Let me apologize right off the bat for this post reading like an ad or sponsored content, or a 19th century Keatsian love letter, because there is no way Iโm going to get through the next two hundred words without going seriously heavy on the superlatives.
OMG! I THINK I FOUND THE SNACK TO END ALL SNACKS.
It all startedย near the sushi counterย in the prepared section of Whole Foods. (I fear for the day when someone annotates that sentence.) We were grabbing some lettuce wraps for lunch when Abby picked up a bottle of the stuff that would forever alter history. Or at least snack time.
โDo you think this is the dressing I love in Japanese restaurants?โ
It was a bottle ofย Genji Original Vegan Ginger-Miso Dressing. The packaging was nothing fancy. The color was bland. The price was โ well, at six bucks, it wasnโt a rip-off, but it wasnโt a bargain either. I was feeling generous, so we tossed it in the cart. (Plus, Iโll pay a premium for anything that has the potential to get a kid excited about salad.)
It was exactly the dressing she loved โ that we all love โ in the average $12-bento-box-lunch-special Japanese restaurant.
We became full-fledged Genji junkies. The label on the bottle calls it a โmarinadeโ and โsauce,โ but we quickly found the best way to serve it was as a dip alongside crispy, slightly-salted cucumber rounds, preferably at 4:00 when it would be so incredibly easy to go with the cookie instead. Or at 6:30 when youโre making dinner and really really really really want to bust out the bag of kettle chips. Or when your kidsโ friends come over, look skeptical, then proceed to obliterate the entire vegetable plate like itโs a cake-batter lined mixing bowl. We donโt limit ourselves to cucumbers: Carrots, bell peppers, sugar snaps, snow peasโฆthey all work as dippers. So do fingers. It doesnโt really matter because whatever you use is merely a vehicle to transport the tangy, gingery, vinegary, miso-y, oniony dip from the bowl to your mouth. If we could drink the stuff straight from the bottle, we would. Iโm actually not positive that hasnโt already happened.
Related: How to Kick a Dessert or Snack Habit;ย Three Steps to Healthier Days; The Sneal: Not a Snack, Not a Meal
Can we figure out how to make it?!
http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1012694-miso-ginger-dressing
It would be perfect if it didnโt have wheat in it but Iโll give it a go for those who can eat wheat โ who can resist the snack to end all snacks? (not me!)
My daughter discovered this dressing at Whole Foods recently and now refers to it as โlife sauce.โ As in, this sauce is MY LIFE! Delish.
@kathy โ your daughter should meet my daughter. that is so Abby.
Yum! Does this have to be refrigerated before opening, or is it shelf-stable? Cannot wait to order some and try it!
The best kind of snack: addicting-ly delicious and healthy ๐ We found some very small cucumbers from the farmerโs market โ they look like they are destine to be pickles โ and they are so sweet and tender! I bet they would be perfect with this dressing..thanks for sharing! โ Charlie, http://www.lemonbutterlove.com
They donโt sell it in Texas! I think I need to move, Looks delicious.
Deb Perelman at Smitten Kitchen has a recipe for a miso dressing that is very similarly addictive and costs a lot less. We use it all the time. Itโs the dressing she uses for this bowl (which is also a great family dinner, easily modifiable and deconstructable): http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2013/10/miso-sweet-potato-and-broccoli-bowl/
Deb Perelman at Smitten Kitchen has a recipe for a miso dressing that is very similarly addictive and costs a lot less. We use it all the time and always make a double recipe or more. Itโs the dressing she uses for this bowl (which is also a great family dinner, easily modifiable and deconstructable): http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2013/10/miso-sweet-potato-and-broccoli-bowl/
Our Costco (California) sells a version of this dressing for half the price.
Looks delicious! Thanks for inspiration.
Ran out to get the stuff as soon as I read this. I know itโs supposed to help with the vegetable-eating, so I feel a little bad coming back here to say how amazing it is as a pretzel dip! At our store, itโs inside the sushi case
Iโm nuts for this type of dressing @ restaurants. Iโve tried & failed to recreate it. Unfortunately, I canโt find any in my area. And that tracks with what the manufacturer states on their website. So basically, my fingers are crossed that it will show up on Amazon!
Thanks for this! I LOVE the ginger dressing at the Japanese steakhouse. We used to go there with my parents so much, when my two oldest sons were small, that they would ask for โhoo-bachiโ. Iโm so glad to know there is a ginger dressing we can have at home.