Splash on Sesame Oil To Give Your Meal a Quick Make Over

Sesame oil isn't your average cooking oil. A little of it goes a long, long way. It coats and infuses your dishes with an aromatic, delicious, nutty, sesame flavor. Here, we've gathered recipes, both new and old, that use sesame oil to inspire you to use it or might spark your imagination on how else you can use it.

 

IMAGE Aldwin Aspillera

 

1 Redress Your Salads!

This Kani Salad Recipe uses sesame oil in its dressing but you can use a similar dressing to whatever salad you prefer. Just mix up apple cider vinegar, honey and sesame oil for a delicious, Asian vinaigrette.

 

 

 

IMAGE Patrick Martires

 

2 Make authentic Siomai!

Sesame oil brings and oyster sauce brings together your pork and shrimp for that unique taste of this dumpling classic. Without it, you'll just have plain old meatballs, so don't forget them!

 

 

IMAGE Anna Varona

 

3 Boost flavor in your veggies!

Tired of the same old veggie side dish? Just splash on some sesame oil to your lackluster kangkong and it instantly elevates it.

 

 

 

IMAGE Lilen Uy | Styling by Rachelle Santos 

 

4 Liven up your Kinilaw!

Ceviche or kinilaw is good on its own, but with sesame oil? Even better as it complements the freshness of your choice of fish with earthy aromatic notes.

 

 

 

 

5 Cook this Taiwanese classic!

Apart from the siomai, a lot of Asian recipes rely on sesame oil to bring out their flavors. Three-Cup Chicken uses just three pillars of flavor: soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, and of course, sesame oil.

 

 

6 Eat like a Korean!

If you're into K-pop, or just generally into delicious food, why not make your own kimbap? This Korean sushi roll is also the perfect baon! You'll also find sesame oil in many other Korean recipes like bulgogi and bibimbap. So, if you've ever found yourself craving for the food on K-dramas, you can now get your own satisfaction in your own kitchen.

 

 

 

IMAGE Aldwin Aspillera

 

7 Glaze your classics!

Who doesn't love crunchy fried goodness covered in a flavorful, saucy glaze? Elevate your lechon kawali or try it out with fried chicken. The sky is the limit.

 

 

 

IMAGE Patrick Martires

 

8 Start on your Japanese Favorites!

Sukiyaki beef and teriyaki have a lot in common including your favorite sesame oil. Sesame oil and soy sauce go so well together, bringing out each other's nutty notes. If you want to get started on your Japanese food journey, we've also gathered for you the rest of your pantry must-haves.

 

 

 

 

9 Flavor your soups! 

Whether it's adding it to your congee or making a flavorful broth like sukiyaki, sesame oil is the ingredient that you need. Adding sesame oil ups the very experience of soups by swirling into the steaming aroma of every warm bowl.

 

 

 

IMAGE Patrick Martires

 

10 Stir-up your stir-fry!

Never miss sesame oil for your stir-fry recipes. We recommend adding it to the last stage of cooking to get the maximum goodness. Just like extra virgin olive oil, cooking this highly aromatic oil too much would waste it by breaking down the distinct compounds too fast.