Carrot Ginger Dressing

The best part of going out for sushi is salad, because it comes with carrot ginger dressing! Jessica and I have been known to pick up a quart of dressing from our local sushi joint. That is, before we learned how easy it is to make at home!

Since I tend to experiment with Asian cooking, I always have most of these ingredients at home, such as rice vinegar, ginger and sesame oil. I did have to go out and find some miso paste, which was pretty easy; there are a few brands of kosher miso paste available at Whole Foods. Now that I have that, I can make this whenever the urge strikes, since it lasts in the fridge for quite a while. It’s also good to have around for my favorite lazy miso soup dinner, which consists of mixing miso paste with water and adding whatever veggies I have around, and maybe some greens or soba noodles.

While you’re picking up your miso paste, make sure to buy an avocado, our favorite vehicle for carrot-ginger dressing!

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Pickled Ginger

We sent my father shopping with a list that was pretty foreign to him. Luckily, the lady at the fruit store pointed him towards all the correct ingredients and we were able to make Stephanie’s soba noodle salad. Unluckily, he had no idea what the ingredients were or what quantities to get, and he came home with a foot of ginger! What did we do with all that ginger? Why, pickle it of course! Pickled ginger is definitely a staple at sushi restaurants, but now we can eat it whenever we make Asian-inspired meals.

This was a really simple recipe, something that can be whipped up on a weeknight or while doing some prep work in the kitchen.

Ingredients:

  • 1 pound of ginger, peeled and sliced very thinly (use a mandolin or vegetable peeler)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 cups rice vinegar
  • 1 cup sugar