Goma dare is a classic accompaniment for shabu-shabu, but it’s also tasty as a salad dressing or as a a sauce for stir-fries and blanched vegetables. This is a basic recipe for goma dare, but you can add your own spin to it as well. I’ve included a bit of garlic, but you can omit it if you like. Other common additions include a bit of fresh grated ginger, Japanese mayonnaise, a little finely chopped green onion, and shichi-mi tōgarashi (a Japanese spice blend) to add little extra flavor to the sesame sauce. Experiment and have fun making this recipe your own.
Ingredients:
- 3 Tbsp. sake
- 2 Tbsp. nerigoma (or tahini sauce- see notes)
- 1 Tbsp. ponzu
- 1 Tbsp. miso
- ½ Tbsp. vegetable oil
- ½ Tbsp. sesame oil
- 1 tsp. sugar
- 1 tsp. mirin
- 1 tsp. rice vinegar
- minced garlic (optional)
Method: Whisk everything together in a small bowl.
Notes: Nerigoma is a Japanese sesame paste available Asian markets and some culinary websites. If you can’t find nerigoma, you can try making your own roasted sesame seed paste, or in a pinch you can use tahini, although it won’t taste quite the same (nerigoma is toastier in flavor, while tahini is a bit tangier). You can add ground, toasted sesame seeds and sesame oil to give it more of a toasty flavor. While I use shiro (white) miso paste for my goma dare, you could use awase (mixed) or aka (red) miso paste, but the color of the sauce will be darker and the miso flavor will be more pronouned.