The 5-Ingredient Tomato Salad I Make All Summer Long

Every summer, I lean on certain quick yet impressive salads and side dishes to serve at cookouts or take to a summer gathering. The requirements? They must be easy to make ahead, good at room temperature, and delicious enough that I want to eat them all summer long. 

One year, it was a Mexican street corn salad. Another year, green beans and tomatoes with a Dijon vinaigrette, and then a medley of mixed vegetables, charred, and tossed in vinegar for a grilled, zingy side.

Last summer, I was so blown away by the simplicity of what immediately became my go-to dish that I’ve been making it all year. It was Kay Chun’s Sesame Tomato Salad in The New York Times, which is truly something special. I had never really thought about combining sesame oil with tomatoes, and when I tried it, I couldn’t stop making it. I’m a huge fan of Chun’s simple yet flavorful recipes, and her Sesame Tomato Salad is a case in point. 

Sesame Oil for the Win

Tomato salads with sesame oil-based dressing are found in Southeast Asian cuisines, and when I started looking up recipes, a textural wonderland populated my computer screen. A Burmese tomato salad called for red or green tomatoes, fish sauce, fried shallots, and peanuts. A Vietnamese tomato sesame salad also called for some of those ingredients, as well as fennel and mixed herbs. The sesame-tomato bond runs deep, and the companions are many.

A Five-Ingredient Tomato Salad

Out of necessity or curiosity, I’ve tinkered with the ingredients and ratios in Chun’s Sesame Tomato Salad here and there. Stick to larger tomatoes, such as beefsteak or heirloom, over grape or cherry tomatoes, which don’t hold the dressing as well. 

While I can say that Chun’s original recipe is the gold standard, if you’re looking for a pared-down version with slightly less ingredients and less leftover dressing, below is a five-ingredient version that gets the job done nicely. 

Let this be a framework for experimenting with your own version of combining tomatoes and sesame oil. The salad goes especially well with seafood. I like it topped with canned tuna or as a side to seared tuna.

How To Make My 5-Ingredient Tomato Salad

To make 4 servings, you’ll need:

• 1 1/2 pounds (3 to 4 medium) tomatoes, cut into chunks 
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 1/2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar 
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar 

Place the chopped tomatoes in a colander resting over a plate. Sprinkle with the salt. Let sit for 15 minutes. You’ll be left with around 2 tablespoons of salty and delicious tomato water. Use this in vinaigrettes, cocktails, whatever you like. (Thank you, Rosie Gill of Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street for this pro tip!)

While the tomatoes are resting, whisk together the soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, and sugar in a serving bowl.

Lift the strainer away from the plate and gently shake the tomatoes to remove excess liquid. Toss the strained tomatoes in the dressing and mix gently with clean hands or a spoon. If you’re adding in chopped cucumber, sliced shallots, or avocado, do so now. Wait to add sesame seeds or fresh herbs until just before serving. 

You can serve the salad right away or let it sit out for a few hours at room temperature, where the tomatoes will benefit from more time to soak up the dressing. Store tightly covered leftovers in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days. If time allows, bring to room temperature before serving again.

Optional Add-Ins

If you’re looking to bring in more texture, whether it’s raw and crunchy, crispy, creamy, or all of the above, I’ve tried a few add-ins that I highly recommend. 

Chopped cucumbers are a fresh and crunchy no-brainer. Finely sliced onion or shallot, soaked in ice water for five minutes to diminish the bite, add crunch and a bit of bite. Avocado makes this light salad a little more luscious, and toasted sesame seeds up the nutty factor. Finally, fresh herbs like basil, cilantro, and mint aren’t required, but they really bring this salad home.