Most people use some kind of dressing on their salad. I’m sure you do as well.
In this article, I’m going to present my delicious go-to brand!

This isn’t any ordinary dressing. It’s a fresh dressing made with local fruits and vegetables from Setouchi.

The Fresh Dressing Store – Bimi-foods

Located in Naruto City, Tokushima Prefecture, Bimi-foods opened in 2010. They Specialize in making and selling handmade fresh dressing.

Inside their store a large number of dressing bottles are on display, much like at a cake shop. Regular dressing contains food preservatives so it can be stored at room temperature. However, as fresh dressing does not contain any preservatives, it has to be stored cool in refrigerators, as they do here.

Concentrated Setouchi Freshness

The dressing is made in the kitchen at the back of the store. Created exclusively from locally grown fruits and vegetables from Setouchi such as carrots, onions, lemons and so on, it is no exaggeration to say that this is the reason for its great taste. Store representative Hara tells me that, “Making fresh dressing starts with looking for the very best ingredients. Once you’ve found your ingredients, then it’s time to think about what kind of dressing you’re going to make.” Made from numerous kinds and combinations of fruits and vegetables, the store offers a wide variety of different dressings. I’m going to introduce four below.

The Main Part Of The Dish

The first one is the Setouchi Salt and Lemon Fresh Dressing. The lemons are from the Setouchi islands, the salt comes from Naruto, and the other ingredients include olive oil, pepper, basil and more. The acidity of the lemon gives it a refreshing taste, and makes it easy to eat a lot of vegetables! I’m sure it tastes really great when you’re feeling less than 100% well, too. It goes great with a green salad, or a capaccio.

Appearing on the menu since the very beginning, the next one is the Original Fresh Dressing. As well as containing lots of Setouchi carrots, it also includes onions, apples, and Wasabon sugar from Awa, and has a unique flavor. The sweetness of the carrots, the freshness of the apples, and the added salt go perfectly together. It can be used on salads, of course, but it’s also good on chicken and pork, and other meat dishes. I used it as a sauce on some steamed chicken.

The third one is the Maindooji Fresh Dressing Sauce Shallot. The recipe was created by the chef at the hugely popular Naruto izakaya (Japanese pub) Maindooji. It contains shallots from Naruto, and is quite creamy and rich. This all-purpose dressing can be used on salads, grilled meat, pasta, grilled fish, boiled tofu, and many other kinds of foods. The picture above is Hara’s recommendation. It’s a bowl of rice with sliced onions, fish cutlets, and a hearty portion of the dressing on top as a sauce. The shallots make it really delicious!

The final one is the Premium G Fresh Dressing. I used it as a dip sauce for a bagna cauda. It’s very rich and really packs a punch. Ingredients include carrots, onions, apples, garlic, and Setouchi anchovies. It’s incredibly tasty, and the anchovies add that little extra to it. Regular dressings usually play the supporting role, but this one is the main act, and is my particular favorite.

Ordering Fresh Dressing

The store sells a large variety, so please come and have a look the next time you visit Tokushima. The staff will tell you about the characteristics of each dressing, and you will be able to find your own favorite. The store also sells its products online, so if you can’t come all the way to the store, check out their website.

Try Bimi-foods’ fresh dressing and your cooking will change dramatically!

Handmade Dressing – Bimi-foods
Address: 6-15-105 Matsushima Muyacho Kurosaki, Naruto City, Tokushima Prefecture
Tel: 088-684-2018
Open: 9:00 – 18:00
Closed: Sundays and national holidays
Parking: Available
http://www.bimi-foods.com/

Setouchi Finder Photo-writer: Daisuke Chiba