Asian Salad Dressing is an easy, from-scratch sesame ginger vinaigrette that's bursting with flavors of ginger, garlic, sesame oil, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and honey!

Asian Salad Dressing in glass cruet with lid.

Hard to believe that spring is in full swing and summer is just right around the corner. But regardless of season, this vibrant, flavor-packed Asian Salad Dressing -- bursting with garlic, ginger, and sesame -- is one of my favorites.

This dressing, in fact, is one of the best I've ever had. And that's quite a statement considering that I love so many different salad dressings!

Aerial view of Asian dressing in bottle and on salad.

Many moons ago, when I was a first grade teacher, one of my student's sweet moms once brought me a salad with a jar of this Asian Salad Dressing, accompanied by the recipe. From that point on, I was hooked. This gingery vinaigrette is a bit salty from the soy sauce, as well as nutty from the sesame oil, tangy from the rice vinegar, warm from the ginger and garlic, and sweet from the honey.

In summary? It's a party in your mouth. I really can't describe to you how perfectly all of those flavors meld together. You're just going to have to take my word for it and try it for yourself!

Ingredients

So what do you need to make this Asian Salad Dressing recipe?

Fresh garlic. Finely minced.
Fresh ginger. Grated. Use a spoon, rather than a knife, to scrape the soft skin off of your ginger. Since I don't usually end up using the entire hunk of ginger when I buy some for a recipe, I like to put the leftover piece in a freezer-safe baggie and pop it into the freezer. That way, when a future recipe calls for a small amount of grated ginger, I can simply pull it out and grate off however much I need. Alternatively, you can sometimes find ready-made cubes of grated ginger in the freezer section of your grocery store. Just don't substitute ground powdered ginger in this Asian dressing recipe, as it won't yield the same fresh flavor.
Sesame oil. Regular or toasted both work great. But here's a big tip! Since a little bit of sesame oil goes a long way, a bottle will usually last a long time. However, it will go rancid if it's kept at room temperature for too long. So I recommend always storing your sesame oil in the refrigerator! This ingredient adds such great flavor to Asian recipes that it's worth keeping on hand...but you sure don't want your money wasted if it spoils before you can finish the bottle.
Soy sauce. I prefer using low-sodium.
Rice vinegar. Rice vinegar is sometimes labeled as rice wine vinegar, so either will work. Just don't use seasoned rice vinegar or rice cooking wine in this recipe.
Honey. For a touch of sweetness.
Sunflower oil. Any other light, neutral-flavored oil will work as well. Just remember that some oils (such as olive oil) will solidify in the refrigerator, so just allow time to bring your Asian Salad Dressing to room temperature and shake well before using. Or you can pop the chilled bottle in a bowl of warm water for a few minutes to speed things up. 😉

Pouring Asian Salad Dressing recipe over salad.

How to Make Asian Salad Dressing

(The below photos are intended to be helpful, but please refer to the recipe card at the bottom of this post for FULL DIRECTIONS.)

I typically use my mini food processor when I make vinaigrettes like this Asian dressing. I toss in my garlic cloves and chunk of ginger and process until they're minced to smithereens. Then I add my other ingredients and whir it all together until everything is well blended.

However, you can certainly finely mince/grate your garlic and ginger and then shake everything up a tightly sealed Mason jar. OR rapidly whisk it all together in a big bowl or measuring cup!

Mince garlic and ginger to make Asian Salad Dressing.

Adding sesame oil to Asian sesame dressing.

All ingredients in measuring cup for Asian ginger salad dressing.

Asian dressing recipe in bowl, which can also be used as an Asian slaw dressing.

Salad Idea

In my humble opinion, this Asian Salad Dressing is the perfect complement to a bed of greens topped with mandarin or clementine oranges. Oranges go especially nicely with almonds, so I toss those in as well. And while avocado has a relatively neutral flavor, I love the richness and creamy texture that it adds to a salad while mellowing out the sesame ginger vinaigrette.

I'm a sucker for adding fruit and nuts to salads, and this strategy always seems to appeal to my kids as well. However, I have yet to meet anyone who doesn't love this particular fruity/nutty salad at first bite, even those who previously professed to prefer their greens unadultered.

Close-up of sesame ginger vinaigrette drizzled over salad.

Asian Dressing Serving Options

But don't feel restricted to the above salad idea! There are lots of delicious ways to enjoy this Asian Salad Dressing recipe:

Drizzle it over entree salads, such as my PF Chang's "Chicken Lettuce Wraps" Salad. Or make your own entree salad using your favorite greens and/or other ingredients, and then slicing up some grilled or baked chicken (or tasty leftover Panko Crusted Chicken, if you just so happen to have some hanging out in the refrigerator). Simply lay your sliced chicken atop your greens and drizzle with Asian Salad Dressing.
You could serve this vinaigrette over a simple side salad to accompany Asian-inspired main dishes, such as Easy Fried Rice, Teriyaki Chicken, Ground Beef and Broccoli, or Slow Cooker Thai Peanut Chicken.
This recipe also makes a great Asian slaw dressing!
You can dip raw veggies into this Asian dressing, including red peppers, baby carrots, shredded cabbage, or even broccoli florets.
Or if you're not feeling your greens, a drizzle of this vinaigrette is particularly outstanding at giving an Asian flair to grilled or roasted salmon and seared tuna. If you're a fan of Ahi Tuna + Ginger, this combo will be right up your alley. Yum.

Asian Salad Dressing recipe in glass bottle on table.

Yessiree, Bob...you can turn an ordinary salad into something special just by adding a splash of this extraordinary Asian Salad Dressing. And if you're already a fan of ginger, sesame, and all flavors Asian, I think you are going to downright love it. 🙂

Tips & Tricks

Some of the ingredients that comprise this vinaigrette might not be ones that you already have laying around. But if you buy them once, I promise you'll be using them to make this Asian dressing recipe time and time again! 😉
As with any salad dressing recipe, tweak amounts of this and that according to your tastes. For instance, after you blend everything together and give it a taste, you can always add another squeeze of honey if you prefer your dressing a tad sweeter.

Asian Salad Dressing made with sesame and ginger.

More Salad Goodness