For the Japanese and some Asians, black sesame flavor is commonly used especially in desserts and baked goods. Popular recipes include macarons, purin (pudding), chiffon cake, mochi, bread, ice cream, and more. Black sesame is unique in the way it changes the dynamic of a dessert completely. Ordinary looking dessert are transformed into a peculiar dark gray color, and it surprises you with unique nutty toasty flavor.
Black sesame paste is sold in jars at Japanese (or Chinese) grocery stores. The black sesame paste is different from black tahini because black sesame seeds are roasted before they are grounded.
Homemade black sesame paste is easy and simple to make, and it’s pretty close to the store bought black sesame paste. Now you can enjoy making Black Sesame Ice Cream!
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- 1 Tbsp black sesame seeds (roasted/toasted)
- 1 Tbsp honey (See Notes)
Gather all the ingredients.
- Grind the black sesame seeds by mortar and pestle or in food processor. It takes some time for sesame seeds to secrete oil, but be patient.
- When the sesame seeds are finely ground and become moist from natural sesame oil, add honey and mix all together.
Honey: If you want to use black sesame paste for savory dishes, you can add a little bit of sesame oil instead of honey.
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Boris Chu
Great recipe! It really works
Boris Chu
Thanks!
Nami
You are welcome! Glad it worked out. 🙂
Novi
If i don’t have food processor how can i do it?thanks
Nami
Hi Novi! It’s a bit of work, but you can grind the black sesame seeds by mortar and pestle. That works the same way. 🙂 Hope this helps!
leo
I would to know how to make all those little side dishes you get when eating out at a Korean BBQ restaurant. Can you help please?
Nami
Hi Leo! You can try finding recipes at Korean food blogs. I like the following:
http://www.koreanbapsang.com/
http://www.beyondkimchee.com/
http://www.maangchi.com/
Hope this helps! 🙂
Amy
I’m excited to make black sesame ice cream! Yours looks so good. Just wondering, What can you use instead of honey?
Nami
Hi Amy! Hmm.. that’s a difficult question… If it’s for savory dish, I’d recommend to make it syrupy texture with sesame oil. However if it’s for dessert like ice cream, I think honey is the best fit. Maybe maple syrup? Hope this helps. 🙂
gulsah
I was hooked to goma ice cream since I tasted in Asakusa London. Which is strange as I am not a big fan of ice cream. I now have the recipe, made my own paste and felt really proud. I was wondering what kinda savoury dishe we can use the sesame oiled version? I mean in Japanese cuisine?
Nami
Hi gulsah! I’m really happy to hear you enjoyed black sesame ice cream! Black sesame paste for savory dishes is not as popular. Some uses for mixing with blanched veggies, some use for tofu and bread, and I’ve seen it’s used for simmered dishes. I prefer white sesame paste for dressing etc. Oh you can use for steamed cake too. They are more like arranged dish and not something that everyone knows about – like black sesame pudding, or chiffon cake, etc.
Jan
For how long do we roast the sesame seeds?
Nami
Hi Jan! If your black sesame seeds are not roasted yet, follow the following directions.
Put sesame seeds in a frying pan and roast them on medium heat until 2-3 sesame seeds jump (similar to popcorn). Keep shaking the pan to rotate the sesame seeds so they won’t get burnt. Remove from the heat immediately.
Hope that helps!
azef
Used a blender. It worked and tastes yummy
Nami
Hi Azef! I’m glad you liked it. Thank you so much for letting me know!
ji
Do I put honey into the food processor as well??
Nami
Hi Ji! Yes, it’s in Step 2. After you add honey, mix well. 🙂
Lorely @ Butter Love Affair
Hi Nami, it has been so long since I’ve wanted to make your sesame ice cream and I want to make it this weekend. I can’t find the store bought paste so I’ll make it myself…but how long can you keep it for? 🙂 Thanks Nami! Will let you know how it goes!!
Nami
Hi Lorely! I made this ice cream using both store-bought and homemade, and I like them both – homemade one is slightly more grey color. I’ve never kept it too long, but it should last for a pretty long time if you put it in a airtight jar and store in the fridge/freezer. 🙂 Hope you enjoy!
Lorely
I made 3Tbsp in total (put in 3Tbsp roasted sesame seeds and 3Tbsp honey) and it tasted sooooo good! I almost didnt want to put it in the ice cream haha!!! 🙂 Thanks for the recipe! I will be thinking of ways on how I could use this.
Nami
Hi Lorely! I’m so glad you tried this and it came out well! Thank you so much for letting me know! You can make different kinds of black sesame desserts with this. 😉
Shelly
Sounds delicious!! But I don’t have a food processor. Can I grind them with vitamix?
Nami
Hi Shelly! I don’t have a Vitamix, and I definitely don’t want to say “sure!” and bake your expensive blender. 😀 Does it come with a blade to work like food processor? I am pretty sure you can….but just in case, I recommend you to read the manual… 😉
Leah
Hi Nami
I’m just wondering what kind of honey you used in this recipe? And also what kind of honey works best? 🙂
In my supermarket there are many different types available, and I’m not sure which one would taste best. Eg. Manuka, honey and clover, creamed honey and clover honey…
Btw I tried your matcha ice cream recipe without an ice cream maker… tastes so creamy and rich! Thank you for sharing it 🙂
Nami
Hi Leah! In this recipe/picture, I used the clover honey. 🙂 I’m so happy to hear the matcha ice cream turned out well. Thank you so much for trying the recipe!
Lynn
Hi Nami, thanks for sharing this recipe! Do you know why store bought black sesame paste has oil in it? How can I replicate it? As I have a recipe which calls for 2 tablespoons of the oil in the black sesame paste.. Thank you! 🙂
Nami
Hi Lynn! The oil in black sesame paste is sesame oil. When you grind (or use food processor), the natural oil start to come out from sesame seeds. If you don’t have enough, you can add tiny bit of sesame oil (or olive oil). Hope this helps!
Sin Ee
Could I use black sesame powder instead? Thank you! 🙂
Nami
Hi Sin! I have never used black sesame powder… If it’s 100% ground black sesame it seems like it’s a same thing?! Are they super fine? I wish I can tell but I’m not sure if it works as I have never tried it. Let me know if you try and it works. 🙂
Sin Ee
Nami, thank you for responding. I tried using the black sesame powder, and it seems to work? haha.. I have never tasted black sesame paste before, so I’m not exactly sure. However, the consistency seems to resemble your homemade paste. So, I guess it works! Thank you.
Nami
Hi Sin Ee! Theoretically it should work as black sesame seed powder is ground black sesame seed. 🙂 When we grind by ourselves, though, the sesame seed oil comes out and it gets more moist from the oil. I guess that would be missing from already ground powder form. But it should be okay! Thank you for letting me know! 🙂
Clint
So to make regular Pure sesame paste do you follow same steps? Don’t want Tahini paste just sesame paste like they sell in Chinese Markets. Thanks!
Nami
Hi Clint! If you use it for savory, you don’t have to add honey. If you have a food processor, it should take less than 5 minutes to make paste. 🙂
Mawichan
Hello, thank you for the recipe. I just bought a jar of black sesame seeds and I wanted to try making a batch of this paste.
I’d like to ask you, though, how long could this paste last if I keep it in a mason jar stored in my pantry?
Nami
Hi Mawichan! I updated my recipe with this information (thanks for asking!). You will need to use it in 2 days. Oil from sesame seeds gets oxidized (just like you can’t keep the deep fry oil for a long time because it’ll be oxidized) and it won’t taste good, so you will need to use it in 2 days. Hope this helps!
Mawichan
Thanks for the quick reply! I have not tried the recipe yet, but I already bought the seeds to make it soon, so it is good to know this. Thanks again~
Sueli
This recipe and the related ice-cream is a dream come true, specially for my husband. Back sesame ice-cream is one of his favourites. He is not Japanese or a descendent by the way – he is Irish :-D.
Nami
Hi Sueli! Hahahaha, so happy that your husband likes black sesame ice cream! Definitely a wonderful surprise! Thank you for writing. Hope you try the recipe and he’ll like it! xo
Sam
could i use sugar instead of honey? also, would black sesame paste taste good in jian dui or is that weird?
Nami
Hi Sam! You can use sugar, but may be more grainer. What’s Jian Dui?
sam
Jian dui is a Chinese fried sesame ball with paste inside. usually red bean paste but I was wondering if black sesame paste would be good
Nami
Ohhh, I got it! I love them! Hm, I think, the chinese sesame balls have sweeter filling. You might want to check its recipe. But this can be used as base for sure. 🙂
Yap
Hi Nami,
Thank you for sharing this quick recipe. Would this recipe be suitable to make sesame paste fillings for baked buns or would I need to modify the recipe?
Thank you 🙂
Nami
Hi Yap! Filling for baked buns… Hmmm.. how big are they? These are rather “runny” so I’m not sure how you can fill in?
Yap
Hi Nami,
The buns are approximately the size of red bean buns, an pan (3inch diameter). I agree that this recipe can be “runny”. Is there any possibility of thickening the paste to make it less “runny”?
Nami
When we make black sesame anko filling, we usually mix with red bean paste so we get some substantial amount instead of just sesame seeds. But I’m not sure if that works for your recipe…
Grace Kwan
Hi Nami! Thanks for sharing this recipe. If I want to make white sesame paste for use in noodle dishes like tan tan men, what should I swap for the honey? Sesame oil? I can buy nerigoma at my local Japanese supermarket, but it’s really expensive, so I’d love a homemade alternative. The only ingredient listed on the nerigoma can is sesame.
Nami
Hi Grace! Yes, for savory dishes, add sesame oil little by little while you grind. You can use FP too to make it faster… you have to process it for a while to get the oil coming out from sesame seeds (so use good quality sesame seeds). 🙂
Vivien
Hi, can I use this recipe for the fillings for taiyaki? Thanks.
Nami
Hi Vivien! I think it’s usually mixed with shiro-an (paste made with a type of green bean) to have substantial “paste” as sesame paste is very thin and runny. You can mix with red been paste, too, but the color will not be as good as using shiro-an. 🙂
melissa
May I know if this 1 serving of black sesame paste is equivalent to 3tbsp sesame paste (as needed for the black sesame ice-cream)? Thanks.
Nami
Hi Melissa! This recipe makes 1 Tbsp, so you will need to triple the recipe. 🙂
STEVE S.
Dear Nami, Konnichiwa!
Someone gave me two pouches of Neri Goma Kuro (Black Sesame Paste). Can I use them to make a salad dressing? Do you have a recipe for the salad dressing?
Arigato Go-zai-mas,
Nami
Hi Steve! Yeah, you can definitely make salad dressing with it. I don’t use the paste to make my sesame dressing, but you can add to make it more creamy. Maybe adapt this recipe?
https://www.justonecookbook.com/sesame-dressing/
Yueh Ching Chung
Will love to learn from you, thanks!
Nami
Thank you so much! 🙂
Akiko
Hi Nami-san,
It’s such a great idea to make my own black sesame paste! (It can be quite pricy in the US!)
I made my black sesame paste, using your recipe and it’s so tasty on my toast but after I put in my fridge, it turned to be super hard. How can I make it soften? Add some water or oil and microwave?
Please let me know.
Thank you,
Akiko
Nami
Hi Akiko-san!
Yes, just like honey, you can’t put it in the fridge. Or if you do, you have to microwave or heat in the hot water (make sure you keep it in a mason jar or some glass jar). You just have to liquidify – no need to add water or oil in the paste. 🙂
jovin
For sesame seeds which are not toasted, do I need to wash the sesame seeds first before toasting?
Nami
Hi Jovin! No, toast on the frying pan until you hear a few pop sound. 🙂