With a hint of sweet and tangy Japanese plum flavor, this Ume Miso Dressing will liven up your summer salads! You’ll need to make a homemade miso blend in advance, and the rest is really simple.
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A couple of weeks ago I shared a condiment recipe – Homemade Ume Miso – that is amazingly drool-worthy. If you’ve made it, the homemade miso blend should be nicely mature and ready to use by now. The very first recipe I’d love for you to try is this Ume Miso Dressing (梅味噌ドレッシング). Bursting with bright, fruity, and zesty flavor, this is the dressing that makes the salad. You’re going to love it!
What is Ume Miso
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Ume Miso is a homemade miso blend made of 3 simple ingredients: seasonal ume plums, miso, and sugar. As long as you can access green ume plums, making this condiment is rather straightforward and you can use it in so many imaginable ways!
To make this special blend, I used one of my favorite Hikari Miso products – Enjuku Koji Miso. The miso has a natural sweetness and robust umami of koji, and when fermenting with ume plums and sugar for a month or two, it makes an inspiring flavor creation. Ume plums impart an incredibly floral aroma and flavor that is nothing alike.
Once you try it, you will be making this homemade miso blend again and again. Because you can’t find flavored miso like this at the grocery stores, consider it a one-of-a-kind condiment that you get to enjoy only at your own home.
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If you want to make Homemade Ume Miso, look for green ume plums in June (or read this post to learn about ume plums) and make the recipe!
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How to Make Ume Miso Dressing
Ingredients You’ll Needs
- Homemade ume miso
- Rice vinegar
- Oil (neutral-flavored)
- Sesame seeds
As you can tell, the dressing is super easy to make. So long you have the homemade ume miso ready, which is the star of the dressing, the rest is just a quick mix with vinegar, oil, and sesame seeds. Give it a good shake or whisk, you’ll get a remarkable dressing.
Overview: Cooking Steps
- Put all the ingredients in a jar and shake them all up (or whisk together in a bow).
- Drizzle over your salad and enjoy!
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The Dressing You Need for Simple Salads
With a refreshing dressing like this, you can really get down with simplicity. No fancy greens or pungent aromatics or cheese are needed at all. Here, I used the dressing over a combination of crisp iceberg lettuce, julienned carrot, cucumber, and tomato wedges. Fuss-free ingredients but still tastes glorious.
I’ve also used the dressing for all kinds of salad combinations. They all work fine as long as the ingredients have gentle flavor so the ume miso dressing shines through. Don’t be afraid to drizzle it over your summer grain bowls or grilled tofu either. Enjoy!
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Ume Miso Dressing
Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp Homemade Ume Miso (follow my recipe for Ume Miso)
- 1 Tbsp rice vinegar (unseasoned)
- 1 Tbsp neutral oil
- 1 tsp toasted white sesame seeds
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients.
- In a jar (or a small bowl), combine 3 Tbsp Homemade Ume Miso, 1 Tbsp rice vinegar (unseasoned), 1 Tbsp neutral oil, and 1 tsp toasted white sesame seeds.
- Shake the jar well (or whisk well) and drizzle over your prepared salad. Here, I have iceberg lettuce, julienned carrot, cucumber, and tomato wedges.
To Store
- You can keep the dressing in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
I love use and will definitely try this dressing. Thank you
Hi Judy! Thank you very much for reading Nami’s post and trying her recipe!
We hope you enjoyed Ume Miso Dressing!
For those of us who did not make your ume miso (😢), is it possible to make this dressing from umeboshi, miso, sugar, etc? I’m sure it’s not as good as this recipe, but in a pinch?
Hi Susan! Thank you very much for reading Nami’s post!
Unfortunately, Umeboshi is salted, and it has a red shiso flavor. The combination would be a different taste from Ume miso.
However, you can try this as a substitute for Ume Miso: 2~3 Tbsp Miso, 1 Umeboshi, 2 Tbsp Mirin, 1 Tbsp Sugar. Mix well and simmer in low heat until it gets warm-up and starting to boil. And please feel free to adjust the sweetness and salt level to your liking. 😉
We hope this helps!