This Hibachi Ginger Dressing is popular at most Japanese-inspired restaurants. Make it at home with a few ingredients for a slightly sweet, tangy, and flavorful salad dressing.
This ginger dressing is inspired by other recipes that have been shared on the blog to make the perfect Hibachi night meal at home. It pairs well with a simple salad, Hibachi Style Fried Rice topped with Yum Yum Sauce, and Hibachi Chicken.
Before You Make, Read This!
💬 The Vibe: Zesty, fresh, and full of that restaurant-style flavor, this ginger dressing is a game-changer for homemade hibachi nights. It's the same dressing you know and love from Japanese steakhouses, only better because you can make it anytime.
🔑 What You Gotta Know: A blender is your best friend, skip the hand-chopping and get a smooth, pourable dressing fast. Don’t skip the celery! It’s the unexpected star that gives this dressing its signature flavor and texture. Use fresh ginger and garlic if you can; it makes all the difference in brightness and bite.
🍴 Best Bite Alert: The moment it hits a crisp iceberg salad? Instant throwback to the first course at your favorite hibachi grill, refreshing, tangy, and totally addictive.

Eating at a Japanese inspired steakhouse or hibachi restaurant has always been fun!
What is there not to love about a good casual dining experience. You get to sit around a piping hot flat top grill with a chef preparing a meal in front of you. If you're lucky you will also get some fake condiment squeezed at you and witness a flaming pile of onion slices simulating a moving choo choo train.
It is the best food and entertainment experience.
While I love going out to the restaurant to get my hibachi fix, I also love making the same dishes at home. It's not too difficult to recreate the same meal at home, especially the ginger dressing.
Let's get started!
Ingredient Notes

- Onion - Use any onion that you prefer or have on hand. Yellow, white, and Vidalia are all great options.
- Olive Oil - Oil is the main ingredient when it comes to making any good salad dressing. You may substitute olive oil for avocado oil, vegetable oil, or peanut oil instead.
- Rice Vinegar - Made with fermented rice and helps to give the dressing its mild but slightly sweet flavor.
- Ginger - Fresh ginger works best in this recipe. If you prefer to use pre-minced ginger, then you may use that as well.
- Celery - Allows the Japanese ginger dressing to have a slight crunch and gives it a fresh, neutral flavor. Do not omit this ingredient.
- Ketchup - Helps to add sweetness and thicken the dressing.
- Soy Sauce - Adds salty and meaty flavor to the dressing. A staple in hibachi dishes. Coconut aminos could be used as a substitute.
- Granulated Sugar - This will balance the saltiness and tangy flavor of the dressing.
- Lemon Juice - Liquid and acid are needed for the salad dressing. Try to use fresh lemon juice.
- Garlic - A small amount is needed in this salad recipe. Use fresh garlic and mince it yourself, or use pre-minced garlic that comes in a jar, just make sure there are no additional ingredients.
- Salt - Season the dressing, just add a small amount.
- Ground Black Pepper - Another season to balance the dressing, just add a small amount.
👉🏾 See the recipe card below for exact quantities and full instructions.
Instructions
Begin the recipe by mincing the onion, garlic, celery, and ginger.
*You may also roughly chop all of these ingredients into small pieces and add them to a blender instead to process for 1 to 2 minutes.
Next, to the blender, add the olive oil, rice vinegar, ketchup, soy sauce, granulated sugar, lemon juice, salt, and ground black pepper. Place the top on the blender and blend the ingredients at high speed for about 30 seconds or until the mixture is pureed.

Serve on top of a simple salad and store any leftovers in the refrigerator to use later. Enjoy!

Equipment Needed
To make this homemade ginger salad dressing, you will need a blender or food processor. Any blender will work, and it does not necessarily have to be a high-powered powered expensive blender. The blender that I use and love is a Vitamix Professional Series 750. You may also add all of the ingredients into a food processor and process until the mixture is pureed, and it will work just as well.
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Storage Tips
Be sure to store any unused salad dressing in an airtight container or jar in the refrigerator. This homemade dressing will keep for up to 5 days.

Make It a Full Hibachi Night
This dressing is part of my at-home hibachi series! Serve it with:
For more salad dressing inspiration:
If you give this Hibachi Ginger Dressing a try, I’d love to know what you think! Did it take you back to your favorite Japanese steakhouse?
Leave a comment below, share a photo on Instagram and tag @SimplyLaKita, or save it on Pinterest for your next hibachi night.
📖 Recipe

Hibachi Ginger Dressing
Video
Equipment
- Blender
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons fresh ginger, minced
- ½ cup onion, minced
- 2 tablespoons celery, minced
- ½ teaspoon garlic, minced
- ½ cup olive oil
- ⅓ cup rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons ketchup
- 4 teaspoons soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Begin the recipe by mincing the ½ cup onion, ½ teaspoon garlic, 2 tablespoons celery, and the 2 tablespoons of fresh ginger.
- *You may also roughly chop all of these ingredients into small pieces and add them to a blender instead to process for 1 to 2 minutes.
- Next, to the blender, add the ½ cup olive oil, ⅓ cup rice vinegar, 2 tablespoons ketchup, 4 teaspoons soy sauce, 2 teaspoons granulated sugar, 2 teaspoons lemon juice, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper.
- Place the top on the blender and blend the ingredients at high speed for about 30 seconds or until the mixture is pureed.
- Serve on top of a simple salad and store any leftovers in the refrigerator to use later. Enjoy!
Nashla Mercado says
BEST. DRESSING. EVER.
LaKita says
Yesss! This made my day, thank you!! So happy you loved it. 🥰
Gail says
I really didn’t think that I could create the ginger dressing at home. It’s not so often that I find myself at a hibachi restaurant so just basing the taste according to memory it’s spot on. More ingredients and prep than I am used to but it is worth it! Letting the prepared dressing sit for a bit allows all of the flavors marry deliciously. Thanks!
LaKita says
Thank you Gail! I'm glad that you're enjoying the ginger dressing 🙂
Tom says
great dressing! I use tomato paste instead of ketchup and a neutral oil instead of olive.
LaKita says
Thank you so much, Tom! I love the substitutions you made, especially using tomato paste instead of ketchup!
Brandy says
This is an AMAZING recipe for Japanese Ginger Dressing!! Me personally however, I felt as if I could have been okay with a little less oil and maybe a tad bit more sweetness but not much more if this makes any sense. I go to this great Japanese Hibachi restaurant here where I live and the first thing they always serve is salad with ginger dressing 🤤 I've been trying to find it in stores, get them to sell it to me or find a recipe and this recipe is the closest I've found!! Thank you 😊
LaKita says
Thank you Brandy! I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed the recipe. While it's not exactly as the Japanese Hibachi restaurants, I'm happy to hear that you though it was close 🙂