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If there’s one product I will NEVER buy from the store, it’s salad dressing. I insist on homemade every time, and this Asian Salad Dressing is no exception. No amount of fancy food processing will ever come close to what you can whip up in 5 minutes in your kitchen.
As a classically-trained chef, I’ve perfected the exact ratio of ingredients for every salad dressing, and vinaigrettes are my favorite. This Asian-flavored vinaigrette has perfectly balanced flavors that you know and love, and it’s delicious on salads, with appetizers, or even as a marinade.
Commenters call it “spectacular,” “light and refreshing,” and their “go-to salad dressing.” I completely agree and I know you will too!
Table of Contents
Asian Salad Dressing Recipe Ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
- Rice vinegar: It might also be labeled as “rice wine vinegar” (they are the same thing).
- Hoisin sauce: Also known as Chinese barbecue sauce, this popular sweet and salty ingredient is sold by the bottle in the Asian section of your grocery store.
- Canola oil: Or any neutral oil, like grapeseed oil or light olive oil.
- Fresh ginger: Do not substitute ground (powdered) ginger because it doesn’t have the same flavor.
How to make Asian Salad Dressing
- In a medium bowl, whisk together vinegar, hoisin sauce, canola oil, soy sauce, ginger, and sesame oil until combined.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: This recipe makes just over ¾ cup dressing; it makes 14 tablespoons (7 ounces) or 7 servings, 2 tablespoons each.
- Storage: Store leftover dressing covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Honey: For a sweeter dressing, add honey to taste.
- Peanut butter: For a creamier dressing, add a tablespoon of creamy peanut butter.
- More mix-ins: Stir in minced fresh garlic, sesame seeds, or sliced scallions.
How to use Asian Dressing
This Asian salad dressing is my condiment of choice for all Asian appetizers. Pot stickers, dumplings, lettuce wraps, homemade sushi, even crab rangoon: It’s absolutely delicious.
It’s also the star of my favorite Chinese Chicken Salad. Or, use it as a marinade for chicken, shrimp, or beef. The Hoisin sauce adds a lot of flavor here and can stand up to grilling or pan-frying. 6 ingredients, 2 minutes, tons of flavor.
Recipe FAQs
You can make your own Hoisin sauce with common pantry ingredients.
4 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons smooth peanut butter
1 tablespoon honey or agave nectar
2 teaspoons distilled white vinegar
2 teaspoons sesame oil
¼ teaspoon hot sauce
⅛ teaspoon black pepper
⅛ teaspoon garlic powder
To use this dressing as a marinade, in a glass baking dish or plastic zip-top bag, add the dressing to the raw protein of your choice. Marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes or in the refrigerator for up to 2 hours. Cook protein as desired, discarding any extra marinade.
Great recipes for Asian dressing
Salad Recipes
Chinese Chicken Salad
Appetizer Recipes
Potstickers
Fish and Seafood Recipes
Ahi Tuna with Ponzu Sauce
Appetizer Recipes
Crab Rangoons Recipe
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Chinese Salad Dressing
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup rice vinegar (see note 1)
- 1/4 cup hoisin sauce (see note 2)
- 2 tablespoons canola oil (see note 3)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger grated (see note 4)
- 1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together vinegar, hoisin sauce, canola oil, soy sauce, ginger, and sesame oil until combined.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Rice vinegar: It might also be labeled as “rice wine vinegar” (they are the same thing).
- Hoisin sauce: Also known as Chinese barbecue sauce, this popular sweet and salty ingredient is sold by the bottle in the Asian section of your grocery store.
- Canola oil: Or any neutral oil, like grapeseed oil or light olive oil.
- Fresh ginger: Do not substitute ground (powdered) ginger because it doesn’t have the same flavor.
- Yield: This recipe makes just over ¾ c. dressing; it makes 14 Tbsp. (7 oz.) or 7 servings, 2 Tbsp. each.
- Storage: Store leftover dressing covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Pretty terrific. I love dabbling with Chinese recipes. Pork Su Char in the cast iron pan with a great marinade.
This makes a great dressing and I add Mandarin Oranges with a bit of the Juice added to the dressing..
UMMMM Ummmmm good.
So glad you love it Sharyn! Sounds delicious!
Megan. I made 5 different asian dressings as a test and yours came out the winner. You did say this was make ahead but I didn’t see how long you can keep it. I would like to keep it in the frig for a full week. Will it keep that long? Thank you.
Clydette
Hi Clydette! I follow the CDC guidelines for refrigeration when I say how long something will last. The dressing could quite feasibly last a week or more in the refrigerator, but the CDC says 4 days so that’s what I say. The other thing is, even if you have a bunch of shelf-stable ingredients like oil and vinegar and soy sauce, once you combine them, things change. There is no chemical preservative or stabilizer to keep mixed Asian dressing ingredients safe, and I just don’t know enough about chemistry to know what would happen. So that’s why I say 4 days. It’s probably longer, but I don’t know how much longer, and I just say what I learned in my food safety program in culinary school (which is what the CDC says). I hope this helps! – Meggan
Asian Salad dressing is our family’s ultmate favorite. Ofcourse, we make it extra special by using only the best products. Hoisin sauce from Lee Kum Kee, is absolutely delicious. I should thank Karman Foods for my easy and accessible Asian ingredients and sauces.
Sounds great Mavee, thanks for the product tip! – Meggan
This is my go to salad dressing! I love it! I do add a little fresh pressed garlic and add a little extra hoisin. Its the best!
Hi Stacy, thank you! That variation sounds great! -Meggan
I made the Asian Salad dressing with the homemade hoisin sauce substitute. I like certain salad dressings sweet and/ spicy so with this particular recipe, I added 5 more tablespoons of honey and my salad consisted of baby book choy, carrot sticks, fresh mango slices, a sprinkling of chopped red onion and toasted white sesame seeds. For me, it was perfect! I
So easy to make and tastes delicious!!!!!
Thanks for the substitute for Hoisin sauce. I rarely have it on hand, and often do without. Greatly appreciated. I agree that ground ginger does not have the same flavor as fresh, but it is close enough. If one can approximate Hoisin sauce, one can approximate ginger. I try and keep a piece of ginger frozen in the freezer. It grate beautifully, with the skin just separating as grated. But sometimes I don’t have that, and ground works in a pinch. But good dressing. Just what I was looking for. thanks.
Judy, what a great idea to freeze ginger. For years I have had ginger drying out and molding because I didn’t use it quickly enough. I will start freezing my leftovers from now on. I now have a question for all of the readers and contributors: Can I make a large quantity of this hoisin dressing and freeze it ?
Thank you. This is what I was looking for and you delivered. 🙌🏾
Can you provide the salad recipe to go with this delicious dressing? The picture looks amazing
Hi Margaret! Here it is: https://cash-surge.live/chinese-chicken-salad/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Did not give the measurement for hoisin sause.
Sorry, what do you mean? The recipe card clearly says 1/4 cup hoisin sauce. Were you referring to something else? Thanks. -Meggan