This popular Benihana Ginger Salad Dressing that is featured at Benihana and other Japanese steakhouses is super easy to make at home! It's a delightfully light, creamy, refreshing salad dressing with a strong fresh ginger taste!
If you love Benihana, you'll love my Hibachi Mustard Sauce and Ginger Dipping Sauce!
Benihana Ginger Salad Dressing Recipe
Being from the West coast originally, my husband and I have always been fans of Benihana hibachi grill restaurants and their tantalizing flavors. One of our favorite things to enjoy on a more regular basis than say, surf n' turf every night, is a salad served up with the tangy signature, house ginger salad dressing recipe that Benihana is known for ( and that's available for purchase at their restaurant locations ).
Honestly, I think my husband enjoys eating dinner at Benihana's just so he can have the salad dressing and dipping sauces! It's a good thing that he noticed the days when the Benihana website had their actual recipes shared.
I ended up making this creamy ginger salad dressing frequently, which is a great thing! Otherwise I would have spent a fortune buying the dressing whenever I passed by a Benihana location!! Seriously, for a time I wondered how long until we would have this orange dressing running in our veins!
If you have never had this dressing, do yourself a favor and make it as soon as possible. You need this dressing! You also need to find a great Japanese steakhouse just to watch their chefs put on a show of flying knives, exploding volcano onion towers, and one of our recent treats was to have our daughters eggs ( for the hibachi fried rice ) shaped as a rooster!!
Benihana Ginger Salad Dressing Ingredients
The ingredients needed for this easy dressing recipe include: peanut oil, onion, rice wine vinegar, water, ginger, celery, soy sauce, ketchup ( or tomato paste ), sugar, lemon juice, and salt & pepper to taste.
Be sure to use a good Asian rice wine vinegar that is clear in appearance. Substituting white vinegar is not suggested. You'll need the new bottle of rice wine vinegar anyway, so you can make this at home all the time 🙂
How To Make Japanese Ginger Salad Dressing
Add all of the ingredients to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth, this only takes 45 seconds to about a minute. Transfer to an air tight storage container or jar and refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.
*The flavors combine better after refrigerating, and the dressing is best on the second and third day after being mixed.
**Keep refrigerated and stored in an airtight container. The dressing will keep refrigerated for up to one week.
(Original Note) Here I share a very close approximation to the recipe that was available on the Benihana website at one point in time. I am making it from memory and it very well may be the correct version as shared by Benihana webmasters themselves. If I can ever find the saved recipe in all of my old files, I can verify the version later.
(Updated Note below 1/2020).
*Note that the original recipe calls for tomato paste, but in such a small quantity it is much easier to use ketchup rather than open a can of tomato paste. The difference is negligible, but this officially notes my modification to the original recipe from Benihana.
Either way, this salad dressing is addictive and delicious!
Enjoy!
If you love Benihana, Kyoto, or Kobe's Japanese steakhouse hibachi ( teppanyaki ) grilled foods, you'll love my hibachi steak and shrimp dinner, hibachi vegetables, hibachi noodles, hibachi fried rice, and yum yum sauce!!
Check out my Hibachi Recipe index page for a complete list of these fabulous grilled foods that are wonderful recipes to make with your blackstone grill too!
Benihana Ginger Salad Dressing
Ingredients
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth, about 45 seconds to 1 minute.
- Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving and keep stored in an airtight container.
Notes
*Note that the original recipe calls for tomato paste, but in such a small quantity it is much easier to use ketchup rather than open a can of tomato paste. The difference is negligible, but this officially notes my modification to the original recipe from Benihana.
Nutrition
Angela is an at home chef that developed a passion for all things cooking and baking at a young age in her Grandma's kitchen. After many years in the food service industry, she now enjoys sharing all of her family favorite recipes and creating tasty dinner and amazing dessert recipes here at Bake It With Love!
Jonathan says
How long do you think this lasts in the fridge?
Anna says
I may or may not have just drank some of this from the mason jar. Third day is the absolute best. Drool fest. You’re awesome!
Pam says
I am allergic to peanuts, is there a good alternative you recommend for the peanut oil? Maybe sesame oil or sunflower oil?
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
If other nut oils are OK, I would consider walnut oil. Otherwise canola oil is a neutral flavored oil that would be good with a splash of sesame seed oil. Sunflower oil is also an option. Enjoy!
Shawn Alton says
OMG! This recipe is so so good! Delish. I just made it, and it’s in the fridge chilling, and flavor-mingling. Brought back so many good memories of dining at Benihana. There was a Benihana in Seattle that we would go to every time we visited, and it’s since closed down (sad), so making this has inspired me to make their others sauces in preparation for hibachi cooking on my Blackstone griddle!
Thank you so much for this recipe. Followed it to the letter, but used tomato paste, since I had small amounts frozen (just for instances like this).
Alonna says
I’m really excited to try this! Can you tell me what kind of onion (white, yellow, etc.) you recommend using? Thanks!
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
I prefer yellow onion, but white onion works too. Enjoy!!
Kelley Martin says
This recipe was great! I used it with a seared ahi salad I made.
Anonymous says
This is excellent. We love the Benihana ginger dressing. So many recipes call for 1 or 2 tablespoons of tomato paste, so I open a can and put tablespoons of it in a zip-lock freezer bag and just leave space around each tablespoon. It's great because when they're frozen they help chill the dressing if I'm in a hurry.
Thanks for sharing this recipe! It's a staple in my home!!
Wemetmartin says
This recipe was delicious! I used it for a seared ahi salad.
Sharon says
Made it this weekend. It's delicious!! How much would you say is a serving? 2tbsp? I track my intake and trying to accurately account for this dressing.
Thank you
Gayle Rogers says
I have always had a problem finding the correct rice wine vinegar. Is rice wine vinegar the same as rice vinegar? Do we use seasoned or unseasonably? Thanks for clearing this up for me
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Rice vinegar and rice wine vinegar are OK to use interchangeably (but DO NOT use rice wine which is sweeter with no hint of vinegar flavor). Do use the unseasoned types as well for best results. Enjoy!
Sarah says
I’m going to make this ASAP! In an effort to not waste a ton of celery since this calls for so little (we don’t eat it really) would it be a crime to leave it out? Some sort of substitute?
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Hmmm. The celery is a big part of the texture of this dressing. If you were to add more onion (also part of the texture) I think that the onion would be overpowering and change the flavor too much. I would do this: the best way to freeze celery is to wash, trim, and cut your pieces, and spread them on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Freeze in a single layer, then transfer to a freezer storage bag squeezing out as much excess air as possible.
You're going to want that celery on hand after you try this 🙂 Hope that helps!
Leah says
I’m thinking of what to substitute for celery because I’m allergic (anaphylaxis ). I’m considering fennel, or possibly minced apple or jicama.
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
I would think that the fennel flavor would overpower this dressing, and I would opt for green apples if you have them. Let me know how it turns out!
Thomas Strickland says
I am not 100% sure but rice wine and rice vinegar are two different things. Rice wine vinegar is really hard to find. Can I use rice wine or rice vinegar as a substitute or does rice wine vinegar is rice vinegar? Thanks for the help.
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Rice vinegar and rice wine vinegar refer to the same thing, and yes, rice wine itself is vastly different than rice vinegar! If you don't have rice vinegar, the best substitute is to use plain white vinegar. The next best option is to use apple cider vinegar. Hopefully that answered your question 🙂
Monique says
Perfection!! I will be making this all the time! Thank you!! Have you ever substituted honey for the sugar? I am going to give it a try next time.
Anonymous says
Spot on!
Justine says
Do you have any recommendations as to what someone may use in place of onion? Thanks in advance
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Is it the flavor or texture that's throwing you off? You can use more celery (for the bulk and texture of the dressing) along with onion powder. You could also grab your lemon juicer/squeezer and literally squeeze the onion juice out of some fresh onions. I'm not sure if that helped yet?? Let me know!
Perla says
=awesome recipe super delicious. I dont have peanut oil at home , i did replaced it with olive oil..
Marc says
I want to thank you for putting this recipe up. By far the best recipe I have tried, pretty close to 100% and personally better in my opinion.
Andrew says
You are so peaking my interest now . I go to Benihana Soli for the salad! I went last night actually before I sent that post and was disappointed that I think they either had a bad batch or change their dressing recipe because it was not the same! If I can make your recipe work that would be amazing! One question I have if you know… I have asked them before because we have a killer with a peanut allergy and they swear that there is no peanut product in their dressing. All of the “copycat“ recipes that I have seen use peanut oil so that confuses me… Thoughts?
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Peanut oil is part of the flavor in the recipe, however, great alternates that are frequently used in Chinese cooking are soybean oil, sunflower oil, or canola oil. All are great choices to work around a peanut allergy!
Nana says
Angela, I can’t find peanut oil.. what can I substitute?
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Hi Nana, the best substitute for peanut oil is sesame seed oil. For this recipe, the flavor is the closest. If you don't have sesame seed oil, canola oil or sunflower oil can also be used as substitutes.
Tina says
Hi Angela, is sesame seed oil the same as sesame oil? Do you use a certain brand? Also how much tomato paste would this call for? When I open a can of tomato paste I always freeze in tablespoon size and wrap it individually in cling wrap and freeze them so I don’t waste and always have some on hand.
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Hi Tina! Yes, both sesame seed oil and sesame oil are the same thing. I'm not usually particular about brands, especially when sesame seed oil has been one of the things that is frequently missing at my grocery store this past year or so. I do usually buy the Imperial Dragon brand when it's available.
The original Benihana recipe called for 1 1/2 teaspoons tomato paste. I would start with that and adjust as needed to your taste. Enjoy!
Pamela says
What about using tomato paste concentrate that comes in a tube.
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Definitely a great option! I just never have one on hand (i use too much at any one time). It will work perfectly, enjoy!!
Carol says
It's been years since I ate at Benihana's here in Chicago, but as soon as I tasted this dressing, it all came back. I loved their salads. In fact, after making this for dinner last night I'm having a salad for breakfast right now! If it doesn't sound too melodramatic, thank you for bringing this back into my life ❤
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Aw, Carol, I love reading this! And I absolutely love the salads at Benihana too, which of course led to this recipe being a long time staple in our home. I was also lucky enough to have caught all of the Benihana recipes when they had them posted on their website.
Thank you so much for sharing (no melodrama here, I get it!) and here's to many more tasty salads!
Anonymous says
In response to the query about the dressing being a watery consistency you mention to possibly add MORE carrot. The recipe you published seems like it doesn't contain any carrot at all. Is there carrot missing from your recipe?
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
No, it's not missing. The bulk in the dressing is celery and onion, which is what I meant. Thanks for catching that!
Jessica says
Mine came out watery. how do I fix this?
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
The dressing is a semi-thin salad dressing anyway, but sometimes it's hard to get an exact measurement on your 'bulk' ingredients. I would add a bit more of celery or onion, depending on your dressing flavor. Taste and adjust until you have your desired consistency. I always have to stir mine before using, as the liquid will settle to the bottom overnight when refrigerated. Hope that helps!
Landyn says
Delicious!!! But Mine is much darker than yours!!! I wonder why! This will be a staple in our house from now on!
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Gad you like it! It's a staple here too!!
The only thing I can think of with yours being darker, is a different brand of soy sauce. Otherwise, it could just be from the lighting of the photo.
Steph H says
I had the same issue as well with the color being darker! But it still tastes wonderful!
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
It may be the type of blender used. I use my Nutribullet for most blending, rarely use my food processor (other than for pastry making), and use my actual blender even less than either of those. Glad you like it (no matter the color we all end up with)!!
Andrew says
Thank you Angela. I have tried to make this recipe I don’t know like 50 times lol . I believe I have used this exact recipe before And it simulates but does now we come out quite the same as the restarting dressing. That beating said I remember when they published this on their website And wasn’t there a a comment something like “ there may be ingredients missing from this recipe “or something like that from corporate so they weren’t releasing their redact recipe ? I can’t remember exactly but I always remembered being slightly disappointed that it wasn’t “ it” !
Interested to hear your thoughts... you seem passionate about this which is awesome !!
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Actually, the ONLY differences in my opinion stem from these two things:
1) Benihana makes their salad dressing with commercially available ingredients.
and 2) I personally believe that the dressing at the restaurants is watered down in some way to make the dressing last longer, and stretch the dollar.
I do believe that even if this is not EXACT, that it is indeed so close that it is the very best base recipe to begin with to modify to your tastes. Thanks for asking and enjoy!!