Miso-Sesame Vinaigrette That’s Good on Anything Recipe (2024)

Made this without a blender (used a micro plane for the shallot and garlic) and a whisk to combine the liquids. I was a bit skeptical of the balsamic fitting in with the other more traditionally Asian flavors but it turned out fabulous. Drizzled this over some roasted salmon and it was absolutely delicious. Looking forward to trying this in other dishes!

Spiked with a bit of fresh ginger I had lying around. Don’t know how well it will keep but it is delicious over carrots and cucumbers!

Made it as soon as I saw the article. Absolutely delicious! Thank you Kenji. I love you.

Though balsamic is an Italian vinegar, it's a reasonable substitute for a dark vinegar that is commonly used in Chinese cooking (and possibly other Asian cuisines), e.g. as dipping sauce for dumplings.

Try making the dressing with everything except the garlic, then adding the smashed cloves to the finished product. They'll infuse the dressing with their flavor but it won't be so intense.

Made this exactly as specified, except I added the sesame seed oil to taste at the end, which for me was about two teaspoons. The toasted sesame seeds provide plenty of sesame flavor. It is absolutely delicious. Also, to the reader who indicated that the oil and other ingredients would separate after time, my thick emulsion has remained emulsified. I think the miso must prevent it from separating like ordinary salad dressing. So it is worth the step of adding the oil gradually.

The quantities listed here don't work for a vitamix. Blades don't get covered, so the sauce splatters around at all speeds -- no vortex as mentioned. Because of this the garlic doesnt blend and I had a huge mess while trying to add the oil in. Next time I will use a food processor or do it by hand.

This is phenomenal as a cold soba noodle salad dressing, with cucumbers, edamame and orange segments! Substituted some microplaned red onion for shallot, and whisked by hand; can’t wait to make again!

The recipe has all ingredients I love, but the garlic in the finished product was just too biting for salad dressing. I ended up using as a marinade for chuck steak which is sous viding now. I may try with roasted garlic next time because I still think I will love it.

Absolutely love this dressing with fresh ginger added. The only change that I would make is to halve the amount of sugar put in because it was a little bit too sweet for my taste.

I’m not a fan of oily dressings so I opted for brown rice vinegar and cut the oil in half. I opted for a shot of ginger. I don’t get the slow drizzle part. This isn’t mayonnaise. It’s going to separate anyway. I just added the oils and gave it a whir. America’s Test Kitchen has a creamless, creamy version that is delicious and easy, especially if you have a Vitamix, although any good blender should do the trick.

Phenomenal. Hits the spot. Added a tiny bit of ginger. It’s delicious as salad dressing and for crudité, cabbage and carrots, chicken, by itself on a spoon…

Delicious on book choy and spinach too.

Yes, this is good. I inadvertently omitted the brown sugar and I thought the sauce was perfect without it. Served over simply grilled salmon. I also added some to the salad and anything else on the plate that night.

Absolutely delicious, reminds me of one of my favorite dressings from Sweetgreen, but even better. I microplaned the shallot and garlic into a mason jar and then added everything else except the oils and sesame seeds. Shake vigorously. Then add the oils and shake again. Add seeds last. Perfection. I used Zhenjiang vinegar instead of balsamic and for the white vinegar, I used 1 Tbl. of rice wine vinegar and 1 Tbl. of white wine vinegar. Kenji never misses!

So ridiculously good! I made it in a 4 cup measuring cup with my immersion blender on its lowest speed. - worked like a charm - and add the sesame seeds to taste once the dressing was doled out.

Used 1 tsp honey instead of sugar, only 1 clove garlic & 1 T sesame oil. Still absolutely yummy on a big tossed green salad with chopped egg and avocado, flaked cooked coho salmon, roasted pumpkin seeds.

I found it to be way too sweet for a salad dressing, and the garlic is too biting. But I think it will be very good marinade.

Made this vinaigrette but left out the sesame oil and seeds (seriously dislike those flavors), and it was delicious! Definitely trying the addition of ginger next time per so many comments. Also thinking this could be an incredible marinade for pork chops or chicken thighs.

Just made this and love it. I used my immersion blender and a large glass measuring cup to emulsify. We are putting it on CSA veggies, radicchii, delicata squash and brussel sprouts.

Only used a shy 1 tablespoon of sesame oil, more would have been too much for my tastes. I dislike washing my blender...used microplaner and knife to mash up the garlic and shallots, whisked in the oil. Keeper!

Excellent sauce/dressing! I made this to sauce up roasted veggie and farro bowls and it was delicious. I accidentally added 2 T of miso, which probably made it thicker and more salty, but I didn’t salt the veggies before roasting so the combined elements were seasoned ok. If you’re watching salt intake, I would go with a lighter hand on whatever you’re putting this sauce on. I added a splash of extra vinegar. I will definitely try again with different vinegars to find my perfect balance

Made with everything but the sugar; just as delicious.

Delicious! I'm sensitive to fructans so cut out the shallot, added a microscopic amount of garlic, also fresh ginger. Added 2 tbsp PB for a peanut vinaigrette and it was perfect.

This is my favorite NYTimes recipe— I make it all the time and double it!

YUM! We love it and I think it's perfect but will try some ginger next time!

For me, this was good, but not "eat off the spoon" delicious. I made it as written (in a mini food processor), then tasted it and found it needed a bit more miso. Tasting again, I then added a splash of maple syrup (it was not too sweet for me, as others have noted), and a teaspoon of pureed ginger from The Ginger People. This made it more to my liking, but still not the top dressing on my list. Will try Mark Bitman's Miso-Ginger Dressing next to see if it is more of what I am looking for.

Brilliant Dressing. I just made this exactly as recommended in the recipe (though only half the amount) and it turned out fabulous. I'll dress just some green leaf salad in it as an accompaniment to kimchi grilled cheese - it's gonna be delicious!

I love this vinaigrette. I’ve made it both with and without a blender. With red and white miso. I’ve put it on salads, on rice bowls, drizzled on fish, even licked it straight off the spoon a few times. I like to double the batch and keep it in the fridge.

It was very good made as is. It was off the chart when I added 1 T minced ginger. Next time I will make it with black Chinese vinegar instead of balsamic, and replace half the sesame oil with Chinese sesame paste (different than tahini).