Add amazing roasty flavour to your dishes with a quick batch of Toasted Sesame Seeds. Grind them into a sauce or sprinkle whole over a dish, this is one easy condiment you want at your fingertips.
Why We Love This
Ready in minutes, toasted sesame seeds are a great way to add a rich, nutty flavour and aroma to your cooking!
Use them as a garnish for sweet or savoury dishes, or to add more umami to your homemade sauces or marinades.
Related: Gomashio Sesame Salt / Homemade Sesame Oil
What are Toasted Sesame Seeds?
Toasted sesame seeds are usually white sesame seeds (aka hulled sesame seeds) that have been dry toasted in a wide, flat frying pan over medium heat until golden brown.
Black sesame (unhulled sesame seeds) are considered to be more bitter when toasted, although it can still be done.
Toasting sesame seeds adds a depth of flavour that regular sesame seeds just don’t have on their own! You’ll usually find them in many of our Japanese dishes, and they’re super versatile in a range of sauces or garnishes.
What You’ll Need
- Sesame Seeds – We use white sesame seeds, aka raw sesame seeds which have had the black hull removed.
How to Toast Sesame Seeds:
- Toast the white sesame seeds in a medium frying pan over medium heat for 2-3 minutes until nice and golden.
- Move the sesame seeds around the pan every 30 seconds or so to make sure they’re evenly toasted.
- Remove from the pan and allow to cool (around 5-10 minutes).
- Optional: Use as a topping on miso ramen or tantanmen, grind to add to tonkatsu sauce, or make a quick sesame oil.
Wandercook’s Tips
- Heat – Toast slowly over low to medium heat to avoid the sesame seeds burning and becoming too bitter.
- Watch Carefully – Keep an eye on the sesame seeds while toasting, and take the pan off the heat once they turn golden brown.
- Storage – Store toasted sesame seeds in an airtight container or spice jar in a cool dark place (such as your pantry) for around 6 months. You can also freeze them to keep them for up to a year.
FAQs
Toasted sesame seeds are so versatile and can be used for both savoury and sweet dishes. They’re especially popular in Japanese cuisine. They taste great in sauces like roasted sesame dressing.
Use them whole in a batch of furikake rice seasoning, as a garnish over rice bowls or homemade sushi, or to add crunch to a batch of daifuku mochi rice cakes or fried tofu patties.
Or grind them up and add to homemade sesame oil or tonkatsu sauce. You can use a mortar and pestle or spice grinder to get them finely ground.
As long as you store your toasted sesame seeds in an airtight container and keep them in a cool dark place, they shouldn’t go bad. However, the oils in the seeds can go rancid if left for too long, giving them an unpleasant flavour and aroma. Use them up within 6 months (or up to a year if frozen). If in doubt, throw them out and make a fresh batch.
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Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp white sesame seeds
Instructions
- Dry toast the white sesame seeds in a medium frying pan over medium heat for 2-3 minutes until nice and golden. Note: You can fry longer for a darker roast, however, it will be more bitter and nutty in flavour and aroma the longer you cook them.1 tbsp white sesame seeds
- Move the sesame seeds around the pan every 30 seconds or so to make sure they’re evenly toasted.
- Remove from the pan and allow to cool (around 5-10 minutes).
- Optional: Use as a topping on miso ramen or tantanmen, grind to add to tonkatsu sauce, or make a quick sesame oil.
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