Tomato Myoga Salad dressed with a simple vinaigrette made of sesame oil, rice vinegar, soy sauce, and toasted sesame seeds. This fast and refreshing salad is an ode to Japanese summer.
With abundant tomatoes in the season, we always have room for a simple salad that shines the light on the summer bounty. This Tomato Myoga Salad (トマトとミョウガのサラダ) couldn’t be any easier! Jazzed up with the heavenly Japanese ginger flower and a refreshing vinaigrette, it makes a beautiful side dish for your lunch or dinner.
Delicious and Quick Homemade Dressing
A good dressing doesn’t take much. When I need to keep in line with the simplicity theme, I’d go with the combination of 3 condiments – mainly sesame oil, rice vinegar, and soy sauce. They are the pantry staples in Japanese and Asian households.
To help bring out the flavors, I added a touch of sugar but you can leave out if you prefer. And for the final touch, toss in a handful of roasted sesame seeds.
The result is bright yet hits on every note that you need for a dressing, making it a versatile addition to many simple salad dishes.
What is Myoga?
One ingredient that makes the salad stands out is Myoga, a type of Japanese ginger that comes in unopened flower buds. Unique to Japanese and Korean cuisines, this perennial plant is available in the summertime. It has a mild gingery taste and an amazing floral aroma that is hard to explain. But once you try it you will never forget.
In the US, you can find myoga from Japanese grocery stores like Mitsuwa or Nijiya or Tokyo Central. Or if you are looking to add another edible plant to your growing garden, check out this seller on Etsy.
Substitution: If you can’t find myoga, simply replace it with ginger or young ginger (which has a milder taste than regular ginger). You can soak the julienned ginger to tame the spiciness.
What to Serve with Tomato Myoga Salad
Such a refreshing salad would go with any main dishes, but here are my suggestions:
- Hamburger Steak (Hambagu)
- Vegetable Gyoza
- Yakitori
- Miso Chicken
- Pork Shumai (Steamed Pork Dumplings)
- Soboro Don
Wish to learn more about Japanese cooking? Sign up for our free newsletter to receive cooking tips & recipe updates! And stay in touch with me on Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, and Instagram.
Tomato Myoga Salad
Ingredients
- 2 tomatoes (500 g, 17.6 oz)
- 2 myoga ginger (17 g, 0.6 oz; you can substitute 2 thin slices of ginger, preferably mild-flavored young ginger)
For the Dressing
- 1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 1 tsp rice vinegar (unseasoned)
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- ½ tsp sugar
- 1 tsp toasted white sesame seeds
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients.
- Cut 2 tomatoes into wedges and cut each wedge into 2–3 pieces (depending on the size of the tomato).
- Remove the stem end of 2 myoga ginger and slice it diagonally into thin pieces. If you are using regular ginger, cut the 2 thin slices into julienned strips and soak in water for 5 minutes. This will help remove the strong gingery taste.
- Put the tomatoes and myoga in a medium bowl. Add 1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil, 1 tsp rice vinegar (unseasoned), 1 tsp soy sauce, and ½ tsp sugar.
- Add 1 tsp toasted white sesame seeds and toss all together to coat with the dressing. It is more refreshing when it’s chilled for at least 15–30 minutes before serving.
- Serve the Tomato Myoga Salad individually or in a large serving bowl. Enjoy!
Simple and delicious! Perfect for a light lunch using fresh tomatoes from my garden. I didn’t have myoga ginger, so I used some grated ginger root. I could probably eat every day while my fresh tomatoes last.
Hello, Chris! Wow! Fresh tomatoes from your garden must have contributed the perfect taste to this recipe.
Thank you so much for trying Nami’s recipe and for your kind feedback!😃
Hello Nami,
I can’t get myoga here, where I live. However I wonder whether I could use ginger leaves. Of course I can use ginger root (soaked, as you advise), but I like experiments… Do you think it would work?
Hi Anna! Thank you very much for reading Nami’s post!
She’s never used ginger leaves before, so she’s not sure how the outcome will be… please let us know how it goes!
This recipe was delicious and so easy to make! Thanks Nami! <3
Hi Sheila! I’m so glad you liked the recipe! Thank you for giving this recipe a go! 🙂
When a recipe says rice vinegar, is it always unseasoned?
Hi Barb! Yes, when it’s seasoned (with sugar, salt etc), we call it Sushi Vinegar (Sushizu すし酢) and used it for making Sushi Rice (that we only use for sushi recipes, not regular steamed rice). I make my own sushi vinegar, but it’s helpful when you don’t have time, you can just use sushi vinegar.
Here in the US, sushi vinegar is labeled as “Seasoned Rice Vinegar” or something like that. If you want to buy just one, I would suggest getting rice vinegar (so you can use it for various recipes including making sushi vinegar). 🙂
Thank you for the info. I always wondered about the difference!
Hi Barb! Glad you know the difference now. 🙂
This is great, I’ve been looking to do some more varieties of salads and it sounds delicious!
BTW, if you guys ever considered having a subscription to remove ads I’d whip out my credit card in a second! I use recipes from this website almost every day so I feel like I owe you guys something.
Hi Brent! Thank you for your kind words. We will email you regarding the subscription. 🙂