Wasabi Dressing is a Soy Sauce-based salad dressing with a kick of Wasabi flavor. Â It can add an instant Japanese flavor just by drizzling over your ordinary salad or vegetable dishes. Â Most of us outside Japan don’t have access to fresh Wasabi root, and are likely to use Wasabi paste in a tube, or a…
Harusame Salad is a salad with dried bean (or potato) threads called Harusame and vegetables. This cold and smooth textured noodle dish is a great side dish any time, but especially good during hot summer days. The dressing is flavored with sesame oil and it tastes like a Chinese style salad.
Macaroni Salad is macaroni mixed with vegetables and mayonnaise, very similar to American macaroni salad. Because Japanese mayo has a very different flavor from mayo in the US, Japanese Macaroni Salad tastes quite different, just like Japanese Potato Salad. It is a very good side dish for Yoshoku (western style dishes) such as Hamburger Steaks and Menchi…
Cucumber with Sesame Seeds is such a simple salad but a great small side dish. It takes literally no time to make it. The only tip here is to pound cucumbers with a pestle or a rolling pin to break them apart instead of cutting with a knife. Having a rough surface on the cucumbers makes seasonings adhere well.
When the weather is hot and you want something light, refreshing, and nourishing, Pork Shabu Shabu Salad is the perfect meal. It requires only a few minutes of cooking, making it ideal for summer when you want to spend as little time as possible over a hot stove. You can even prepare the pork earlier…
Miso Dressing is a tasty Miso based dressing great for salads, simple boiled vegetables (as in the recipe), and even cooked meat. This salty sweet dressing tastes quite different from western dressings, but you’ll like it if you like the flavor of Miso. You can use either white or Awase (between red and white) Miso…
Carrot Ginger Dressing is the dressing used in many Japanese restaurants in the US. The more American the restaurants are, the more likely they use this dressing for their salad, it seems. We have never seen the Carrot Ginger dressing in restaurants in Japan, so this must be an American thing. Where this originally came…
Onion Salad is made with thinly sliced raw onions tossed in a tangy soy-based dressing and topped with Katsuobushi bonito flakes. This easy, quick, and healthy side dish is incredibly versatile and pairs well with just about any meal, not just Japanese dishes. While onions are usually a supporting ingredient, in this Onion Salad they…
There are lots of recipes to make salads using Daikon radish in Japan. Daikon is a very common vegetable Japanese people use all year round for everyday meals (although it is in season in winter). This Daikon Salad can be prepared with a very easy and tasty Ponzu based dressing in no time.
Sesame Dressing is a mayonnaise-based dressing bursting with the rich, nutty flavor of sesame seeds. A staple in Japan, this creamy and flavorful dressing pairs perfectly with simple green salads, fresh raw vegetables, and even plainly cooked meat and fish. It is one of the most popular salad dressings in Japan today, and you’ll find…