Asian Influence: Ginger carrot dressing

By Jessie Lehail,
Special to The Post

I’m afraid of the vegetable grater. It doesn’t help that I’ve had a bloody incident or two using the grater. I never learned the art of grating carrots.
Grating carrots would not be such an issue if they were rarely eaten at my house. Carrot salad has been a mainstay at my home since childhood. It was always a mountain of shredded carrots, chopped iceberg lettuce, and diced onion mixed with Miracle Whip, and salt and pepper. 
I’ve elevated that simple carrot salad with this perfectly balanced dressing. This dressing tastes light and refreshing and a little bit tangy. The best part is that the food processor blends this dressing up quickly with almost zero effort. 
Don’t let the list of ingredients below intimidate you, it comes together rather quickly. You will find yourself drizzling this on just about everything. Try it with baby spinach, grated carrots, and chopped pistachios. 

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup unseasoned rice wine vinegar
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons mirin 
• 2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
• ½ small onion 
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 red chili (small) 
• 2 tablespoons white miso
• 1 teaspoon rai (mustard seeds) 
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger 
• 2 teaspoons garam masala 
• 2 large carrots, peeled and grated
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• Salt to taste   

Place all ingredients in a blender with 1/2 cup water and process until smooth.

Jessie Lehail is the author of Indian Influence, a food blog that takes global eats and reinterprets them with a South Asian influence. Visit her blog at www.indianinfluence.ca.