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Japanese

Goma dare (Japanese sesame sauce)

Non-vegetarian

胡麻だれ · goma dare

Freshly toasted sesame seeds ground to a fragrant paste and loosened with soy sauce, rice vinegar and dashi. The nutty dip for shabu-shabu that doubles as a salad dressing.

Goma dare (Japanese sesame sauce) is a Japanese sauce, ready in about 14 minutes and made with sesame seeds, soy sauce and rice vinegar. It serves 6 and is rated easy to cook.

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Prep
10 min
Cook
4 min
Total
14 min
Serves
6
Level
Easy
Calories
80

Ingredients

6 servings of 30 ml

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Toast the sesame seeds (opens in a new tab) in a dry frying pan, shaking constantly, until they smell nutty and one or two start to pop.

  2. Step 2

    Tip into a mortar (a Japanese suribachi is ideal) and grind until the seeds break down into a moist, oily paste.

    A spice grinder works in short pulses; stop before it turns to butter.

  3. Step 3

    Work in the sugar (opens in a new tab), then the soy sauce (opens in a new tab), mirin (opens in a new tab), vinegar and sesame oil (opens in a new tab). Loosen with the dashi (opens in a new tab) a spoonful at a time until it pours thickly.

    • 2 min

About this dish

Origin
Japan · Well documentedMore food from Japan
Dish
Lunch · Dinner · Sauces · Dips & spreads
Cooking method
Toasted, No-cook
Taste
nutty, sweet & savoury, creamy
Diet
Pescatarian · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients · Keto-style · Low-carb
All labelsPescatarian · Non-vegetarian · Flexitarian-friendly · Dairy-free · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · Pork-free · Beef-free · Keto-style · Low-carb · DASH-style
With the listed swaps: Vegan, Plant-based, Vegetarian (lacto-ovo), Eggetarian, Lacto-vegetarian, Ovo-vegetarianWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Make-ahead · Everyday
Cook more with
Sesame seeds · Soy sauce · Rice vinegar · Sugar · Mirin · Toasted sesame oil
Techniques
Toasting · Spice roasting (dry-roasting)

Allergens

  • Contains, can be adapted: Fishfrom dashi
  • Contains, can be adapted: Wheatfrom soy sauce
  • Contains, can be adapted: Glutenfrom soy sauce
  • Contains: Soyfrom soy sauce
  • Contains: Sesamefrom sesame seeds, toasted sesame oil

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

80 kcal per serving

Estimated

1 serving ≈ 30 g · recipe makes 6

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 12%
  • Carbohydrate 24%
  • Fat 64%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g
Energy80 kcal268 kcal
Protein2.4 g8 g
Carbohydrate4.8 g16.2 g
Net carbohydrate3.6 g12.1 g
Sugars2.1 g7.1 g
Added sugars——
Fibre1.2 g4.1 g
Fat5.8 g19.4 g
Saturated fat0.8 g2.7 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol0 mg0 mg
Sodium324 mg1080 mg
Salt equivalent0.8 g2.7 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
83 mg
Calcium
100 mg
Iron
1.5 mg
Magnesium
40 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
0 µg
Vitamin C
0 mg
Vitamin D
0 µg
Vitamin B12
0.1 µg
Folate (DFE)
11 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • Rice vinegar: Distilled vinegar (FDC 172237) used as a stand-in for unseasoned rice vinegar.
  • Mirin: Sake (FDC 167723) used as a stand-in; true mirin is sweeter, so sugar is underestimated.
  • Dashi: Home-prepared fish stock (FDC 172885) used as a stand-in for katsuobushi-kombu dashi; both are very low in energy.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • Grind only what you need — the aroma of freshly ground sesame fades within a day.

Common mistakes

  • Toasting on high heat; sesame scorches and turns bitter in seconds.

Serve with

  • Dip for shabu-shabu beef and vegetables.
  • Toss with blanched spinach or green beans (goma-ae), or drizzle over cold noodles and salads.

Storage

  • Refrigerate for up to 5 days; stir before using.

Variations

  • Creamy goma dressing: Whisk in a spoonful of mayonnaise for the creamy bottled-style salad dressing.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Customise in Sauce & Drizzle

Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

The body of the dish

Gravy, sauce & base

Used in steps 1, 2, 3

Make it milder, swap ingredients for your diet, change the batch size or thickness — the original stays as it is.

Customise in Sauce & Drizzle

Reviews & corrections

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