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Broccolini Sesame Dressing
What is your favorite dressing? Mine is Japanese sesame dressing (胡麻和え - goma ae). This super easy dressing makes the most humble greens shine through.
I make this dressing all the time and pair it everything from spinach, broccoli, watercress, yu choi, and of course, broccolini.
Despite this broccolini sesame dressing recipe uses broccolini, feel free to pair this lovely goma ae with all sort of greens.
Goma Ae (Sesame Dressing)
The amount of dressing works for any one pound of vegetables.
You will need 1/2 cup toasted sesame seeds, 1/4 cup soy sauce, 2 tablespoon sugar, and 100 ml (6 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon) dashi stock.
Don’t worry if you cannot find sesame seeds that are pre-roasted. You can easily toast them on a frying pan (as is, without any oil) over medium heat until fragrant and golden brown.
I have a slight intolerant to peanuts and all sort of nuts, so this sesame dressing is a God send to me :) It is super nutty just like nuts, but completely nut-free!
Preparing broccolini
Most of the times, broccolini comes with green tops and stalk bottoms. It is best if you can separate the greens from the stalks. I usually half or even quarter the stalks depending on how thick they are.
Not much needs to be done to the broccolini. Just boil a large pot of lightly salted water, then blanch for 2 minutes.
To retain the lovely green color of your vegetables, you must rinse in ample cold water and even soak in a large mixing bowl of cold water with ice cubes.
Once completely cool, gently squeeze and cut into bite sizes. Arrange the vegetables in a nice platter, and serve with the goma-ae.
Asian Salad Feast
This post is part of collaboration with other talented food bloggers to celebrate the spring season with plenty of Asian salad dishes! A shout out to our lovely host JinJoo of Kimchimari, and also Christine of Vermillion Roots for organizing :)
- Tofu Salad with Iceberg Lettuce and Sweet Corn by Kimchimari
- Thai Larb Salad by Wok & Skillet
- Gado Gado Salad by Brunch-n-Bites
- Paleo Asian Coleslaw by What Great Grandma Ate
- Vietnamese Chicken and Rice Vermicelli Salad by Nut Free Wok
- Salad with Spiced Grated Coconut Topping (Urap Sayur) by What to Cook Today
- Authentic Thai Fish Salad by Healthy World Cuisine
- Thai Seafood Salad (Yum Talay) by A Taste of Joy and Love
- Crunchy Thai Eggplant Salad by Grits & Chopsticks
- Springtime Sushi Bowl by The Sasha Diaries
- Burmese Ginger Salad (Gin Thoke) by Love is in My Tummy
- Shabu Shabu Cold Noodle Salad by Chopstick Chronicles
- Japanese Potato Salad by V for Veggy
- Broccoli Sesame Dressing by Daily Cooking Quest
Broccolini Sesame Dressing
Ingredients
- 450 gram (1 lb.) broccolini
- Goma ae (Sesame dressing)
- 1/2 cup sesame seeds, toasted
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 2 tablespoon sugar
- 100 ml (6 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon) dashi stock
Instructions
- Separate the green part of the broccolini from the bottom stalks. If the stalk is not too thick, half them lengthwise. If the stalk is rather thick, quarter them lengthwise. Wash and drain the greens and the stalks.
- Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a rolling boil. Add in the greens and the stalks, blanch for 2 minutes. Remove the greens first, if the stalks seems tough, feel free to cook for another 2 minutes.
- Rinse the greens and stalks in cold water, and soak in a large mixing bowl filled with ice cubes and cold water for 10 minutes.
- Gently squeeze the vegetables and cut into bite size pieces. Arrange in a plate.
- To make the dressing, coarsely grind toasted sesame seeds. Transfer to a bowl and mix with soy sauce, sugar, and dashi stock.
- Serve broccolini with the sesame dressing
Comments
What a great way to eat leafy greens! I really love the sound of sesame dressing. Sesame seeds just have such a nice toasty flavor. :-)
Agreed Christine. I buy sesame seeds, both regular and black ones, in the largest plastic bag packaging I can find in my Asian markets. I go through them like so fast it's not even funny :)
Such a simple yet beautiful and delicious side dish. That sesame dressing though!!! Gotta try it!
You should Marv! Afterwards, you'll want to pair it with all kind of greens, trust me :D
I loooooove broccolini and I get a giant bag from Costco and eat it within a few days. That dressing sounds amazing and I know I'll enjoy this recipe!
Haha, I too get my veggies in giant bags from Costco, and still they disappear so quickly around here.
Yes! I love broccoli, and I love sesame seeds... this is like the ultimate way to enjoy them! Definitely going to give this a go.
Simple sometimes is best, especially true on busy days :)
This is the most delightful sesame dressing so thick and delicious. This would be a fantastic side dish for so many of our meals. Thank you for the inspirations.
Yup, it's such a versatile dressing. And when you are bored with greens, the dressing pairs really well with tofu too!
Never thought to use dashi in a dressing! Woah! That's amazing! Will make some extra dashi when I make ramen next time!
Yup, the dashi makes the dressing super awesome :)
I always pack brocolini for lunch and drizzles with my store-brought salad dressing. I can't wait to try it with your sesame dressing. What a beautiful and healthy looking dish!
Store-bought dressing has its values, especially for the more complicated ones. But I try to make my own for the simpler ones :)
Yum! I love broccolini and I can't wait to try this sesame dressing with it. It sounds perfect for a side dish for a weeknight dinner!
Yup, this is definitely super easy to whip up on busy weeknights :)
Gomaae is so simple, easy and delicious Japanese side dish :D I make gomaae often too and it match with many different veggies
Same here Shihoko :) I think I have tried it on all sort of veggies, even cauliflower, broccoli, and kale, haha.
I have to try this! Looks like a great dish!
You should Lila! Hopefully you will end up loving it as much as I do :)
Sesame Dressing is my very favorite for Japanese salads. I had no idea it was so easy to make! Thanks for sharing! :)
You are welcome Char. Once you get the hang of it, you will be another crazy lady with packs of sesame seeds in the grocery like me :D
Your veggie dish looks so delicious, I love anything with a sesame dressing.
Thanks Sharon. I am the same when it comes to sesame seeds :)
Can't wait to try this! How do you recommend grinding the sesame seeds? They look whole in the picture. Thank you!
You can use a spice grinder (or a coffee bean grinder), a food processor, or even grind the seeds manually with a mortar and pestle. Depending on your model, it may or may not be able to grind the seeds to a grind powder. My food processor can turn sesame seeds into very fine powder, but I love leaving them slightly coarse so I can feel the crunch when I bite.
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