Grab your hot chips, burgers or sushi bowls – it’s time to slather them in Sarah’s Creamy Sesame Dressing. Whipped up in a minute, this versatile Japanese sauce is SO necessary with your next meal!
Why We Love This
A versatile sauce that can be made in one minute and used for so many different purposes. Spruce up a salad, or use it as a dipping sauce – it’s completely up to you.
The best part is it can keep in the fridge for up to a month, so it’s ready to grab when you need it most.
Related: Homemade Kewpie Mayo / Japanese Salad Dressing
What is Sesame Dressing?
A simple Japanese sauce you can easily make at home, this sesame dressing is the creamy Asian sauce you’ve been looking for. Made from just 5 ingredients, it uses Kewpie mayonnaise as a base mixed with tahini, sesame oil, mirin and soy sauce.
In Japan, this sauce is often served over shredded lettuce or with cabbage. You can also use it as a replacement for mayonnaise when making coleslaw!
What You’ll Need
- Kewpie Mayonnaise – This mayo is on a whole other level on the flavour scale and is, in our opinion, far tastier than it’s Western whole-egg counterpart. You can pick it up at most supermarkets or Asian grocers. If you really can’t find it, we’d recommend you try and make your own Kewpie, or sub with whole egg mayo.
- Tahini – Hulled and natural tahini works well, you can also use unhulled or roasted tahini for an extra nutty finish.
- Soy Sauce – Japanese soy sauce such as Kikkoman will work best here, as it’s less salty than other varieties. Otherwise, sub with regular soy sauce or tamari if you need.
- Mirin – Mirin is a sweet cooking wine, that balances the salty and earthy flavours. Sub with a teaspoon of sugar, or regular rice wine for a more savoury finish.
- Sesame Oil – We love adding this for a little extra flavour, you can sub with homemade sesame oil or homemade rayu chilli oil if you’d like to add heat along with the sesame oil.
Wandercook’s Tips
- Lumpy Tahini? If your tahini is a little hard, you can try zapping it in the microwave for 10-15 seconds to help soften it. If you’re still finding it lumpy when trying to combine, run the sauce through a sieve for an extra smooth and creamy result.
- Add Heat – Top with Rayu Chilli Oil for a nice touch of heat.
- Add Garnish – Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds or gomashio sesame salt.
FAQs
All the things!
Seriously though, this creamy sesame dressing is perfect on sushi bowls, Japanese style hamburgers, as a salad dressing or as a dipping sauce for hot chips, fried spring rolls or fresh cold rolls.
When stored in an airtight and sterilised jar or container, it will last up to a month in the fridge.
You can, although it will taste different to this recipe. For a closer result to store bought you can make goma dare sesame sauce. If you wish to buy store bought, Kewpie’s Sesame Dressing is the closest match.
Variations
- Make it Vegan: Head over to our sister sauce for Japanese roasted sesame dressing, for a just as creamy, but naturally vegan version!
Don’t stop there! Make these homemade sauces next:
★ Did you make this recipe? Please leave a comment and a star rating below!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 6 tbsp Kewpie mayonnaise
- 2 tsp tahini
- 2 tsp mirin
- 2 tsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp sesame oil
Instructions
- In a small dish, mix the Kewpie mayonnaise and tahini together until combined. Then add the mirin, soy sauce and sesame oil and mix again until nice and smooth.6 tbsp Kewpie mayonnaise, 2 tsp tahini, 2 tsp mirin, 2 tsp soy sauce, 1 tsp sesame oil
- Pop straight over sushi bowls, into small dipping bowls or into a sterilised jar and store in the fridge for up to a month.
Video
Recipe Notes
- Lumpy Tahini? If your tahini is a little hard, you can try zapping it in the microwave for 10-15 seconds to help soften it. If you’re still finding it lumpy when trying to combine, run the sauce through a sieve for an extra smooth and creamy result.
- Kewpie Mayonnaise – Found at most supermarkets or Asian grocers. Or sub with whole egg mayo.
- Tahini – Hulled and natural tahini works well, you can also use unhulled or roasted tahini for an extra nutty finish.
- Soy Sauce – Japanese soy sauce such as Kikkoman will work best here, as it’s less salty than other varieties. Otherwise, sub with regular soy sauce or tamari if you need.
- Mirin – Sub with a teaspoon of sugar, or regular rice wine for a more savoury finish.
- Sesame Oil – We love adding this for a little extra flavour, you can sub with homemade rayu chilli oil if you’d like to add heat along with the sesame oil.
Nutrition
2 Comments
Kathleen
22/05/2022 at 6:53 pmI recently had a Japanese style poke bowl and it was so delicious- I just had to find out how to make it myself! I used this recipe as a guide to make it tonight and it was exactly the right flavour. I used a bit of sushi seasoning (ie basically rice wine vinegar) instead of mirin as that’s what I had on hand. Absolutely to die for! I will make this again all the time! I served with leafy greens, smoked salmon, shredded carrot and cucumber.
Wandercooks
26/05/2022 at 3:41 pmSo good Kathleen! Loved your adaptations to make it work with what you had too – perfect. 😀