Crunchy Greens With Carrot-Ginger Dressing

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
4(1,449)
Comments
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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
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

166 calories; 14 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 10 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 10 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 5 grams sugars; 2 grams protein; 366 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

Ratings

4 out of 5
1,449 user ratings
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Comments

Michael Sierchio

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.

haleyk

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

Morgan

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.

Deb H

This is pretty good as written, but having read the comments, every time I've made it since I use a neutral oil, real onion and a splash of sesame oil and it takes it to another level. Some orange zest also adds a nice hit of citrus that complements both the carrot and the ginger. Miso is another great addition. You can really play around with it.

Deedee

I found the dressing to be a tad too sweet.

elore

This is a bright, refreshing, flavorful dressing. Lovely side salad. I did not have onion powder so substituted with a bit of shallot. I will be making this often. For me all it needed to turn it into a meal on it's own was avocado. Yum.

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