Asian Sesame Salad Dressing

Whenever my sister, mom, or I are at a restaurant that serves Asian chicken salad, you can bet we'll order one and split it.  All three of us love any and all forms of this salad.  The secret is in the dressing.  I used to buy the Kraft Asian Toasted Sesame salad dressing so I could enjoy these flavors at home.  Here are the ingredients:

Ingredients: SOY SAUCE (WATER, WHEAT, SOYBEANS, SALT), SOYBEAN OIL, HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, WATER, APPLE CIDER VINEGAR, SUGAR, TOASTED SESAME SEEDS, CONTAINS LESS THAN 2% OF SPICE, GARLIC, CARAMEL COLOR, CITRIC ACID, GARLIC JUICE, XANTHAN GUM, PHOSPHORIC ACID, NATURAL FLAVOR, PROPYLENE GLYCOL ALGINATE, POLYSORBATE 60, VINEGAR, SALT, VITAMIN E. CONTAINS: SOYBEAN, WHEAT, SESAME SEED.

As I've stated before, vegetable oils are rancid, highly processed, made from GMO crops, and they cause heart disease and cancer.   High fructose corn syrup is also made from GMO corn and is a highly processed, highly refined sweetener I try hard to avoid.  It is listed as the third ingredient, which means there is an awful lot of it in there.  Get past the "less than 2%" section of the ingredients, and it all continues to go downhill from there.  I don't know what some of those things are, nor can I pronounce them, which is a pretty good indicator that these are not foods God created or intended for us to eat.  The "natural flavor" title can hide all sorts of things, including MSG.

But there's good news!  I have found a delicious recipe that is better than any Asian salad dressing I have ever tasted in a restaurant or in a bottle.

Asian Toasted Sesame Dressing

Inspired by this recipe at Kitchen Stewardship.

1 Tbs + 1 tsp sesame seeds
2 Tbs sesame oil (optional) plus extra virgin olive oil to make 1 cup
1/4 cup raw apple cider vinegar
3 Tbs soy sauce (San-J Tamari Soy Sauce is a good, naturally-fermented brand)

1 Tbs sweetener (honey, sucanut/rapadura, or maple syrup)
3-4 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp ginger

Lightly toast sesame seeds in a toaster oven (on low heat – about 300 degrees) or on stove top.  Combine sesame oil, olive oil, apple cider vinegar, soy sauce, sweetener, and garlic cloves in immersion blender cup.  Blend until emulsified and garlic is pureed.  Add toasted sesame seeds and blend until seeds are slightly ground.  Pour over salad with cooked chicken and enjoy!  This will keep in the fridge for a week or two (if it's not gone by then!).