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This simple, delicious Asian Salad Dressing is made with just 6 pantry ingredients and ready in minutes. It also makes a great marinade or dipping sauce for appetizers!
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.
Table of Contents
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.
Ingredient 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.
Instructions
- 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.
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
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Chinese Chicken Salad
Appetizer Recipes
Pot Stickers
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Appetizer Recipes
Crab Rangoon
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Asian 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 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.
Nutrition
Meggan Hill is a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.
I had searched & searched and tried to make myself, for years (seriously) for an Asian salad dressing that I used to get on “Chinese Chicken Salad” at a Chinese restaurant in San Francisco. Time after time, no luck! What I wanted was not thick or overly sweet. Just so flavorful and GARLICKY.. ahh haa, GARLIC! That is the one additional ingredient i add to this recipe and lots of it!! I have finally found it! It’s perfect, once you add the garlic! So good I drink down what remains in the bowl after the salad is gone! : )
Hooray Christine! I’m so glad you found a recipe that is perfect for you! Thanks for sharing, this made my day! -Meggan
This is very acidic especially with 1/3 a cup of rice vinegar and only 2 Tbsp of oil. I added more oil and it was still way too strong. It is not good as a “salad dressing”. I had to throw everything out. Maybe it would be fine as a marinade.
Hi Sheryl, thank you for taking the time to write. I’m sorry you didn’t care for this dressing. I hope you’re able to adjust it to your liking next time or use it as a marinade. – Sorry again! – Meggan
This dressing is so good
I’m glad you loved it, Sharon! Take care! – Meggan
I grate a peeled piece of fresh ginger, separate it into tablespoon amounts and freeze it. Then when I need fresh ginger it’s available. It defrosts in a few minutes.
Hi Gail, thanks for sharing this tip! – Meggan
This dressing is delicious and I make it all the time!
Hi Ginny, thank you for your comment! I’m so glad you love it! – Meggan
Luv luv all your your recipes thanx