Japanese Roasted Sesame Dressing

This Japanese Roasted Sesame Dressing is creamy, nutty, and tangy. It's packed with toasted sesame seeds, egg-free Kewpie mayo, rice vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, and sesame oil for a rich dressing that's SO GOOD over salads, rice bowls, crispy fried dishes, and vegetables.

I made this dressing to use for my Warm Mushroom Salad and Japanese potato salad, and it adds the perfect creamy, savory, and lightly sweet finish. The roasted sesame seeds give the dressing a deep nuttiness, while the rice vinegar keeps it bright.

The water is there to help loosen the dressing, so feel free to adjust depending on how you plan to use it. I like it slightly thicker for hearty salads and a little looser if I'm drizzling it over rice bowls or noodles.

Why You'll Love This Japanese Roasted Sesame Dressing

• Easy to make with pantry-friendly ingredients
• Packed with nutty, creamy, and tangy flavors from roasted sesame seeds and rice vinegar
• It’s extremely versatile and easily customizable to your taste
• Great for warm mushroom or Japanese potato salads, crunchy greens, tofu bowls, noodles, roasted vegetables, and more!
• You can adjust the acidity, sweetness, and consistency to your taste.
• Crushing the warm toasted sesame seeds gives the dressing extra aroma and texture

The Inspiration

I grew up with bottles of Kewpie's Roasted Sesame Dressing in the refrigerator. It was out go-to salad dressing at home and I love it when making a Japanese-style kani salad with lots of fresh mangoes, cucumber, romaine lettuce, and kani or Japanese imitation crab stick.

Local Japanese spots also had these delicious shredded cabbage salads paired with a roasted sesame dressing that really completed the dish, which I really enjoyed.

I love Japanese roasted sesame dressing because it makes even a simple bowl of vegetables feel complete. It's creamy enough to coat everything, but still bright enough from the rice vinegar so it doesn't feel too heavy.

So after making a warm mushroom salad, I knew I had to pair it with this nutty sesame dressing. The mushrooms have that juicy, savory bite, and this dressing adds the perfect creamy texture and roasted sesame flavor.

I also added some to my Japanese Potato Salad and it elevates the dish even more with that extra layer of nuttiness and aroma from toasted sesame seeds. You definitely need to add some to your potato salad the next time you make some!

What Is Japanese Roasted Sesame Dressing?

Japanese roasted sesame dressing is a creamy sesame-based dressing often used for salads but it can be used with pretty much anything: vegetables, cold noodles, crispy fried dishes like katsu (and the side cabbage salad that goes with it), tofu, and rice bowls. It usually has a nutty sesame base balanced with something tangy, salty, and lightly sweet.

For this version, I started with raw sesame seeds and toasted them in a pan until fragrant. You can use roasted sesame seeds to make things quicker, but freshly toasted sesame seeds have such a warm, deep aroma.

If you have a suribachi or Japanese mortar and pestle, this is a great time to use it. A regular mortar and pestle also works well for crushing the warm sesame seeds and releasing their oils.

INGREDIENTS YOU NEED TO MAKE THIS DRESSING

DRESSING

• raw sesame seeds
• Kewpie mayo  or egg-free Kewpie mayo
• rice vinegar
• sugar
• soy sauce
• water
• sesame oil

TO SERVE

• Warm mushroom salad see recipe here
• Japanese potato salad
• Green salads or slaws
• Rice bowls
• Cold noodles
• Roasted vegetables

TO MAKE THIS JAPANESE ROASTED SESAME DRESSING

TOAST THE SESAME SEEDS

• If starting with raw sesame seeds, add them to a dry pan over medium heat. Toast for 3-5 minutes, shaking or stirring often, until lightly golden and fragrant.

• Transfer the warm sesame seeds to a mortar and pestle. 
• Crush them until mostly broken down, leaving some texture. A suribachi or Japanese mortar and pestle would be best if you have one, but a small mortar and pestle works too.

MIX THE DRESSING

• In a bowl, add the crushed sesame seeds. Mix in the Kewpie mayo, rice vinegar, white sugar, soy sauce, water, and sesame oil.
• The dressing should be creamy with little bits of toasted sesame throughout.

ADJUST TO TASTE

• Taste the dressing and feel free to adjust with more rice vinegar for acidity, sugar for sweetness, soy sauce for saltiness, or sesame oil for extra aroma.
• Add more water, 1 tsp at a time, to loosen the dressing as needed. Keep it thicker for hearty salads or add a bit more water if you want it easier to drizzle.

SERVE AND ENJOY

• Use the dressing right away or chill until ready to serve. 
• Spoon or drizzle over warm mushroom salad (see recipe here), greens, tofu bowls, cold noodles, roasted vegetables, or anything of your choice.
• Mix everything together and enjoy!

TO STORE

• Keep in an air-tight container in the refrigerator. This can keep for up to 2 weeks.
• Note that the dressing can thicken when refrigerated so you can add more water then mix it to loosen it as needed.

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