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Sauce recipe

Goma Dare (Japanese Sesame Sauce)

Nutty, creamy sesame sauce that turns cold noodles and plain vegetables into a meal.

Makes
About 250ml
Ready in (mins)
10
Keeps
1 week in the fridge
Goma Dare (Japanese Sesame Sauce)

Goma dare is what makes shabu-shabu worth ordering and cold noodles worth eating. Ground toasted sesame, loosened with soy and vinegar until it pours like thin cream.

Grinding your own seeds in a mortar takes four minutes and is the whole difference between this and a jar of tahini with soy stirred in. The seeds should be about half broken, not a smooth paste.

How to make it
  1. Grind the sesame seeds in a mortar or suribachi until about half of them are broken and the mixture smells strongly nutty. Stop well short of a paste.
  2. Work in the sesame paste until smooth.
  3. Add the soy sauce, mirin, rice vinegar and sugar, stirring constantly. It will seize and look split at first — keep going.
  4. Loosen with the dashi or water a tablespoon at a time until it pours like thin cream.
  5. Stir through the sesame oil.
  6. Taste. It should be nutty first, salty second, with just enough vinegar to stop it feeling heavy.
The ratio
  • 2 partsToasted sesame seeds
  • 1 partSesame paste
  • 1 partSoy sauce
  • 1 partMirin
What you need
  • 6 tbsp toasted white sesame seeds
  • 3 tbsp Japanese sesame paste, or tahini
  • 3 tbsp soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp mirin
  • 1 tbsp rice vinegar
  • 1 tbsp caster sugar
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • 4–6 tbsp dashi or water, to loosen
What to put it on

Cold soba or udon, blanched spinach, steamed chicken, shabu-shabu, cucumber salad, and as a dressing for a cold noodle bowl.

New to it? Read what goma dare actually is in the pantry glossary.