The First course for Mother's Day I did was a small and simple salad. It was mixed greens with spinach and some fresh tomato slices from my parents garden, a little bit of green onion and some shaved carrot pieces. Topped with the Sweet Soy Balsamic dressing.

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Salads make a great first course, though what is a salad without a dressing? Well, it’s pretty healthy for one thing… but it’s also kind of bland!

So here we have one of my personal favorite homemade dressings, my Sweet Soy Balsamic Vinaigrette. It uses something called Sweet Soy Sauce which I can only ever find in Asian markets. It is a soy sauce that is VERY sweet and pours like molasses.

A thing to note on dressing making, particularly a vinaigrette, is you are creating an emulsion when you combine the oil with the vinegar. When adding the oil add it VERY slowly at first while whisking very fast. To make this easier do it in a broad enough bowl you have plenty of room, rounded edge, and set it so it’s nestled onto something that it won’t move so you can have hands free. A small towel wrapped around it works nicely. Or… Just use a food processor.

I use dried herbs for this, since I usually have extra from the recipe, but you can use fresh herbs for a brighter flavor.

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Setup and Making:

3 tbsp Sweet Soy Sauce
3 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
1 Tsp Dried Basil
½ Tsp Garlic Powder
1 Tsp Dried Onion Flakes
2/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

Start by mixing together everything except the Olive Oil. Whisk them together well, then SLOWLY, drizzle in the olive oil. Take your time initially, you can slowly add more quickly once it starts to come together. At first it’ll look thin but as you add in the oil and whisk rapidly it should start to thicken. (Or, Put all but the oil in a food processor, turn it on then drizzle in the olive oil until all incorporated.)

Chill in the fridge for a couple hours and then serve. Holds well for up to a couple of weeks. Great on salads, bread dipping, as a marinade, or a drizzle on steak, chicken, or pork.