Miso-Sesame Vinaigrette That’s Good on Anything

By J. Kenji López-Alt

Published October 6, 2020

  • Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
5 minutes
Rating
5(3,433)
Comments
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This all-purpose miso-sesame vinaigrette is great on a simple salad with lettuces and fresh vegetables, such as cucumbers, tomatoes, sliced onions, radishes, jicama or grated carrots, or in this Chicken and Cabbage Salad. Try it drizzled on an iceberg wedge, over sliced leftover steak, chicken or tofu, or on grilled seafood, served hot or cold. It’s especially good with grilled salmon and spicy greens like watercress, mizuna or arugula.

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Ingredients

Yield:1 cup

  • 2 medium garlic cloves, smashed with the side of a knife

  • 1 small shallot, roughly chopped

  • 2 tablespoons shoyu or tamari

  • 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

  • 2 tablespoons red or white wine vinegar

  • 1 tablespoon light miso paste

  • 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar

  • ½ cup grapeseed, vegetable or canola oil

  • 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil

  • 2 tablespoons toasted white or black sesame seeds

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving

17 grams carbs; 732 calories; 42 grams monosaturated fat; 23 grams polyunsaturated fat; 7 grams saturated fat; 73 grams fat; 2 grams fiber; 1205 milligrams sodium; 5 grams protein; 9 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Combine garlic, shallot, shoyu, vinegars, miso and sugar in a blender and blend on high speed until homogenous. (Alternatively, mash garlic and shallots in the bowl of a large granite or marble mortar and pestle into a fine paste using the pestle, then stir in the shoyu, vinegars, miso and sugar.)

  2. Step 2

    With the blender running on medium speed (the liquid should form a vortex but not jump up and splatter on the walls of the blender), slowly drizzle in the grapeseed oil. (If using a mortar and pestle, slowly drizzle in the oil as you stir vigorously with the pestle.)

  3. Step 3

    Transfer to a lidded jar. Stir in the sesame oil and sesame seeds with a spoon. Dressing can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks. Shake well before using.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
3,433 user ratings
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Comments

Lauren

Made this without a blender (used a micro plane for the shallot and garlic) and a whisk to combine the liquids. I was a bit skeptical of the balsamic fitting in with the other more traditionally Asian flavors but it turned out fabulous. Drizzled this over some roasted salmon and it was absolutely delicious. Looking forward to trying this in other dishes!

M.E.

Try making the dressing with everything except the garlic, then adding the smashed cloves to the finished product. They'll infuse the dressing with their flavor but it won't be so intense.

Ceece

Spiked with a bit of fresh ginger I had lying around. Don’t know how well it will keep but it is delicious over carrots and cucumbers!

Anne G

I made this in my mini chopper with great success, (draped a kitchen towel over the top so the chopper didn’t spit liquid randomly out). I added the vegetable oil all at once and the chopper emulsified the mixture perfectly. Note, if you are adding the garlic and scallion in raw as I did, you’ll likely want half as much or be a big lover of those flavors. Used the maple syrup and lots of raw minced ginger as others suggested. The chopped salad this dressed was a total hit with our family!

Alison

Excellent, just excellent!

Avery

I've made this a couple of times -- it's always good on vegetables or as salad dressing, as well as a sauce on fish to be baked. My wife doesn't like to use sugar, so the second time I used a splash of mirin instead of sugar. I doubt that it reduced the amount of saccharide much, but it did give it some extra pizzaz!

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