Asian Sesame Dressing

This Asian sesame dressing is a 5-minute, no-cook Asian vinaigrette recipe that transforms salads into umami bombs!

What is sesame dressing made of?

There are typically two types of sesame dressing: creamy or vinaigrettes. 

They both have the similar basic ingredients: soy sauce, rice vinegar, toasted sesame oil, a sweetener such as honey or sugar, and sometimes white sesame seeds that have been ground in a mortar and pestle.

To make this dressing creamy, mayonnaise is added.

The beauty of this dressing is its versatility.

Despite it’s Asian flavor profile, it’s delicious on a variety of Asian and Asian-inspired dishes as well as basic leafy green salads, roasted vegetables, noodles, or even as a dipping sauce for vegan dumplings.  

In fact, I developed this recipe for a simple quinoa edamame salad and it would also work great on this Asian cabbage salad or as a dipping sauce for these tofu lettuce wraps.

Why you'll love this recipe

• Quick and easy: no chopping, no skillet, no frying. Just combine all the ingredients in a jar and shake it up. This Asian dressing is ready in 2 minutes.
• Accessible pantry ingredients: you can find everything in your local supermarket or maybe you already have them in your pantry! No specialty Asian ingredients required.
• Versatile and customizable: This sesame salad dressing is great on Asian and Western dishes. Think beyond salads! Adjust the ratios to make it sweeter or more savory. Add ginger and garlic to punch up the flavors even more.
• Shelf stable: since there’s no fresh ingredients, this Asian sesame dressing can be kept for several weeks in the fridge.
• Budget-friendly: this homemade salad dressing is cheaper than a store bought prepared salad dressing. Also, skip the expensive and strongly-flavored olive oil and use neutral and cheaper sunflower, canola or vegetable oil.   

Ingredients

This simple Asian sesame dressing has easy-to-find ingredients that any supermarket carries. Or maybe you already have them all on hand!

Soy sauce: I use Chinese light soy sauce for this dressing. Japanese shoyu (Kikkoman soy sauce) would probably work too. This is the only salt in this dressing and you can use low sodium soy sauce or gluten-free tamari if necessary.

Oil: A lot of similar Asian sesame dressing recipes call for extra-virgin olive oil. Speaking as a Spaniard, olive oil does not have the correct flavor profile for this vinaigrette and since we want the flavor of the sesame oil to be prominent, you should use a neutral-flavored oil as the base oil. I use sunflower oil but canola oil, vegetable oil, or avocado oil can all work.

Toasted sesame oil: Toasted sesame oil packs a flavor punch! Just a little goes a long way. Choose a good-quality oil with a lot of delicious nutty flavor.

Vinegar: Rice vinegar is a light vinegar that adds the necessary acidity without overpowering like apple cider vinegar would. If you don’t have rice wine vinegar, you can substitute plain white vinegar.

Maple syrup: A small amount of maple syrup adds sweetness without tasting of maple. It’s a less refined sweetener than white sugar. 

How to make Asian sesame dressing

Equipment: To make this sesame dressing recipe you’ll need just a mason jar with its lid, measuring spoons and a measuring cup. Alternatively, you can make this in a bowl and stir it well with a whisk or a spoon but the jar is more convenient.

Prep: Gather your ingredients. There are only five of them!

Combine: Measure each ingredient into the mason jar. 

Shake: Screw the lid tightly on the mason jar and shake the jar to combine. 

This vinaigrette is not emulsified. That means that the oil and water will begin to separate as soon as you’re done shaking.

That’s why I recommend making this vinaigrette in a jar instead of a bowl as you can easily just shake it up before using.

Taste: Give your sesame dressing a taste with a small spoon. You can easily adjust the balance of flavors to your liking: more sweet - add more maple syrup, more sour - add more vinegar, etc.

Variations and substitutions

Aromatics: If you don’t mind garlic breath, mince one or two cloves of garlic. To punch up the Asian-inspired flavors even more, mince a teaspoon or two of ginger as well.

Herbs: You can add some fresh herbs. Cilantro, chives, or green onion would go well.

Spice: Depending on what you’re using this recipe for (spicy salad is a bit weird), you can add spice in the form of sriracha, chili crisp, red pepper flakes or sambal. This would be delicious if using this vinaigrette as a dipping sauce. 

Sesame seeds: Sesame seeds add crunchy texture and amp up the sesame flavor even more. You can toast them in a skillet over medium heat and then partially grind them in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle to release their nutty natural oils.

Soy sauce: I use Chinese light soy sauce but you can substitute Japanese soy sauce (Kikkoman), tamari, reduced sodium soy sauce, or coconut aminos for a soy-free sesame dressing.

Citrus: Substitute up to half the vinegar for freshly squeezed lime juice or lemon juice for tangy flavors.

FAQs

Make ahead and storage tips

All the ingredients in this homemade sesame dressing are shelf stable.

Keep this dressing in stored in an airtight container such as the mason jar you made it in in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

The oil and soy sauce separate as the vinaigrette sits so just give it a quick shake before drizzling over your favorite salad or noodles.

How to serve Asian sesame dressing

This sesame vinaigrette is delicious served over fresh green salads, quinoa salads, or an Asian slaw which contains shredded cabbage, carrots and herbs.

This recipe is also similar to the dressing used in the viral cucumber salad recipe but vegan. Just chop up a cucumber or two and dress it with this Asian sesame dressing for a quick snack or side dish.

You could also use this sesame dressing as a sauce for soba or ramen noodles or over plain white rice.

I’ve used it as a dressing for protein bowls or grain bowls.

It can also be used as a dipping sauce for gyoza, spring rolls, potstickers or dumplings!