FoundationsPantry study 23 of 27
Sesame (Seeds & Oil)
All eleven, strongest in Chinese-heritage and Burmese cooking
About this ingredient
Draft reference. This study is part of the cookbook’s foundations and is still being checked. Local names and cultural notes in particular are the author’s working text, pending verification, rather than settled fact.
- Where it is used
- All eleven, strongest in Chinese-heritage and Burmese cooking
- Flavour and aroma
- Nutty, toasty; toasted oil is intensely aromatic and used as a finish.
- How it is used
- Toasted seeds garnish salads and sweets; toasted oil finishes dishes off the heat.
- How to select
- Seeds with a fresh nutty smell; oil in dark bottles, recently pressed.
- Storage
- Seeds airtight and cool; toasted oil refrigerated to preserve aroma.
- Substitutions
- Tahini for ground sesame; other nut oils for a different finish.
- Allergens
- Sesame — an allergen in many jurisdictions; label clearly.
Names and contextPending verification
The two fields below are drafted and not yet confirmed. They are shown because they are useful, and labelled because they are not final.
- Local names
- Widely used; Burmese cooking prizes sesame and peanut oils
- Cultural notes
- Toasted sesame oil is a finishing accent, not a cooking oil, in most uses.
The Complete Edition
Sesame (Seeds & Oil) in the book
This study is one of twenty-seven that open The Southeast Asian Table, before the eleven country chapters and the hundred recipes they carry.
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