Culinary Copycat

by Meredith Antunez August 16, 2017

One of my favorite ways to find culinary inspiration is eating out. Even when a dish from a restaurant doesn't fire on all cylinders, the idea or components can lead me to something that does work. Some of my best known restaurant dishes back in the day were hybrids from entrees I ate while traveling. And sometimes, you come across something so perfect, the idea isn't to tweak it but to flat-out copy it.

Recently, my husband and I had lunch at our favorite local sushi place, Kai, and he ordered the seaweed salad. Honestly, I didn't think that sounded appealing at all, still don't, but I was wrong-it was magic. The star was the dressing, a bright orange ginger-infused sauce that would make cardboard appetizing, and even the seaweed itself coupled with the greens, had the perfect texture and heartiness. Practically my next stop was the grocery store to grab some ingredients and try my hand at making my own. After searching through a few recipes and playing around a bit, I landed on this recipe. It makes a fair amount, but it doesn't last long in our house.

Ginger-Carrot Dressing

Yields 2 cups

1 cup Vegetable oil

3/4 cup Rice Wine Vinegar

6 large Carrots, roughly chopped

7-8 Tbsp. Ginger, roughly chopped

Juice of one lime

3 Tbsp. Honey

3 Tbsp. Sesame Oil

4 Tbsp. White Miso

Combine all ingredients in blender and puree until smooth. Lasts one week in the refrigerator, simply shake before use to recombine.