Crunchy Greens With Carrot-Ginger Dressing

Name: Crunchy Greens With Carrot-Ginger Dressing
Total time: 10 min
Yield: 2 to 4 servings
Cuisine: american, japanese
Ingredients: 1 small carrot, peeled and coarsely chopped; 1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped; 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil; 2 tablespoons rice vinegar; 1 1/2 teaspoons soy sauce; 1 tablespoon granulated sugar; 1 teaspoon onion powder; Salt; 2 to 4 heads Little Gem lettuce, leaves separated, or 1 romaine heart, chopped; 1 cup loosely packed fresh mint leaves

By Eric Kim

Published July 15, 2022

Crunchy Greens With Carrot-Ginger Dressing — Bobbi Lin for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Eugene Jho. Prop Stylist: Christina Lane.

Total Time: 10 minutes
Rating: 5(1,610)
Comments: Read comments

This recipe draws inspiration from the sunny-orange flavor of green salads with carrot-ginger dressing at Japanese American restaurants. The pulpy, aromatic dressing may be the star, but a salad is only as good as its lettuce. After washing and thoroughly spin-drying the greens in a salad spinner (alternatively, you can pat them dry in a clean kitchen towel), one way to maximize their crunch before adding the dressing is to refrigerate them, covered, for at least 30 minutes. Little Gem has a sweet, juicy sturdiness, but regular packaged mixed greens, baby spinach and chopped romaine hearts work, too.

Featured in: 20 Easy Salads for Every Summer Table

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Ingredients

Yield:2 to 4 servings

1small carrot, peeled and coarsely chopped
1(1-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped
¼cup extra-virgin olive oil
2tablespoons rice vinegar
1½teaspoons soy sauce
1tablespoon granulated sugar
1teaspoon onion powder
Salt
2 to 4heads Little Gem lettuce, leaves separated, or 1 romaine heart, chopped
1cup loosely packed fresh mint leaves

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

Step 1
Make the dressing: In a food processor, purée the carrot, ginger, olive oil, rice vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, onion powder, a pinch of salt and 1 tablespoon cold water until as smooth as possible, 1 to 2 minutes.
Step 2
Dress the salad: Place the lettuce leaves in a large serving bowl. Add a couple of tablespoons of the dressing and toss, then add more as needed to evenly coat. The salad should be lightly dressed, not drowned; don’t use every drop of dressing if you don’t need to. Taste for seasoning, adjusting with more salt as desired. Top the salad with the mint leaves and serve immediately.

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Ratings

5 out of 5

1,610 user ratings

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Comments

Michael Sierchio3 years ago

As my name would suggest, I'm Italian, and while I love olive oil it's simply the wrong choice for this dressing. A neutral oil with a dash of roasted sesame oil will take it home.

haleyk3 years ago

recommend making this with a real onion instead of powdered -- helps add a natural sweetness so you can cut down on sugar. we make this with or without the oil and eat it on everything! stores well and the more ginger the better

Morgan3 years ago

The proportions are way off on this recipe. You’ll want to make 4x as much dressing so you can drink 75 percent of it straight from the bowl of your food processor and still have enough left over for your salad.

Erica1 day ago

I made the dressing as is and it was amazing! I want to take a bath in it. Instead I put it all over a cabbage salad (no crunchy greens or mint). I think it would be divine on any and all raw veg. So bright and beautiful and delish!

Emily1 month ago

I found this too sweet. you will want to add more acid.

Cheryl1 month ago

Very nice! I followed the commenters suggestions, used canola oil and a scallion for the onion component.

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