Sesame Oil: Love It or Leave It

[delys77]

Hi all
I recently made a cantonese dish that called for sesame oil in the sauce, and while there was only 1 tsp in close to a 1/2 cup of liquid I found it overpowering. I sat back and thought about it a little, and while I typically always add the suggested sesame oil when I come across it, I don't' think I actually like it.
Sounds odd, and perhaps it is just me, but at times I think we get into the habit of doing things a certain way and stop thinking about the qualities imparted by certain ingredients. There are a few other asian dishes I make that call for sesame oil, and in most cases I find it detracts from the dish.
That being said it might just be that I am using a poor quality oil. I do believe the bottle sitting in my fridge is Asian Family which isn't a top quality brand, would a better oil make a difference.
Anyone else have any thoughts on sesame oil?

[mcf]

If it's Kadoya toasted sesame oil, I LOVE it, the smell and taste are captivating. But as others have said, a little bit goes a long way.

[emily]

We've always used Kadoya, but we recently tried Maruhon and I think we like it even better:
http://www.amazon.com/Maruhon-Pure-Se...

[mcf]

Is that in plastic, as it appears, or glass? I have a large can of Kadoya that I pour into one of their old small glass bottles.

[emily]

Love it! The author of Japanese Farm Food says she's stopped using it in favor of untoasted sesame oil and getting the toasted flavor from ground toasted sesame seeds.

[Musie]

I love it. Did you know it was useful for lowering high blood pressure? Which was why I started buying the stuff, but it does have a strong flavour so doesn't quite go with a lot of dishes.

[HillJ]

No, I didn't know it's beneficial to lowering bp's.

[Uncle Bob]

I like it a lot in certain recipes. ~~~ A little dab'll do ya!!!

[lcool]

Like.....in it's place and we keep along list of oils in the frig or pantry.

[escondido123]

I love it, my husband tolerates it, so I find dishes for lunch--which we do not share--that give me good hits of it.

[TeRReT]

I love it far too much. I use it far too often and could not live without it. I just finished eating a pork tenderloin I'd marinated in soy sauce, garlic, ginger and sesame oil. I put it in my salad dressings, I use it in my stir frys. I put it on ramen, and probably many other things I am forgetting.

[sedimental]

Me too! I buy the best I can find.....toasted and raw....love it!

I find it hard to get too much :)

I mix 1/3 olive, 1/3 sesame and 1/3 coconut for a nice mild saute blend kept by the cooktop. Healthy and tasty for almost all applications.

[TeRReT]

sounds good, I just remembered I often use la-yu oil as well, which is essentially a chili oil but sesame oil based, so friggen good, love it on rice, with soy or vinegar for gyoza, on anything really.

[sedimental]

Oh yeah....I have one like that too! Mmmmmmm. I use it as a finishing oil on lots of things. I even float a "sploosh" on chicken soup...cures the sniffles right up!

[fldhkybnva]

Do you ever use hot sesame oil? Any brands that you recommend? Is it generally very spicy?

[chefathome]

Same here. Love it to pieces. I usually use the best dark sesame oil I can find. And I use it often.

[ipsedixit]

Yes, sesame oil does have a very distinct flavor.

That said, however, quality makes a huge difference. Just like inferior EVOO will leave a bad taste in your mouth, so will inferior sesame oil.

Go get yourself a better bottle and try again.

[HillJ]

..and if you don't use sesame oil daily...buy a small bottle so you're always enjoying the freshest form. Sesame oil comes bottled in different strengths and can be cut with light soy for instance to cut the intensity as well.

I recall my sojorn with black pepper, any grind actually. I use black pepper on nearly everything-I crave it...but grinding as oppose to a shaker is a world apart..and it took many years before I came to appreciate the difference. Today we take variety for granted, but when I was younger sesame oil was very hard to come by and whole peppercorns for gourmands only...

Food life takes time.

[vil]

I used to not mind it but starting from a year or so ago, I suddenly got really tired of its heavy smell and seeing it everywhere, included in many generic "Asian" and fusion dishes and recipes. Sesame chicken, sesame beef, sesame-coated fish, green salad with a sesame oil-based dressing, noodles with peanut and sesame sauce, Chinese greens sauteed with sesame oil etc.

And yes, fldhkybnva, your post reminds me that it is indeed used in the marinade for pretty much all sorts of "Asian" recipes!

These days, it is still a staple in my kitchen, among many other oils, but I am definitely limiting it to only a few "classic" applications - as topping for my instant ramen noodles, as marinade (but only a touch of it) when making stir-fried beef or steamed spare ribs, and a touch of it in the sesame-paste filling when making desserts.

[fldhkybnva]

I love it but in small quantities. For example, I often make an Asian inspired marinade for seafood and will mix 2 tbsp soy sauce, 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar, ginger, garlic, green onions, red chili sauce, and 1/2 tsp sesame oil. I often use tuna to make poke and the person I usually enjoy it with LOVES sesame oil and so requests much more (up to 2 tbsps). With this amount, I find that I start to get nauseated after a few bites.

[GH1618]

Try cutting it in half.

[rasputina]

I love it, but I agree it can be overpowering and needs to be used with care.