The recipe for the delicious Japanese sesame sauce for all your seasonings and salads
Summer is coming to an end soon. Fortunately, with the warm weather, salads are still welcome at the table. Here, I offer you an essential of Japanese cuisine that goes hand in hand with salad, and particularly Shabu Shabu. Creamy and rich, Goma sauce, with its nutty flavor, has all the right qualities to make your dishes deliciously indulgent!
What is Goma-Dare Sauce?
Goma-Dare sauce is THE recipe not to be missed for sesame lovers. You can’t really go wrong on this one since “Goma-Dare” literally means “sesame sauce”.
Goma-Dare sauce is particularly effective with salads, as I mentioned above, but in Japan, it’s actually used quite regularly as a seasoning (like vinaigrette) or as a dipping sauce, whether for Sashimis, Udon or vegetable mixes, such as cabbage or steamed beans. You can also use it instead of gyoza sauce
I mentioned Shabu Shabu salad earlier, but you should know that it also pairs perfectly with beef Shabu Shabu. In short, there are plenty of reasons to enjoy Goma sauce!
Be careful not to confuse it with Wafu sauce or “Yum Yum” sauce, which can resemble Goma in many ways. Yum Yum is a mixture based on Kewpie mayonnaise. Since sesame has a distinct taste, you should notice the difference quite quickly. The color should also alert you.
As for Wafu sauce, let’s say it’s a bit more subtle, as it also contains sesame oil and even sesame seeds to make it. But its main ingredient is mainly soy sauce. Goma-Dare really has this creamy texture, a nutty taste due to the sesame, with sweet, salty, and umami flavors that can accompany a good number of dishes.
The Main Ingredients of Goma-Dare Sauce
Sesame paste: in several recipes, toasted sesame seeds are sometimes even added. These are often ground and thus help to enhance the sesame flavor while adding texture. For this recipe, we will simply use sesame paste. You can refer to Tahini, which is a kind of Mediterranean sesame cream, almost similar to the Japanese one.
Light soy sauce: since Goma sauce is a sweet and salty dressing, light soy sauce is an essential element to give it its salty side. Note that sesame paste is already quite sweet, not to mention the fact that we add sugar and honey to the preparation. Soy sauce helps to balance everything out.
Rice vinegar: alongside all these sweet, salty, and nutty flavors, rice vinegar adds a delicate touch of acidity. Just like a real vinaigrette!
Dashi: dashi = depth, intensity. Among all these flavors, dashi has the power to make the sauce a bit more complex than it was. Goma sauce is rich in umami thanks to this element. I also advise you to prepare your homemade dashi, the sauce will only be better!
Goma-Dare Sauce – Sesame Sauce
Ingredients
- 3.5 tablespoons of sesame paste such as tahini
- 15 ml light soy sauce
- 10 g of sugar
- 10 g of honey
- 20 ml rice vinegar
- 20 ml of dashi
- 1 pinch salt
Procédé
- In a bowl, start by mixing the sesame paste, sugar, and honey until the sugar dissolves3.5 tablespoons of sesame paste, 10 g of sugar, 10 g of honey
- Add soy sauce and rice vinegar, mix15 ml light soy sauce, 20 ml rice vinegar
- Gradually add the dashi, waiting for each addition to be well incorporated before adding the rest of the dashi20 ml of dashi
- Add salt and mix1 pinch salt
