
pinch of sea salt

Directions

In the bowl of a food processor, add all ingredients except for the oil. Turn the food prep on and slowly drizzle in the olive oil until the dressing emulsifies.

Spinach and Strawberry Salad

If you see strawberries at the supermarket, they are probably from California or Mexico, because there they are in season. Our Pacific Northwest strawberries usually don't become sweet until we see a lot of sunlight, and that can come as late as June. This nice light salad with fruity tones.

The Salad

The estimate to serve four adults is one bunch of spinach (approx 1 lb); likewise for eight adults, use two bunches of spinach.

In a large salad serving bowl, combine baby spinach leaves and sliced strawberries. Toss with vinaigrette and top with toasted sesame seeds.

The Dressing

1/4 c organic granulated sugar
1 tbsp red wine vinegar (pomegranate flavored)
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/4 c olive oil
1/8 tsp smoked paprika, or to taste

In a small bowl, whisk together vinegars and sugar until the sugar dissolves, then whisk in paprika and olive oil. 

Burnt Pecan Vinaigrette

Overcooking nutmeats is darn easy to do, even when watching the stove or oven. This recipe helps use up some of those burned pecans that aren't fit for the pecan pie. I was told that there was too much garlic in the salad dressing. That may be true since I put in more than what a typical salad dressing recipe calls for.

I tried to use a standard vinaigrette ratio for this and ended up adding more olive oil, vinegar, and a little water to balance out the consistency, acidity, and thickness of the dressing. I wanted guests to be able to spoon it onto their salad.

Ingredients

2 tbsp red wine vinegar, to start
4 tbsp (or 1/4 c) olive oil, to start
1 tsp honey, any mild flavor
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
up to a handful of burnt pecans
kosher salt, to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions


In a food processor, put in a generous handful of burnt pecans (without the shell), pulse until it is finely ground. The oil to vinegar is a 2 to 1 ratio; so for every 2 tbsp of vinegar add 4 tbsp of eating-quality olive oil (like an extra virgin olive oil or organic olive oil). Blend all ingredients together.

Chinese Chicken Salad

In my youth, my mom used to joke about spaghetti's origins saying that the dish was from China. I asked, How so? She replied, because a Chinese person made it. Although, noodles did originate from China and this pretext has nothing to do with the post.

Despite not being an authentic Chinese dish and having its origins in California, this salad makes its summer-time rounds at restaurants and picnics alike. I wouldn't skimp out on the sugar. Part of the appeal this salad has over others is its sweet and savory dressing. It's roughly 1/2 c. cooked chicken per serving, so adjust the recipe accordingly to accommodate more people.

Serves 4. 

The basic salad

CCS uses romaine lettuce and/or napa cabbage leaves as its salad base. You could use other types of lettuce, but they simply won't hold up against the dressing over several hours. You'll want to use a lighter-tasting vegetable oil, so olive oil or coconut oil have to sit this out. You could chop or shred the lettuce leaves. Home cooks tend to shred the salad (like how cabbage for coleslaw is cut), and most retail packages have 1" pieces of lettuce leaves--largely this is so that the salad has a longer shelf life.

1/2 head napa cabbage, shredded or cut into 1" pieces

1/2 head romaine lettuce leaves, shredded or cut into 1" pieces

2 c. shredded or cubed cooked chicken breast

3 stalks green onions, thinly sliced

1 carrot, cut into matchsticks

2 tbsp fresh cilantro, finely chopped

The dressing:

3 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
1/4 c vegetable oil (grapeseed, peanut, or canola)

Optional ingredients:

fresh snow peas, trimmed
mandarin orange slices, fresh or canned
deep fried wonton skins (cut into 1/4" strips and deep fried in 375 degree F oil)
toasted sesame seeds
toasted sliced almonds
crunchy noodles
fresh bean sprouts
bean thread noodles or thin rice noodles, cooked and drained

A light mustard vinaigrette

I've been using this combination on my salads. I thought I'd write it down before the brain cell that stores this bit of info decides to go on vacation. It doesn't taste as acidic as some off-the-shelf vinaigrettes, probably because the mustard mellows out the flavor. Servings: 1 or 2 salads Ingredients: 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 1 tbsp white wine mustard 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar freshly ground black pepper Whisk together in with a fork in a small dish. Pour onto a salad and toss. The serving size is debatable. I use it on one salad, but the salad size I prepare can feed two people.