My first experience with Japanese cuisine was in an authentic and quaint little restaurant, Aki's, located on the Upper West Side. I remember a shy and sweet waitress, donned in a beautiful blue flower komino, rushed over with green tea, followed by miso soup. She highly recommended the salmon teriyaki which came with rice and salad. She brought over the salad, which looked pretty typical - iceburg lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers and carrots topped with an orange dressing. Not having ever had Japanese food before, I didn't expect anything spectacular from such a simple salad. Well, I was wrong! The exotic flavor from the dressing exploded in my mouth. I devoured the salad and scooped up every ounce of the dressing I could without appearing rude.
When Aki's closed, I was disappointed. It was sad to see a treasure with authentic cuisine and traditions leave the neighborhood. Although I have not found a restaurant which could match the scrumptious flavors of the delicious salmon teriyaki, I found one that came close to that simple salad with the exotic dressing, Benihana's. Benihana's Ginger Dressing with its cre
amy and tantalizing flavors brings back such happy memories of a very special night.
Iceberg Salad with Benihana
Ginger Dressing
Courtesy of
my.recipes
Ingredients
Ginger Dressing
Courtesy of
my.recipes
Ingredients
1/4 cup onion, chopped
1/4 cup peanut oil
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon fresh ginger chopped
1 tablespoon celery chopped
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons tomato paste
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 dash salt
1 dash pepper
9 cups iceberg lettuce
1 1/2 cups cucumber halved lengthwise and
thinly sliced
3/4 cup carrot shredded
3/4 cup celery chopped
1/3 cup onion chopped
12 cherry tomatoes halved
1/4 cup peanut oil
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon fresh ginger chopped
1 tablespoon celery chopped
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons tomato paste
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 dash salt
1 dash pepper
9 cups iceberg lettuce
1 1/2 cups cucumber halved lengthwise and
thinly sliced
3/4 cup carrot shredded
3/4 cup celery chopped
1/3 cup onion chopped
12 cherry tomatoes halved
Preparation
To prepare dressing, combine first 12 ingredients in blender container and process until smooth.
To prepare dressing, combine first 12 ingredients in blender container and process until smooth.
Assemble salad and serve with dressing.
follow Anne on twitter and Instagram @AnneFretz
Comments
Post a Comment