Wanna learn how to make a light yet well seasoned Japanese style salad? Here we use a small bunch of mizuna and some baby greens! But if you’re like me, you know the key isn’t so much the ingredients, but the dressing used to season them. 😛 Today we’re using a unique condiment that’s both spicy and citrusy at the same time. Read on to learn more!
Mizuna salad with baby greens and yuzukosho dressing
I’ll just say it.
What makes this mizuna salad special is the dressing.
I guess that’s what makes all salads special.
Right?
It’s not so much about the salad part as it is about the dressing.
At least for me.
How about you?
Are you looking for a new way to enjoy your salads?
Maybe if you try this yuzukosho dressing you might just add more salads to your routine.
Yuzukosho
Yuzukosho is usually made with only a handful of ingredients, yuzu fruit (citrus), pepper and some salt!
Never had yuzu?
Well I’d describe it as being a little less sour than a lemon with a unique citrus flavor.
Yuzu goes well in both savory and sweet applications.
I really like yuzukosho and have played around with it over the years.
It works well on it’s own and as part of a sauce or dressing, like we’re making today.
There are many types of yuzukosho and several colors, but you’re likely to only find red yuzukosho or green yuzukosho.
Those are the most common.
In my experience, they’re equally spicy.
So go easy if you aren’t keen on spicy.
It’s always better to conservative when trying new condiments and spices. yes? Yes!
If you like spicy foods, yuzukosho is sure to add a kick to each bite.
If you haven’t had this yet, you might very well be surprised at how good it tastes.
Making your salads more interesting
For this Japanese style salad, we also add in some Japanese cucumbers, currants (or raisins) and some chopped cherry tomatoes.
Sometimes I’ll throw in some aburaage (fried tofu skin) or some walnuts to add some layers of flavor and texture.
If you can’t find mizuna greens it’s no big deal, just use baby greens.
Mizuna has a mild flavor and I like it primarily for it’s crunchy texture.
It’s actually strong enough to stand up to a stir fry, if you want to try something different.
Romaine lettuce could be a good alternative if you want the texture.
As for other ingredients in this salad I might also suggest a handful of farro or barley but just as an accent, not to make it a main course.
I’m not sure the dressing is powerful enough to also season a large amount of grains.
But you can try it and let me know. 😛
Now that I mention it, I may try upping the grain count next time I make this to see how many grains it can handle.
Meanwhile, you can watch this video and see how I put this tasty Japanese style salad together!
🤔Question of the day- Have you tried yuzukosho before? how about mizuna?
lmk in the comments!
Print
Mizuna salad baby greens and yuzukosho dressing
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 2 people 1x
- Category: side
- Cuisine: Japanese
Ingredients
Salad ingredients
- 5 oz baby greens
- 1/2 bunch Mizuna (substitute with romaine or more baby greens)
- 1/2 piece japanese cucumber (thinly sliced)
- 2 Tbsp currants (or raisins, soaked in hot water)
- 10–15 cherry tomatoes (sliced in half)
Rice vinegar base and dressing
- 1/2 cup rice vinegar
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tsp yuzukosho (use 1tsp less for less spice or tsp more for more spicy)
- black pepper
Instructions
- Prepare all of your salad ingredients, chop / slice vegetables and add greens to a salad bowl.
- Next prepare the sweet rice vinegar base, mix the rice vinegar, sugar, and salt and stir to dissolve.
- Add in extra virgin olive oil and yuzukosho and stir to break apart the yuzukosho paste.
- Top greens with sliced tomatoes, sliced cucumbers, currants and dressing. Add freshly cracked black pepper to taste.
Konnichiwa! (Hello!) I'm Pat Tokuyama, a Japanese tofu cookbook author, who travels for music, food, and adventure. If you like Japanese tea, checkout some of the newestorganic japanese tea, matcha bowls and noren and more!
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