If you are an adventurous foodie, you should not miss out on this nutty and earthy black sesame paste. Although other recipes call for only two ingredients, my recipe uses five for a richer, bolder, and creamier result. Once you have black sesame paste, use it for various sweet or savory dishes, from Chinese buns to cakes.
What Is Black Sesame Paste?
Black sesame seeds are commonly used in Asian dishes, from Japanese mochi to Chinese steamed buns. It has a distinct nutty and earthy flavor suitable for both sweet and savory dishes. You can use black sesame seeds to make a sweet Chinese black sesame dessert soup (芝麻糊) or black sesame steamed buns.
In this recipe, we are going to transform black sesame seeds into black sesame paste (黑芝麻馅). Since you can use it as a filling for buns and baked goods, this paste is similar to my other paste recipes, such as taro paste, red bean paste, yam paste, lotus seed paste, and purple sweet potato paste. This black sesame paste is prepared with peeled mung beans, black sesame seeds, white sugar, corn oil, and maltose.
The peeled mung beans are cooked and mashed, while the black sesame seeds are toasted and ground. The two mixtures are combined and cooked with sugar, corn oil, and maltose. You can make the paste in two flavors, either sweet or savory, which are perfect for sweet desserts or savory buns.
How To Use Black Sesame Paste
Making Chinese buns is probably the most popular way of using black sesame paste. However, there are still countless ways to incorporate this nutty paste into your favorite foods. So if you plan to make a large batch of black sesame paste, here are some excellent ideas on how to use it:
- Use it as a filling for mochi
- Make black sesame ice cream flavor
- Make black sesame dan dan noodles (黒胡麻担々麺)
- Incorporate it in chiffon cake or mooncake
- Put together rice balls or sesame balls
- Bake cookies
- Create smoothies or milk tea
- Make Black sesame steamed buns
Where To Buy Black Sesame Seeds?
Thankfully, black sesame seeds are easy to find in grocery stores in the spice section or international section. It is usually sold as toasted or roasted sesame seeds. You can also purchase it in online stores like Amazon.
If you buy raw or untoasted black sesame seeds, you will have to toast them in the pan before grinding for this recipe. Alternatives to whole black sesame seeds are black sesame powder and white sesame seeds. Although white sesame seeds are also nutty, it is milder and less potent than black sesame seeds.
Tips And Suggestions For Black Sesame Paste
Making black sesame paste is quite simple, but there are still a few tips you should know when making it. I share some of my best tips when it comes to making the paste and the ideal alternatives to use for each ingredient. Make sure not to skip this part before starting the recipe instructions.
- Peeled mung beans: You will need the peeled type of mung beans. It is also known as green gram or monggo. Most black sesame paste recipes don’t include mung beans. This is an excellent addition to the recipe for its nutty taste and rich protein content. In this recipe, the peeled mung beans are cooked in a rice cooker until it is soft enough to mash into a smooth paste. You can omit this from the recipe if you don’t have mung beans. You can also opt for peeled mung beans when making mung bean cakes by following my recipe.
- Black sesame seeds: Use whole black sesame seeds or powder form. If you wish to use white sesame seed, it may not be the traditional ingredient, but it won’t drastically differ in taste and texture. In this recipe, the seeds are toasted and ground into a paste. You should grind the seeds until you notice their natural oils released. I prefer using a food processor or spice grinder to make grinding easier. Remember, avoid over-toasting the seeds so it will not have a burnt taste.
- Adjust the texture: The additional ingredients to enhance the overall texture are white sugar, corn oil, and maltose. You can make it soft by adding white sugar, coconut sugar, or brown sugar. Corn oil or butter can also help soften the paste. To make it firmer, add more maltose, honey, or maple syrup. Then, chill the mixture in the fridge to make it a bit firmer. To make it thinner, simply add a bit of water.
- Adjust the taste: You can make two types of black sesame paste: sweet and savory. If you prefer a sweet paste, use sweeteners like sugar and maltose. If you prefer a savory paste, use corn oil or sesame oil only without sugar.
- Storage suggestions: Store the black sesame paste in a glass jar or any airtight container. With proper storage, you can make it last for a month in the fridge or up to six months in the freezer.
Tools And Ingredients To Make Black Sesame Paste
One of the most important tools you need is a rice cooker or pot to cook the mung beans. To grind the black sesame seeds, use a spice grinder, food processor, blender, or mortar and pestle. Plus, I suggest a non-stick pan for toasting the seeds. If you’ve purchased pre-toasted black sesame seeds, you can skip this step.
Basically, the kitchen tools you need to prepare are for boiling the beans, grinding the seeds, and toasting and pan-frying the paste. Use any kitchenware you have available to do these necessary recipe steps. As for the ingredients, here’s everything you need:
Kitchen Tools
- Rice cooker or pot (to cook the beans)
- Spice grinder (to grind the black sesame seeds)
- Potato masher or food processor (to mash the mung beans)
- Non-stick pan(to toast the seeds and blend the paste)
- Spatula
- Glass jar or airtight container
Ingredients
- 200g of peeled mung beans
- 100g of black sesame seeds
- 60g of white sugar
- 45g of corn oil
- 60g of maltose
Steps To Make Black Sesame Paste
The three main parts you need to remember in this recipe are:
- Cook the peeled mung beans and mash them.
- Rinse, toast, and grind the black sesame seeds.
- Combine and stir-fry all the ingredients in a non-stick pan.
The parts that may take time are cooking the peeled mung beans and grinding the toasted black sesame seeds. These are detailed in the recipe instructions below.
Alternatively, you can also watch my tutorial guide on Instagram or TikTok to learn how I did it. When you are done making black sesame paste, remember to tag me as well @kitchenmisadventures.
Cook the peeled mung beans in a rice cooker.
While waiting for the mung beans to cook, rinse the black sesame seeds with water to remove small particles.
Remove the seeds and drain the water.
Then, toast the seeds in a non-stick pan. Continuously stir the seeds with a spatula to evenly toast and avoid burning them.
Afterward, set it aside and let it cool.
Once the seeds cool down, grind it into a paste. It will take time to make it paste-like. The seeds will initially become grainy before they release their natural oils. When the oils are released, they will eventually become paste-like and a bit sticky.
Next, mash the cooked mung beans into a smooth paste using a potato masher or food processor.
Combine the mung bean paste with the black sesame paste in a pan and mix in the white sugar and corn oil.
Stir-fry the mixture in a non-stick pan on low heat until it blends smoothly together. It should be soft enough to mix and appear smooth and shiny.
Finally, add the maltose and continue to fry for 5 minutes or until well combined.
Enjoy your black sesame paste in a traditional Chinese bun and store the remaining paste in an airtight container.
How to make black sesame paste
Equipment
- Rice cooker or pot (to cook the beans)
- Spice grinder (to grind the black sesame seeds)
- Potato masher or food processor (to mash the mung beans)
- Non-stick pan(to toast the seeds and blend the paste)
- Spatula
- Glass jar or airtight container
Ingredients
- 200 g of peeled mung beans
- 100 g of black sesame seeds
- 60 g of white sugar
- 45 g of corn oil
- 60 g of maltose
Instructions
- Cook the peeled mung beans in a rice cooker.
- While waiting for the mung beans to cook, rinse the black sesame seeds with water to remove small particles.
- Remove the seeds and drain the water.
- Then, toast the seeds in a non-stick pan. Continuously stir the seeds with a spatula to evenly toast and avoid burning them.
- Afterward, set it aside and let it cool.
- Once the seeds cool down, grind it into a paste. It will take time to make it paste-like. The seeds will initially become grainy before they release their natural oils. When the oils are released, they will eventually become paste-like and a bit sticky.
- Next, mash the cooked mung beans into a smooth paste using a potato masher or food processor.
- Combine the mung bean paste with the black sesame paste in a pan and mix in the white sugar and corn oil.
- Stir-fry the mixture in a non-stick pan on low heat until it blends smoothly together. It should be soft enough to mix and appear smooth and shiny.
- Finally, add the maltose and continue to fry for 5 minutes or until well combined.
