The Power of Goma-ae, or Sesame Dressing

Here's another dish from another one of my Japanese cookbooks, this one titled "Gentle Vegetables, Gentle Tableware." This book features gorgeous shots of foods arranged in simple yet rustic and breathtaking tableware. There are no recipes, per se, just a list of ingredients for each dish, and the author's thoughts on the cooking. These thoughts, though, are heavy. Take the dish pictured above, corn and blanched and shocked green beans dressed with goma-ae (sesame dressing). Goma-ae is simplicity itself: The way I make it is 2 tablespoons sesame seeds, ground, mixed with 1 teaspoon sugar (I use a blonde Japanese cane sugar, which has a lovely sweetness) and 1 tablespoon soy sauce. You can adjust these proportions to your own taste, and of course up quantities proportionally depending on how much you're cooking.

Now here's where it gets interesting: As the author explains, the simple acts of how you toast the sesame seeds and how you grind them, can create totally different dishes from the same ingredients. So in the photo above, I lightly toasted the sesame seeds in a dry skillet (still blonde) and ground them in a suribachi until they became a paste like peanut butter, then added the sugar and soy sauce and mixed everything smooth. This created a delicate goma-ae that complimented the delicate sweetness of the corn. On the other hand, the author explains, you can toast the sesame seeds until they brown and release their amazing fragrance (be careful not to burn), then grind them roughly before combining with sugar and soy sauce. The result now is a totally different goma-ae, one with a different flavor, different fragrance and different mouth feel - a dressing that works amazing with just blanched and shocked green beans.

A Japanese chef once described her cuisine to me as one characterized by laser-focused intent and precision. Even a home cook in a home kitchen can tap into this, just by preparing something as simple as sesame dressing.

Posted by Harris Salat in Vegetables | Permalink | Comments (4) | Email | Print

Comments (4)

Personally I love to toast my sesame seeds and give them a good pounding with a pestle. It takes a while to do because I make extra large batches of goma-ae since it's so delicious

dadaDan | Posted 13:22 21 October 2011

Hey, my wife had a great suggestion last night for the rough-grinded goma-ae with green beans: add Japanese-style thin sliced pork, which you can find in Japanese markets (and many Asian markets as well). Cut the pork into bite-sized pieces then quickly boil until they cook through, then add to the goma-ae with green beans. Sounds delish.... Harris

Harris | Posted 14:23 21 October 2011

Another great suggestion from the lovely Momo (a.k.a. my wife) -- as I was making the rougher-hewn goma-ae the other night, Momo suggested I add a little Hatcho miso, which is a dense, almost chocolate, all-soybean miso from the Nagoya area. It was a game changer. Now the goma-ae was imbued with an incredible savoriness but one that didn't overwhelm the sesame flavor. Great call, Momo! If you can't find Hatcho miso (not easy in the USA), use any good, artisan-made red miso, like one of my faves, Sendai miso........... Harris

Harris | Posted 11:26 26 October 2011

That miso and goma ae sounds a lot like the recipe for commerical gomedare, all you need is a little mirin and you're there. But all japanese aemono are only about a degree apart! Harris, could I bother you for the japanese title of this cookbook? Many many thanks EJS

Es | Posted 12:43 12 November 2011

Post a Comment

Name

Email Address

URL

Remember personal info?

Comments (You may use HTML tags for style)

Captcha:

Type the characters you see in the picture above.