Wafu Dressing

Learn how to make a simple and aromatic Japanese-style salad dressing, known as 'Wafu' dressing, perfect for leafy greens and raw veggies. This flavorful dressing combines Japanese rice vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, vegetable oil, and ground sesame seeds, with options to add karashi mustard, garlic, or grated ginger. Keep this versatile dressing handy in the fridge for a quick and delicious addition to your salads.

Here is my all-purpose salad dressing which I use to dress leafy greens as well as raw veggies like the tomato and cucumber salad in the picture, garnished with finely sliced shiso leaves for a nice, herby accent. "Wafu" means Japanese-style, and indeed this dressing is an aromatic, incredibly flavorful combination of classic ingredients -- yet it's still a simple, easy dressing that takes about a minute to whip up. Here's the recipe, based on the one in Tadashi's and my grill book: whisk together in a bowl a 1/2 cup Japanese rice vinegar, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 tablespoon sugar, 1 tablespoon sesame oil, 2 tablespoons vegetable oil and 2 tablespoons ground sesame seeds (I love anything sesame). You can also add to this versatile dressing karashi mustard (2 tablespoons), or garlic (1 clove finely chopped), or grated ginger (1 teaspoon). I keep wafu dressing handy in the fridge, always.