Sesame oil / sesame paste

[blue room]

I'd like to make this sauce : (from a poster here, Hank Hanover)

¼ cup chicken broth
¼ cup soy sauce
2 tsps rice wine vinegar
2 tsps sesame oil
1 tsp rd pepper flakes
1 tsp sugar

my question--can I somehow use tahini (sesame paste) in place of the sesame oil?

It will be used with leftover chicken, plain rice, vegetables--simple dinner.
It'll work, yes?

[c oliver]

I just cooked with sesame paste for the first time last night. According to what I found, sesame paste and tahini, while related, are not the same thing. Here's an explanation:

http://www.cookthink.com/reference/16...

[Hank Hanover]

I don't usually use tahini. although you certainly could. There are two styles of sesame oil besides tahini. One is light colored and the other is dark. I use the dark which has a lot stronger flavor than the light. I'm not sure but I suspect tahini is even stronger.

[blue room]

Thank you, Hank --
this came out just fine. Of course next time I'll have a little bottle of toasted sesame oil ready.

[jen kalb]

I agree with the nos. you want a roasted sesame flavor. the tahina and the sesame oil on top is much too bland. If you dont want to buy the roasted sesame oil (from an asian store, pref a japanese, korean or taiwanese product IMO) then you can get the same flavor by roasting, browning some sesame seeds in a skillet on the stove. You can add peanut or a neutral oil if t you think further oiliness is needed in the sauce.

[blue room]

Exactly what I decided on--I subbed tahini for the sesame oil, and will sprinkle the dish with pan-toasted seeds. The tahini is blander than the oil (which I know and use, just ran out of it), but I can definitely taste it in there.

[Cathy]

If it was a recipe for a sauce calling for peanut oil, would you try to substitute peanut butter? Do you think that would work?

Same difference.

[blue room]

Well no, but peanut oil is for cooking/frying. Sesame oil is very strongly flavored, not used for cooking, used more like catsup or mustard as part of a sauce.

[jboeke]

Toasted sesame oil is strong and nutty, but you can buy sesame oil that is clear and virtually tasteless and used similarly to peanut oil. I would guess they mean the darker oil in this recipe though to boost the flavor.

[blue room]

Yes, this is just 2 teaspoons in a sauce.

[C. Hamster]

NO!

The sesame oil called for in your sauce tastes entirely different than the oil that's in tahini. It uses roasted seeds.

You can probably buy it in your regular supermarket in the asian foods section.

[JungMann]

If you only have tahini, you could use the oil that separates from the paste or you could change the proportions of broth and tahini to make a cold sesame sauce to drape over noodles with chicken.

[Eric in NJ]

Tahini and Sesame oil are very different but it may work. Sesame oil has a wonderful nutty taste and aroma Tahini is more like peanut butter.

[monku]

How about that "oil" that sometimes settles to the top of the tahini?