Chilli Soy Dressing

Zesty and bold, our chilli soy dressing combines the umami richness of soy sauce with a hint of heat from chilli flakes. Ready in minutes, it’s a salad dressing recipe that uses simple ingredients with a big impact!

Why You’ll Love This Salad Dressing with Soy Sauce

Asian salad dressings are some of the best recipes you can make for such a variety of salads. A good soy sauce dressing recipe is bold, flavourful and umami-packed. It always adds a savoury and rich taste that can elevate simple salad ingredients and bring them to new heights.

This homemade soy sauce dressing is yet another classic example of a recipe using pantry staples, which makes it a convenient option when you are time-poor. Learning to make this Asian dressing will open so many other possibilities for future salads and vegetables.

It is quick and easy to make and come together in a short period of time. 

It is also incredibly versatile in use. Not only is it a great salad dressing, but you can also use it as a marinade for grilled meats, drizzle it over roasted vegetables or even add it to a simple stir fry.

By making it yourself at home, you can customise the recipe to your liking to suit its use.

We also love that this umami salad dressing works for meal prep, requires no cooking and tastes so darn good!

If you like the sound of this dressing, you should also try out our salty tamarind dressing and ponzu dressing.

What Are the Different Types of Soy Sauce?

Do you ever stand in front of the soy sauce shelf in the supermarket, especially in the Asian supermarkets and wonder which soy sauce you should get?

Like many condiments that have been around for a very long time, you can appreciate that soy sauce has different qualities, and for the ultimate connoisseur, there is a vast difference between them all. 

If you’re wanting to make a salad dressing with soy sauce, it pays to know the different variations:

Natural vs. chemical: Made from soybeans, water, wheat and salt, natural soy sauces are fermented for over 2 years. Yup, just like a good wine or cheese. Its flavours are quite complex, and much like wine, they all differ in their tastes based on the soy sauce maker.

Chemically produced soy sauces are manipulated with lots of different additives so it’s made in just a few days for mass production. It has the same consistent salty flavour across the board.

Chinese vs. Japanese: Chinese soy sauce was originally made without wheat, but the modern-day process includes wheat flour, which gives it a slightly thicker consistency.

Japanese soy sauce uses roasted wheat and the flavours are more robust and sweeter than the Chinese version.

Light vs. dark: The difference between light and dark soy is dictated by the aging process. The longer it’s aged, the darker it becomes.

Most Japanese soy sauces are considered dark, while most Chinese soy sauces are light. However, to confuse you even more, you can get specific Chinese dark soy sauces, too!

For this salad dressing with soy sauce recipe, I used the Chinese soy sauce as I wanted a lighter and saltier finish.

Ingredients

These are the ingredients you need for chilli soy dressing:

• Rice wine vinegar: Be sure that you have purchased rice wine vinegar and not just rice wine. 2 very different products and will make a very salad dressing if only wine is poured in! If you have ever come across Shaoxing, mirin, or sake, these are wines only. No bacteria have been added to the fermentation process to turn the alcohol into acid.

• Soy sauce: Avoid using dark soy sauce for this dressing as the flavours are too strong and the consistency won’t be right. You can use light soy sauce or normal soy sauce. If you need this to be gluten free, substitute with tamari.

• Fish sauce: Add some pungent fish sauce to the mix to really elevate the flavours.

• Chilli flakes: I wanted to add some heat to the dressing without using a flavoured chilli sauce. I also didn’t want to use fresh chilli so I could control how spicy this would be. Fresh chillies are unpredictable in terms of how spicy they are. So, using chilli flakes means there are no surprises and is always consistent.

• Garlic: Can’t have an Asian salad dressing without garlic. For this recipe we need time for the garlic to really permeate the dressing.

• Lime: A fresh citrusy addition makes this dressing more delicious.

Variations and Substitutions

Lime substitute: If you’re not a fan of lime or it’s not in season, so it’s not affordable, lemon or even orange would work well.

Rice wine vinegar options: If you don’t have rice wine vinegar, substitute white wine vinegar or even a touch of apple cider vinegar. The flavour profile might differ slightly, but it will still be delicious.

Ginger addition: Adding ginger to a soy sauce salad dressing is a marriage made in heaven as it infuses a warm, aromatic flavour. Just grate a small knob into the dressing. Try our ginger soy dressing recipe or for something a little sweeter, our plum and ginger dressing.

Sesame oil addition: This quick soy sauce dressing is oil free however it would work well with a teaspoon of sesame oil. This just enhances the nutty flavour profile.

Gluten free option: For a gluten-free salad dressing, substitute soy sauce with tamari or try our tamari lime dressing.

Vegan option: For a vegan salad dressing version, replace fish sauce with a splash of coconut aminos or vegan Worcestershire sauce. Achieves a similar umami flavour without animal products.

Fresh herbs: Herbs are always welcome in salad dressings. To elevate the recipe with vibrant green flavours, try adding Asian-friendly herbs such as cilantro, Thai basil, or mint.

Chilli flakes alternative: This recipe would work with fresh bird’s eye chilli. Remove the seeds to tame the spice levels. Otherwise, just chop them up and add them to the dressing. Let it sit for 10 minutes for the heat to infuse into the liquid.

Alternatively, some Asian hot sauce such as sriracha, sambal oelek and Lao Gan Ma chilli oil would set this recipe on fire too!

Instructions

Step by step instructions for how to make chilli soy dressing:

For this salad dressing with soy sauce, make it before you start your salad. You need to let the garlic do its work and allow it time to infuse with the rest of the ingredients.

Crush one garlic clove to release its pungent aromas.

Add the crushed garlic in the mixing bowl. Add rice wine vinegar, lime juice, fish sauce and soy sauce.

Then add the chilli flakes and mix until well combined.

Leave it for a minimum of 30 minutes. You can always make this ahead of time and leave it overnight.

How to Store

Store this salad dressing with soy sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week. Shake well before using, as the ingredients may separate. 

Best Salad for This Dressing

Rainbow Vermicelli Salad with Soy Dressing

A celebration of colours, this Asian Vermicelli Salad delivers on flavour and presentation. Mixed through with aromatic Vietnamese mint, crunchy sugar snap peas and pungent fish sauce, this salad will soon become a dinner party favourite!