Ever since I went low-fat and no-oil, I threw out all the oils in my household. Then when I moved temporarily into mom's house I did the same (with her blessing of course). Well, in each case we sent them to a friend who uses oil... so at least it wasn't wasteful. Regardless, it set me on a path to figure out oil-free dressings, as all of mine included some. Even though I always reduced the amount of oil I used, it was a learning curve. I was quite happy with this new invention using lemongrass, sriracha, and some apple cider vinegar. There are substitutions and options under the recipe below.
This recipe works perfectly for salads, or you can drizzle it over your favorite vegetables and grain / starch in a buddah bowl. It adds a great punch of flavor to your meal. I also love this drizzled over potatoes.
Spicy Ginger Lemongrass oil-free salad dressing
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 Tbsp lemongrass minced, from jar
- 2 Tbsp ginger minced
- 1 Tbsp maple syrup Or sub applesauce, or orange juice and/or stevia
- 2 tsp coconut aminos Sub Tamari or omit
- 2 tsp sriracha sauce or other hot sauce, to taste
- 1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a bowl and whisk well.
- Can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for at least a week.
Notes
Substitutes and other options
Here are some substitutes and other changes to this dressing.
- Sweetener: You may want to add a bit of sweetener to your dressing. I sometimes use stevia (I make my own cold pressed juice from leaves), maple syrup, or Dolcedi sweetener (made from apples). You could even use some apple sauce if you wish.
- Spicy: You can adjust the spice to taste. Chili garlic sauce or chili paste also works great in this recipe in place of the sriracha. Just make sure your sauce does not have any animal products in it (some hot sauces and chili sauces use anchovy, butter, and more - always read the label!)
- Lemongrass and ginger: I often use lemongrass and ginger that comes minced, but if I have fresh I use that instead. You can usually find minced in the grocery store, but it's also available online.
- Vinegar: I used apple cider vinegar for this, but you can use white wine vinegar or rice vinegar instead.
Jen deHaan
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Hi Jen,
When you refer to the minced lemon grass you get at the grocery store, are you referring to the dried? I see fresh long grass in blades (?) at the store, but not already minced. I have dried high quality lemon grass from Penney’s Spices that I can use. The recipe sure sounds promising!
It’s a wet product, like minced ginger or garlic (example – https://www.worldmarket.com/product/thai-heritage-minced-lemongrass.do). It might be easier to find at asian/international grocery stores, it’s at our small town regular grocery store in the produce section (in a tube next to the fresh herbs area)… it might be a fluke here in Canada. You could sub the fresh lemongrass if you can’t find it – there are some youtube videos on how to prep it in a similar way, I just haven’t minced it myself before – only used it in large chunks to flavor 🙂