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Bottle serviceSweet · sharp · toasted

Rice vinegar · ginger · sesame

Crazy-Good Sesame Ginger Dressing

Rice vinegar, fresh ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil, and neutral oil blended into a glossy, boldly sweet salad dressing.

Blend the dressing
Dark homemade salad dressing in a green glass bottle beside a bowl of leafy greens.
A bottle keeps a generous blender batch ready for the week; shake before every pour because even a good emulsion relaxes in the refrigerator.Photo by Jules Clancy · CC BY 2.0
Prep
10 min
Cook
None
Makes
About 2 3/4 cups
Method
Blend

The first taste is sweet; the second explains why the bottle empties. Lisa Jorgensen’s 2014 dressing starts with equal measures of sugar and rice vinegar, then pulls fresh ginger, soy sauce, black pepper, and toasted sesame oil through a full cup of neutral oil. It is bold enough for cabbage, chicken, mandarins, and crisp noodles—and fast enough to make while the greens dry.

The formula stays exactly as published, including the emphatic tablespoon of freshly ground pepper and optional spoon of mayonnaise. The only editorial adjustment is technique: build the vinegar base first, then stream in the oil. The blender makes a finer emulsion, and the refrigerator still gets the final say.

“This is the best dressing: a fast blender recipe made for a colorful Asian-style chicken salad.”

Dissolve first

Sugar joins vinegar, soy, ginger, pepper, sesame oil, and optional mayonnaise before the main oil arrives.

Stream the oil

A thin pour into a moving blender breaks the oil into smaller droplets and gives the dressing a more even gloss.

Dress with restraint

The formula is concentrated and makes a large batch; a spoonful should coat leaves rather than collect under them.

Flavor compassSweet sharp savory aromatic

Sweet

88%

Three-quarters cup sugar makes sweetness a defining part of the original family formula.

Sharp

76%

An equal measure of rice vinegar keeps the dressing bright instead of syrupy.

Savory

62%

Three tablespoons soy sauce and a teaspoon of salt build a firm, dark baseline.

Aromatic

54%

Fresh ginger, black pepper, and toasted sesame oil arrive in a short, fragrant finish.

Bottle miseJar pepper ginger oil

Four small jobs before the blender starts

The blend takes seconds. Accuracy, a clean container, and a controlled oil stream deserve the longer minute.

Gloss + heatThe emulsion in two clues

A loose pour with ginger underneath

A thin brown sesame dressing flecked with seasoning in a white bowl.
An illustrative sesame dressing shows the fluid, lightly suspended texture to expect from this rice-vinegar blend.Photo by Joey Doll · CC BY 2.0
Shake is part of the recipe

Oil and vinegar will slowly separate. A hard shake before measuring restores the glossy, pepper-flecked pour.

Close view of a branching fresh ginger root on a dark work surface.
A teaspoon of finely minced fresh ginger is small but decisive against the recipe’s sugar, vinegar, and soy.Photo by BogTar201213 · CC BY-SA 4.0

Blender clockMeasure dissolve stream bottle chill

Ten minutes from pantry shelf to cold bottle

The oil stream is the only slow move; everything else is a clean, short handoff.

  1. 0:00

    Ready the bottle

    Set out a clean, dry jar and mark a one-week use-by date.

  2. 0:01

    Grind and grate

    Measure freshly ground black pepper and turn the ginger into a fine, moist paste.

  3. 0:03

    Build the base

    Blend sugar, vinegar, seasonings, sesame oil, and optional mayonnaise until the sugar is mostly dissolved.

  4. 0:05

    Stream the oil

    Run the blender on low and add the cup of peanut or neutral oil in a thin, controlled ribbon.

  5. 0:07

    Stop at glossy

    Blend only until uniform; excess running warms the oil and dulls the clean ginger edge.

  6. 0:10

    Bottle and chill

    Transfer, cover, refrigerate promptly, and shake hard again before the first salad.

Keeping planCold dated shaken labeled

Make the bottle early and the salad late

A generous batch is useful only when it stays cold, clearly dated, and easy to identify for every eater.

One week, refrigerated

The 2014 source says three weeks; this edition uses the Culinary Institute of America’s shorter one-week window for a comparable ginger-sesame dressing.

Separation is expected

A relaxed layer of oil is not failure. Shake vigorously until the bottle returns to one color before measuring.

Dress only dry greens

Wash and thoroughly dry lettuce or cabbage, then toss only the portion that will be served immediately.

Mark the allergens

Soy and sesame are built in; note peanut when using peanut oil and egg when adding mayonnaise.

Crazy-good sesame ginger dressing

A boldly sweet rice-vinegar dressing with fresh ginger, soy, sesame, pepper, and a glossy blender emulsion.

Salad DressingSesameGingerRice VinegarSoy SauceBlenderNo Cook

Ingredients

Sweet-sour base

  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 3/4 cup rice vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, finely minced or grated
  • 1 teaspoon fine salt
  • 3 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
  • 1 tablespoon mayonnaise, optional, to help the dressing stay emulsified

Oil

  • 1 cup peanut oil, or canola or other neutral vegetable oil as the source suggests

Directions

  1. Wash and dry the ginger, then grate or mince 1 teaspoon very finely. Set a clean, airtight jar beside the blender so the finished dressing can be chilled immediately.
  2. Put the sugar, rice vinegar, ginger, salt, soy sauce, black pepper, sesame oil, and optional mayonnaise in the blender. Cover and blend for 20 to 30 seconds, until the sugar is mostly dissolved and the base looks even.
  3. With the blender running on low, pour the peanut or neutral oil through the lid opening in a thin, steady stream. Continue blending just until the dressing looks uniform and glossy, about 30 to 45 seconds; do not keep running the blender until the mixture warms.
  4. Taste from a clean spoon. The dressing should be deliberately sweet, sharply vinegary, peppery, and fragrant with ginger and sesame. Do not dilute the preserved source formula; control intensity by using a modest amount on the salad.
  5. Transfer to the clean jar, label with the date, cover, and refrigerate promptly. Shake vigorously before each use and drizzle over dry salad greens only when ready to serve.

Source and technique references: Lisa Jorgensen’s Making Life Blissful family recipe collection for the complete formula and serving ideas; the queued 2014 My Recipe Magic card for the title, author, date, and original blender direction; the Institute of Culinary Education on streaming oil to build a finer emulsion; the Culinary Institute of America’s ginger-sesame dressing and one-week refrigeration guidance; Penn State Extension on keeping rice-vinegar preparations refrigerated and discarding spoilage; and the FDA guide to the nine major food allergens and label reading.

Image credits

Photography is used under open licenses with attribution: Jules Clancy, Joey Doll, and BogTar201213.