Japanese-style Thousand Island Dressing

A literal blend of two cultures, this dressing is a Japanese twist on the iconic thousand-island dressing. I think that it resembles the salad dressing they serve at American Japanese steakhouses. Personally, this taste brings me back to childhood birthday parties at “Japanese” steakhouses where they juggle cooking utensils and set fire to onion ring volcanos. Mama Tanuki taught me this recipe while I was at home for the holidays. Her theory is that it originated in Beni Hana, one of the first Japanese (American-style) hibachi restaurants in the 1960s.

If you’re looking for something slightly different to mix things up from the usual salad flavors feel free to try this out! 

Japanese-style Thousand Island Dressing

Yields 250-300 ml of dressing 

Ingredients: 

🥗1/4 medium onion

🥗1/2 stalk of celery 

🥗10 grams ginger

🥗25 grams of carrot

🥗1/4 lemon

🥗2 tablespoons rice vinegar

🥗120 ml vegetable oil

🥗80 ml soy sauce

🥗1 tablespoon water

🥗1 tablespoon ketchup

🥗1 tablespoon sugar

🥗1 teaspoon pepper 

Directions:

1. Chop the onion and celery and put into a blender.

2. Next, grate the ginger and carrot into the blender (also possible to chop if the blender will blend smoothly). 

3. Squeeze the lemon juice from the lemon into the blender. 

4. Add the rest of the ingredients into the blender.

5. Blend until smooth!

This recipe will keep in the fridge for about a week. Make sure to shake the dressing before using each time!

Curious about where to get the Japanese ingredients in this recipe? 

Note: contains affiliate links

Rice Vinegar

I have been using Marukan’s vinegar for as long as I can remember and I highly recommend it. Rice vinegar is a useful ingredient for any recipe where you might use regular white vinegar. It is very sweet and not as tart as standard vinegar so I love using it in my day to day life. I basically never use “normal” white vinegar.  

Soy Sauce 

This soy sauce by Kikkoman is very mild and has a much deeper flavor than the usual Kikkoman soy sauce. It contains dashi from kelp increasing the level of umami!