This popular Benihana ginger salad dressing 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 robust fresh ginger taste.
If you love Benihana, you're sure to love my hibachi mustard sauce and ginger dipping sauce, too.
Jump to:
Asian 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 good that he noticed the days in the early 2000s when the Benihana website had their recipes shared.
If you have never had this dressing, do yourself a favor and make it as soon as possible. You're going to love having this dressing in your recipe repertoire.
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 daughter's fried eggs (for the hibachi fried rice) shaped as a rooster!!
🥘 Ingredients
- Peanut Oil - This flavor will match the familiar Benihana salad dressing best.
- Onion - Use white onion, or yellow onion for a slightly sweeter taste.
- Rice Wine Vinegar - 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. 😋
- Water - For consistency, adjust as needed.
- Ginger - Fresh, peeled ginger is best. The ginger in tubes that can be found in your grocery store's produce department will work too but the flavor is not as strong. Taste and add more if needed.
- Celery - Fresh, chopped celery adds taste and texture.
- Soy Sauce - A little goes a long way, use reduced-sodium soy sauce if desired. Dark soy sauce can overpower the other ingredient flavors.
- Tomato - Use ketchup or tomato paste.
- Sugar - White granulated table sugar is what Benihana uses in their recipe. Brown sugar will not taste right (the molasses content will change the flavor profile). Sugar alternatives like Swerve can be used with great results.
- Lemon Juice - Just a bit to highlight all of the other ingredient flavors. Use fresh lemon juice for best results. Bottled lemon juice has a weaker flavor, you may need a splash extra.
- Salt & Pepper - Start with a pinch of salt and pepper, and adjust to taste. I prefer to adjust the seasoning after the dressing has chilled overnight and the flavors have had a chance to 'marry' or meld.
Be sure to see the free printable recipe card below for ingredients, exact amounts & instructions with tips!
🔪 How To Make Ginger Salad Dressing
Measure out ingredients. Add all ingredients ½ cup (118.29 milliliters) peanut oil, ½ cup (80 grams) onion, ¼ cup (59.15 milliliters) rice wine vinegar, ¼ cup (59.15 milliliters) water, 2 tablespoons fresh ginger, 2 tablespoons celery, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 tablespoon ketchup, 2 teaspoons sugar, 2 teaspoons lemon juice, and 1 pinch each of salt & pepper to a blender or food processor.
Process. Blend until smooth, about 45 seconds to 1 minute.
Chill. Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving to allow the flavors to meld.
Serve. Drizzle over your salad to serve.
Any way you make it, this salad dressing is addictive and delicious. Enjoy!
>>>See All Of My Tasty Recipes Here!<<<
💭 Angela's Pro Tips & Recipe Notes
- Ketchup or tomato sauce. Note that the original recipe calls for tomato paste. In such a small quantity, it is much easier to use ketchup, or a tube of tomato paste, rather than open a can of tomato paste. The difference is negligible if you opt for the sweeter ketchup, but this officially notes my modification to the original recipe from Benihana.
- Chill for the best flavor. The flavors combine better after refrigerating, and the dressing is best on the second and third days after being mixed.
- To store. Keep refrigerated and stored in an airtight container. The dressing stores well when refrigerated for up to one week.
⭐ Testimonials
I've made this recipe several times now, and everyone always loves it. When I want to thicken the dressing up (for my personal taste) I use potato flakes. The flavor stays the same, and the consistency is perfect. Love it!
Shannon K, Montana
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!
Do you love a recipe you tried? Please leave a 5-star 🌟rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page.
Stay in touch with me through social media @ Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter! Subscribe to the newsletter today (no spam, I promise)! Don't forget to tag me when you try one of my recipes!
📖 Recipe Card
Benihana Ginger Salad Dressing Recipe
Ingredients
- ½ cup peanut oil
- ½ cup onion (chopped)
- ¼ cup rice wine vinegar
- ¼ cup water
- 2 tablespoon fresh ginger (peeled, chopped)
- 2 tablespoon celery (chopped)
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon ketchup (or tomato paste)
- 2 teaspoon sugar
- 2 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 pinch each, salt & pepper (to taste)
(Note: 2x or 3x only changes the ingredient list)
Instructions
- Add all ingredients ½ cup peanut oil, ½ cup onion, ¼ cup rice wine vinegar, ¼ cup water, 2 tablespoon fresh ginger, 2 tablespoon celery, 2 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon ketchup, 2 teaspoon sugar, 2 teaspoon lemon juice, and 1 pinch each, salt & pepper to a blender or food processor.
- Blend until smooth, about 45 seconds to 1 minute.
- Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving to allow the flavors to meld.
- Drizzle over your salad to serve.
Notes
- Ketchup or tomato sauce. Note that the original recipe calls for tomato paste. In such a small quantity, it is much easier to use ketchup, or a tube of tomato paste, rather than open a can of tomato paste. The difference is negligible if you opt for the sweeter ketchup, but this officially notes my modification to the original recipe from Benihana.
- Chill for the best flavor. The flavors combine better after refrigerating, and the dressing is best on the second and third days after being mixed.
- To store. Keep refrigerated and stored in an airtight container. The dressing stores well when refrigerated for up to one week.
Nutrition
(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.
Lisa says
It was so delicious !!! The only thing I didn’t have was peanut oil so I subbed with avacado oil
Anonymous says
Really really good and tastes like hibachi restaurants near me. I added 1 medium carrot, everything else stayed the same
Toni says
This is a wonderful recipe. I’ve used it several times. I have to double the recipe as my daughter always takes some home to her family. Thank you for sharing this. We now live in Italy and miss Benihana. I looked at your sight and have saved several of your recipes. All have been delicious.
RB says
This came out just like I remembered!! Tastes great!
K. says
Re the Benihana Salad Dressing recipes:
Just curious. I see that the recipe you have posted is a double batch of the original Benihana recipe with just 2 changes. The first difference being the optional use of ketchup in place of the tomato paste, which you explained. I am wondering about the amount of sugar. In the original recipe there are 1 1/2 tsps of sugar, but in your recipe you list 2 tsps, which is less than double. (which would be 1 T). My question is, did you reduce the amount of sugar listed (2 tsp instead of 1T ) in your recipe because you think 1 T would make it too sweet? Other than that (and the ketchup vs tomato paste) you have kept true to the Benihana original. Not trying to be a pest, just being curious. Thank you. I’m looking forward to trying this soon.
K.
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Thanks K, it's not a problem at all to answer! I made those adjustments to best recreate the taste of the salad dressing that was served at our local Benihana. I feel that it's best to add sugar to taste, specially when using ketchup.
K says
Very good point about adjusting amount of sugar if using ketchup. Thanks,
K.
Blake says
This was such a wonderful dressing. I love it so much. Brings back memories of not just Benihana but also a place I always got the teriyaki chicken/rice with small iceberg salad with this yummy ginger dressing. I made mine with avocado oil and it is so good.
Kristin says
Hi, I am having my family over for dinner this weekend and we are doing Hibachi on our Blackstone griddle. I am looking for the Asian Rice Wine Vinegar but I can't seem to find it. I can only find Red Wine Vinegar, Rice Vinegar and White Rice Vinegar. Will any of these work in place of the Asian Rice Wine Vinegar?
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
White rice vinegar would work, but you may need to add a touch of white sugar to taste. Hope that helps, and have fun doing a family Hibachi night!
CJ says
Hi Kristin, I had this same question, and from the information that I found, Rice Wine Vinegar and Rice Vinegar are the same exact thing. They are simply sometimes labeled differently.
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
This is from an older response in 2021: "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!" You can also see my article here for more alternatives https://bakeitwithlove.com/rice-vinegar-substitute/
Vickie Guthrie says
Fantastic recipe! Our first Benihana experience was in the ‘80’s and the standout was the salad dressing. Recently found your site with this excellent recipe. Thank you!
Heather says
I've made this twice now and it keeps coming out too sour. Do you think it could be the lemon juice I'm using?
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Are you using bottled lemon juice? Check the bottled date if so, and discard if needed. Try the recipe with fresh lemon juice and see if there is a drastic difference in flavor.
If this is not the issue, sweeten to taste with the sugar. Hope that helps!
Vickie Guthrie says
Excellent! Thank you! This is the only dressing we use!
Rachelle says
I put too much ginger in and now the taste is a bit overpowering. Do you have any suggestions on how to fix this?
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Start adding more of the other ingredients to balance the flavor out, I would start with soy sauce and tomato paste. Hope that helps!
Anonymous says
Best homemade dressing of all time!! We love it so much with extra celery so that it a little Chucky!!
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!
Renee says
I substituted 1/2 cup Mayo and 1/8 cup tahini for the peanut oil and it came out great!