What to use instead of toasted sesame oil
It depends entirely on what it's doing in the dish. Here's the job, what else does it, and what to skip.
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Finishing aroma stirred in off the heat
The smell comes from compounds created when the seeds were roasted, and they are volatile, so heat drives off the exact thing you added it for.
Toasted perilla oilRan out
1:1
Grassier and more herbal, and it suits Korean dishes better than Chinese ones. It goes rancid within a couple of months.
Tahini loosened with neutral oilRan out
1 tsp tahini + 1/2 tsp neutral oil per 1 tsp sesame oil
Clouds and thickens whatever it goes into, and the sesame is milder because the seeds were lightly roasted at most.
Ground toasted sesame seedsRan out
1 tsp seeds per 1/2 tsp oil
Strong aroma with texture attached. In a thin sauce the grounds sink to the bottom of the bowl.
Toasted walnut oilRan out
1:1
Nutty and sweeter with none of the sesame sharpness, so the dish stops reading as East Asian.
What doesn't work: Plain untoasted sesame oil. It is pressed from raw seeds and has almost no aroma, so a tablespoon behaves like any neutral oil and adds nothing but fat.
Nutty body in a dressing, dip or noodle sauce
It carries the roasted-seed flavour into an emulsion and thins a thick paste without watering it down.
TahiniRan out
2 tsp tahini + 1 tsp water per 1 tbsp sesame oil
Much thicker and paler, and it emulsifies the dressing so it clings harder to noodles. Milder roast.
Smooth peanut butterRan out
1 tbsp peanut butter + 2 tsp water per 1 tbsp sesame oil
Sweeter and heavier and it takes over the sauce. It also thickens on standing, so loosen it before serving.
Chili crisp, for both fat and aromaRan out
1 tbsp per 1 tbsp sesame oil
Brings heat and crunch, and the aroma is fried allium and chilli rather than sesame. Cut the recipe's salt.
What doesn't work: Neutral oil with raw sesame seeds stirred through. Untoasted seeds have no aroma to give and will not release anything in a cold dressing. Toast them dry for 3 minutes first and they will.
It goes stale fast once opened. Keep it in the fridge, and if it smells like old putty instead of roasted seeds it is rancid.