Gomadare (ごまだれ) – Sesame Sauce

Ingredients

White Sesame Version:

• 30g (about 6T) Sesame Seeds, Whole Roasted White
• 5g (1t) Sesame Oil
• 6g (1½t) Granulated Sugar, or to taste
• 10g (2t) Sake
• 12g (2t) Mirin
• 16g (1T) Soy Sauce
• 15g (1T) Rice Vinegar
• Dashi, to dilute

Black Sesame Version:

• 30g (about 6T) Sesame Seeds, Whole Roasted Black
• 5g (1t) Sesame Oil
• 6g (1½t) Granulated Sugar, or to taste
• 10g (2t) Sake
• 12g (2t) Mirin
• 27g (5t) Soy Sauce
• 5g (1t) Rice Vinegar
• Dashi, to dilute

Procedure

• Measure out the sesame seeds and place into a burr grinder and grind to a fine powder.
• Add powdered sesame to a mortar and pestle like a suribachi, and add sesame oil.
• Combine, sugar, sake, mirin, soy sauce, and vinegar to the bowl. Mix until incorporated, and heat on a stove or microwave, until just boiling.
• Add half the heated mixture to the mortar, and grind with the pestle until smooth. Incorporate the remaining liquid slowly.
• Add some dashi to thin the gomadare if it is too thick, about ½T at a time.
• Enjoy with your hotpot!

*Bunny Wisdom*

• You can easily find a bottle of this at your local Asian grocery, but it’s simple to make at home.
• You can substitute the whole sesame seeds for neri goma (練りごま), Japanese sesame paste. It is similar to tahini, except that hulled sesame seeds are used in tahini while unhulled seeds are used in neri goma. Neri goma also comes in both black and white forms, so you can enjoy both recipes.
• Powdered dashi really comes in handy for this recipe, however, dashi (出汁) can be easily made from scratch. For a quart (about a liter) of water, simmer a palm-size piece of kombu (昆布 – dried kelp), a couple of dried shiitake mushrooms, and a handful of dried shaved bonito (鰹節, かつおぶし – katsuobushi) for 10 minutes. Cover, turn off the flame, and let it sit for 15 minutes. Strain the large pieces and use the dashi for all of your Japanese recipes.
• I use an inexpensive bottle of sake (酒), like Gekkeikan Traditional Sake, which is about USD$5.00 for a large bottle.
• Mirin (味醂) is a rice wine, like sake, but with more sugar content.
• You can use this sauce as a salad dressing, or mixed with a bowl of noodles.