Japanese salad recipes

For the perfect mix of flavours, textures and presentation, you can’t go wrong with Japanese salad. From fresh ingredients such as leafy greens and mushrooms to delicious dressings that add a sweet and savoury flavour, there is much that makes Japanese salads so appealing.

Here are some of our favourite Japanese salad recipes:

Cabbage salad: Whether eaten as a side dish or as a main, Japanese cabbage salad is a delicious and easy-to-make recipe. Add some raw cabbage, carrots and almonds to a dish, mix well, and add a ginger dressing mixed with miso or peanut sauce for flavour.

Give our sweet chilli glazed tofu, chicken & Japanese-style salad a try for a tasty variation on this.

Cucumber salad: Often found in Japanese vinegared starter salads called sonomono, this salad is also super simple to make. Thinly slice some Japanese cucumbers and add your choice of dressing and seasoning to taste. Wakame seaweed, soy sauce, and rice vinegar are good dressing choices.

Try our apple, pea pods & cucumber salad for a delicious take on this Japanese cucumber recipe.

One of the best ways to add an authentic flavour to any Japanese salad dish is with a traditional wafu sauce. Wafu means Japanese salad dressing and offers a different take on the traditional vinaigrette.

Here is our recipe for creating your own tangy wafu salad dressing.

Choose your ingredients: You will first need some rice wine vinegar and soy sauce to create that delicious fusion of flavours wafu sauce is known for. Next, sugar (white or brown) is needed to sweeten the flavour.

Add grated chopped onion or garlic to taste, then add salt, black pepper, and a neutral cooking oil such as vegetable oil to enhance the taste without overwhelming it. Finally, add white sesame seeds to garnish the dressing.