Does traditional Japanese ginger salad dressing contain dairy?
June 8, 2010 10:23 PM
Does the traditional ginger salad dressing served in Japanese restaurants contain dairy?
I have asked at a few restaurants and they have told me that they're pretty certain there's no dairy, but can't tell me for sure. Can you?
I have asked at a few restaurants and they have told me that they're pretty certain there's no dairy, but can't tell me for sure. Can you?
Gari does not contain dairy. It uses rice vinegar, sugar, and salt ... and ginger, of course. Dairy would kind of ruin it, I think.
posted by Xere at 10:30 PM on June 8, 2010
posted by Xere at 10:30 PM on June 8, 2010
Depends on what restaurant - a lot of Teriyaki places serve a miso-y mayo-based dressing, which contains eggs but usually no milk products. I've also seen miso-carrot-ginger dressings, which also have no dairy.
posted by rossination at 10:31 PM on June 8, 2010
posted by rossination at 10:31 PM on June 8, 2010
smoke, it's not the whole pieces of sushi ginger to which I'm referring (and Xere, yours doesn't look like it either), but the sort of yellowish-brown gingery dressing that comes on the Japanese "house" salads.
posted by jitterbug perfume at 10:40 PM on June 8, 2010
posted by jitterbug perfume at 10:40 PM on June 8, 2010
Assuming we're hearing from a US poster, I'm pretty sure we're not talking about ponzu or gari. "traditional" should, perhaps, read "customary".
Rather, I think we're talking about a soy-ginger salad dressing. Which contains no dairy. [I've bought the commercial stuff, too. I don't believe they contain dairy, either. They're certainly not a cream-based dressing like, for instance, Ranch.]
posted by Netzapper at 10:44 PM on June 8, 2010
Rather, I think we're talking about a soy-ginger salad dressing. Which contains no dairy. [I've bought the commercial stuff, too. I don't believe they contain dairy, either. They're certainly not a cream-based dressing like, for instance, Ranch.]
posted by Netzapper at 10:44 PM on June 8, 2010
I think dairy product arrived in Japan with the American occupation in 1945.
posted by hortense at 10:56 PM on June 8, 2010
posted by hortense at 10:56 PM on June 8, 2010
Also, here are some reverse engineered Benihana recipes. That's the chain Japanese steakhouse in the US, I'm told.
posted by Netzapper at 11:00 PM on June 8, 2010
posted by Netzapper at 11:00 PM on June 8, 2010
You did not read my link very well, methinks: "Ponzu (ポン酢?) is a citrus-based sauce commonly used in Japanese cuisine. It is tart, with a thin, watery consistency and a light yellow color. "
posted by smoke at 11:14 PM on June 8, 2010
posted by smoke at 11:14 PM on June 8, 2010
I'm pretty sure the ginger house salad dressing at one local place contains mayo.
posted by MonkeySaltedNuts at 11:38 PM on June 8, 2010
posted by MonkeySaltedNuts at 11:38 PM on June 8, 2010
It quite likely might contain Kewpie mayonnaise, which is ubiquitous in Japan and slightly different than American mayo. That would account for any creaminess.
posted by acidic at 11:53 PM on June 8, 2010
posted by acidic at 11:53 PM on June 8, 2010
I just made up a batch of the salad dressing I linked to above, although I used ground ginger since I'm out of the fresh stuff. Had a delicious iceberg salad with it.
Exactly what I've gotten at every Japanese steakhouse to which I've ever gone (minus the fresh ginger, though).
I'm pretty sure the ginger house salad dressing at one local place contains mayo.
Yes, maybe, but mayonnaise isn't dairy. It's an emulsion of oil and lemon/vinegar, with egg yolk as the standard emulsifier--but it doesn't have to be, as you can use just about any colloid (including a pinch of xanthan gum and agar).
posted by Netzapper at 11:58 PM on June 8, 2010
Exactly what I've gotten at every Japanese steakhouse to which I've ever gone (minus the fresh ginger, though).
I'm pretty sure the ginger house salad dressing at one local place contains mayo.
Yes, maybe, but mayonnaise isn't dairy. It's an emulsion of oil and lemon/vinegar, with egg yolk as the standard emulsifier--but it doesn't have to be, as you can use just about any colloid (including a pinch of xanthan gum and agar).
posted by Netzapper at 11:58 PM on June 8, 2010
Not on preview:
It quite likely might contain Kewpie mayonnaise, which is ubiquitous in Japan and slightly different than American mayo. That would account for any creaminess.
You don't need anything to make it creamy. Since all of the recipes call for oil and several watery ingredients, you simply need to beat the ever-loving hell out of it and you'll get an emulsion. You're essentially making mayonnaise in the process of making any of these recipes. It would help to throw in an egg yolk or some xanthan gum, though, to hold the emulsion.
posted by Netzapper at 12:04 AM on June 9, 2010
It quite likely might contain Kewpie mayonnaise, which is ubiquitous in Japan and slightly different than American mayo. That would account for any creaminess.
You don't need anything to make it creamy. Since all of the recipes call for oil and several watery ingredients, you simply need to beat the ever-loving hell out of it and you'll get an emulsion. You're essentially making mayonnaise in the process of making any of these recipes. It would help to throw in an egg yolk or some xanthan gum, though, to hold the emulsion.
posted by Netzapper at 12:04 AM on June 9, 2010
Though there is the possibility that different restaurants use different dressings, there is the ubiquitous soy ginger dressing that is used most often, and no it doesn't contain dairy.
Japanese cuisine still cherishes tradition over innovation for the most part, and while there is certainly adjusting for local tastes, if there is an accepted traditional recipe for something, that is generally the one that is used, with maybe some slight variations.
There is not a lot of dairy happening in most Japanese restaurants, and if dairy is something that you're sensitive to, Japanese is one of the better options for eating out (this is coming from the owner of a Japanese restaurant-I can't think of a single dairy item in the house).
posted by newpotato at 5:05 AM on June 9, 2010
Japanese cuisine still cherishes tradition over innovation for the most part, and while there is certainly adjusting for local tastes, if there is an accepted traditional recipe for something, that is generally the one that is used, with maybe some slight variations.
There is not a lot of dairy happening in most Japanese restaurants, and if dairy is something that you're sensitive to, Japanese is one of the better options for eating out (this is coming from the owner of a Japanese restaurant-I can't think of a single dairy item in the house).
posted by newpotato at 5:05 AM on June 9, 2010
I'm confident that the usual soy ginger dressing doesn't contain any dairy ingredients.
HOWEVER!
You may or may not know that real, genuine wasabi is very expensive. In its place, the vast majority of restaurants actually serve a prepared paste consisting of wasabi, white horseradish, food coloring and for some reason... lactose.
If you're lactose-intolerant, and are finding yourself having trouble at Japanese restaurants, the wasabi may be the culprit.
posted by Faint of Butt at 7:02 AM on June 9, 2010
HOWEVER!
You may or may not know that real, genuine wasabi is very expensive. In its place, the vast majority of restaurants actually serve a prepared paste consisting of wasabi, white horseradish, food coloring and for some reason... lactose.
If you're lactose-intolerant, and are finding yourself having trouble at Japanese restaurants, the wasabi may be the culprit.
posted by Faint of Butt at 7:02 AM on June 9, 2010
« Older Help me weed older fiction from my elementary... | What to do with 12 hours at Dulles? Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by smoke at 10:29 PM on June 8, 2010