Japanese Salad and Dressing
Why is it that there are some foods that you want to taste just like they do in a restaurant?
For instance, I want my thin crust pizza to taste like Anna Maria’s greasy Brooklyn-style pizza and my deep dish pizza to taste Chicago-style like it’s from someplace like Gino’s East. I’m also quite fond of the Southwestern Salad at The Cheesecake Factory (minus the chicken, of course) and have made a fairly accurate reproduction at home though it doesn’t quite have the presentation pizzazz of the huge mound of shredded lettuce and tortilla strips that you get at the restaurant. I’ve also heard that the Buffalo Wings at Hooters are quite the industry standard, but I don’t eat buffalo, or chicken-that-supposed-to-taste-like-buffalo, and furthermore that bulbous owl-eye logo freaks me out.
Miso soup is easy to make at home but I’ve never quite gotten it to have the same restauranty miso soup flavor that all Japanese restaurants can someone clone quite flawlessly. What I have, however, discovered is the secret to that other Japanese restaurant mainstay, the Japanese salad. It’s light, sweet, crunchy and makes an easy pairing with any stir-fry. It’s restaurant-style deliciousness in the privacy of your own home, without strange buffalos or owls.
Serves: 4
Time: 20 minutes
Japanese Salad and Dressing
1/2 a head of iceberg lettuce, finely shredded
1 small head of Napa cabbage, finely shredded
1 cucumber, julienned or sliced
4 carrots, julienned or sliced
Shred the lettuce and cabbage.
Slice the cucumber and carrots on the bias (diagonally) quite thin. Or, if you’ve really got some time, it’s more authentic to julienne them.
Japanese Dressing
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp rice vinegar
2 Tbsp sesame oil
2 Tbsp honey
¼ inch garlic
¼ inch ginger
Put all the above ingredients in a jar/tupperware and shake until well combined. Pour over the salad and serve.
November 16th, 2006 23:30
I’m actually salivating reading this recipe. I love those Japanese sushi-bar salads with the iceberg lettuce and thicky gingery dressing. I’ll have to try this.
November 16th, 2006 23:43
Vanessa,
gosh - I’m so into this. I love Japanese salads!
November 17th, 2006 00:33
yes yes yes this is one of my faves- you always have the ingredients for the dressing and isnt it a perfect indulgent use of the otherwise scoffed somewhat trashy iceberg!
ALSO- I know this is probably coming, but i am really interested in your picks for veggie TANKSgivin!!
November 17th, 2006 10:29
You did indeed manage to make a salad that smacks of restaurant-icity. However, I think julienning the veggies will make it so your guests truly believed you picked it up at the sushi bar on the way home. Unfortunately for Vanessa, I’m too scared of washing the julienner (i’m terribly fond to all ten of my fingers!)…so she’s not allowed to use it when i’m on dishes duty.
November 20th, 2006 22:19
Man, this dressing looks awesome! Especially when put over better vegetables than most Japanese restaurants use in their salads (although I do like the verisimilitude of calling for iceberg lettuce). And as for the etymology of Buffalo wings, it’s Buffalo like the upstate NY city, not like the big shaggy four-footed animal of the prairies. Supposedly the spicy wings-with-celery-and-blue-cheese-dressing combo was invented in a bar in Buffalo, hence the name.
November 22nd, 2006 21:50
Thank you Jenny and Catherine! I was so bogged down with rich, wintery food I needed something light and zingy!
Jed- I have to admit, it is pretty great to spend 49 cents on a head of lettuce! I can pretend I’m being ironic, but I have to admit I do enjoy my iceberg from time to time. Thank you for you question on Thanksgiving. It necessitated a full post though so here’s my Dream Thanksgiving Menu.
Sis - I’m scared of the julienner too! Slim veggie sticks vs whole unbloodied fingers is a pretty clear choice though.
Stephanie - love the Buffalo story! Isn’t it wonderful how food entomology works? Now, if someone could give me the clear root of Ceaser Salad, I could die happy.
February 13th, 2008 17:34
Hey, I was just replying to give you a little insight on the miso soup. Traditional miso soup is made with dashi stock and miso paste. Dashi is made by boiling kombu (sea kelp) and bonito flakes (dried tuna) to make the stock then miso paste is added. If youre just using miso paste and water then there are flavors missing. As a vegetarian I’m guessing you would want to leave out the bonito flakes anyway, but maybe you could substitute nutritional yeast?
February 20th, 2008 14:33
You are so right on. I see a lot of vegetarian miso soup recipes with just miso and some sort of seaweed and that just doesn’t do it for me. I usually don’t try to make miso at home for this reason. However, I think you’re on the right track with nutritional yeast… maybe and/or veggie bullion and/or stirring in a little black bean paste. Let me know if end up with a favorite combination or a new recipe worth trying.
Thanks for writing!
March 6th, 2008 00:34
I, on the contrary succefully got the resto-miso-soup right taste at home, but failed every salad try. Thank you for the recipe! it’s funny how I always have those ingredients at home but instead of ginger and honey I added wasabi and ..sugar ^__^