It’s time we settled the old Hellman’s vs Miracle Whip debate once and for all; Japanese mayo is the best mayo hands down. Richer, thicker, and with more yolky goodness than its American counterparts, it is essential to this Roasted Sesame Dressing. (And this Potato Salad too!) Japanese mayo has a mild, sweet tang from rice vinegar, and its thickness makes it a perfect addition to dips (try it with Fried Chicken) and dressings. You can find it in the international aisle of well stocked grocery stores, or in Asian markets and online. Kewpie brand is the original but there are a bunch of knock offs that taste identical.
Once you have the world’s best mayo, you can make a batch of this Roasted Sesame Dressing and use it enhance everything from simple salads, coleslaw, or use it as a dip for veggies. All kidding aside though, you don’t have to go out and buy another mayonnaise. This dressing has so much flavor that using what you have in the fridge is just fine.
Making Roasted Sesame Dressing
This roasted dressing is what I would equate to Japan’s version of Ranch dressing. It’s everywhere and every salad dressing/sauce brand has their own version. It’s creamy, deeply sesame flavored, and goes with so many more things besides salad. Like ranch, you can use it as a dip for all kinds of fried goodies, top it on some grilled veggies, or use it to baste simple roast chicken. And it has so much more flavor! Move over ranch, a new player is here.
Whipping up this dressing couldn’t be more simple. It gets its depth of flavor from freshly roasted sesame seeds, and pantry essentials like rice vinegar, soy sauce, and sesame oil. I start by toasting the sesame seeds, even if they are already roasted. (If you can get your hands on raw unhulled sesame seeds, it’s even better.) Nothing beats the flavor and fragrance of freshly toasted seeds. This takes just a few minutes.
Roasted Sesame Dressing keeps well for a week. Just keep it in the fridge and give it a stir before you drizzle in on salads, veggies, even sandwiches.
Try this easy dressing and let me know what you think. Rate and comment on the recipe and tag us in your pics @funkyasiankitchen, we love hearing from you!
Roasted Sesame Dressing
- Prep Time: 2 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 12 minutes
- Yield: makes 1 cup 1x
- Category: condiment
- Cuisine: Japanese
Ingredients
- ¼ cup toasted sesame seeds
- ⅓ cup japanese mayonnaise
- 1 Tablespoon sugar
- 2 Tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons soy sauce*
- 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
- 1 large clove garlic finely minced
Instructions
- Place the sesame seeds in a small dry skillet over medium heat.
- Lightly toast them for 3-5 minutes until they are a golden color and fragrant.
- Place them in a mortar and grind them coarsely. (Alternatively, you can also place the sesame seeds in a heavy duty plastic zip top bag, squeeze out all of the air, and crush the seeds by using a rolling pin until you have the right ground texture.)
- Brush the sesame seeds out of the mortar and into a bowl.
- Add the mayonnaise, sugar, rice vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, and garlic. Mix well.
- Refrigerate until ready to use. Roasted Sesame Dressing keeps well for a week. Stir before using.
Notes
*to make this gluten free be sure to use a GF soy sauce
*use a vegan mayonnaise to make a vegan friendly version
*if you can find unhulled sesame seeds, you are such a lucky person and I envy you! Toast the sesame seeds exactly the same way but for several minutes longer until they are a medium golden color. They should be very fragrant. Turn the heat down a little if you see the sesame seeds getting too dark.
Keywords: dressing, salads, healthy, japanese, summer, sesame
This roasted sesame dressing sounds delicious! I love simple ingredients that create such a rich, nutty flavor. It would be great on salads, vegetables, or even as a dipping sauce.
★★★★★
Turned my salad into a meme masterpiece with AI photo editing tool — now every roasted sesame dressing pic looks like it belongs on a cooking show.
This dressing is a game-changer! I used AI image editing tool to tweak the photo for my blog post and it made the sesame seeds pop perfectly.
★★★★★
I’ve been looking for a solid sesame dressing recipe that doesn’t rely on too much sugar, and this one looks perfect. Just tried it on a simple salad with cucumbers and edamame, and the roasted flavor really comes through. Have you ever tried adding a splash of rice vinegar for extra tang?
★★★★
I tried this dressing last night with a simple cabbage salad, and the nutty flavor from the roasted sesame really stood out. It was surprisingly easy to whisk together, even without a food processor. Do you think it would work well as a marinade for tofu?
★★★★
I’ve been looking for a good homemade sesame dressing recipe to use on salads and grain bowls—this one looks just right. Love that you toasted the sesame seeds first; I bet that really brings out the flavor. Do you think it would work with tahini as a substitute if I don’t have whole sesame seeds on hand?
★★★★
I’ve been looking for a good homemade alternative to store-bought sesame dressing, and this recipe looks perfect. The balance of roasted sesame with vinegar and soy is usually tricky to get right, but your proportions seem spot-on. Do you think it would work with rice vinegar instead of the one you suggested?
★★★★
I tried making this dressing last weekend and it was a game-changer for my simple salad routine. The roasted sesame flavor really adds that depth that store-bought versions just can’t match. Do you think it would work as a marinade for chicken as well?
★★★★
I tried this dressing last night and it was a game-changer for my boring salad routine. The roasted sesame flavor really comes through without being too heavy. Do you think it would work as a marinade for grilled chicken as well?
★★★★
This dressing looks incredible! I love how simple the ingredient list is. I can already imagine it on a cold soba noodle salad.
★★★★
This dressing looks incredible! I love the idea of roasting the sesame seeds first to really deepen the flavor. I’m definitely trying this on my lunchtime salad bowl tomorrow.
★★★★
This dressing looks fantastic! I love the idea of roasting the sesame seeds first to really deepen the flavor. I’m definitely going to try this on a simple cabbage salad this week.
★★★★
This dressing looks fantastic! I love the idea of roasting the sesame seeds first to really deepen the flavor. I’m definitely going to try this on a cold noodle salad this weekend.
★★★★
★★★★