Nowadays, you can easily get black sesame seed powder from shops, but I rather make my own to ensure I get them toasted the way I like it. It's not that hard.
Black sesame seeds are black. Yeah.
You can't see well if they are black. Whether they are over toasted or undertoasted.
To counter that, add in some white sesame seeds. Not too much white sesame seeds so that the powder stays as black as possible.
Some will choose to wash them before use, for me, I prefer to sift them.
I put the seeds into a sieve, that is not too fine. And give it a few shakes. Some stuff will fall out, usually.
If you really want to wash them, make sure you dry them properly before use, if not, they won't smell good.
Homemade Black Sesame Powder
50gm black sesame seeds
1 tsp white sesame seeds
1. Place sesame seeds onto a dry pan/wok.
2. Heat the pan on medium low heat and shake/toss the seeds to distribute the heat well.
3. Toast the seeds until the white sesame seeds looks puffy and slightly golden.
4. Let them cool down slightly and mill until fine.
If you want to mill it really fine, you need to mix with dry ingredient like flour or starch. It depends on what you want to do with the sesame powder. But this texture is good enough for cakes, or cookies with some mouthfeel, or for tang yuan.
I sprinkle these over salad and it taste awesome.
I love black sesame, thanks for the tip on adding white sesame when toasting them! I usually whether they are ready by my nose... but toasting white sesame together is a much better gauge!
ReplyDeleteHi Wendy, Happy New Year to you and family. WHat a brilliant idea, adding some white sesame seeds to the black when toasting! Yes, can never tell if they are over toasted since they are all black. Thanks for the tip.
ReplyDeleteJasline,
ReplyDeleteanother way is through tasting. when sufficiently toasted, it has a sweet aftertaste.
ohhh....the white sesame as indicator.....
ReplyDeleteHi Wendy. Great to read your blog on a very cold winter day in New York. Looking at your recipes and photos does warm me up and spur my appetite while the winds are howling outside and the temperature has fallen to minus 6 C!. I have enjoyed your blog for a couple of years and want to commend you for sharing some aspects of your life with everyone, in addition to your many excellent recipes. I particularly enjoyed the account of your life as a teacher in the oil palm estate. Look forward to trying the rustic apple cake recipe.
ReplyDeleteHi Wendy!
ReplyDeleteI love the sesame taste and i made a lot of it to go with my food( especially white rice). I tried milling/grinding the roasted sesame but it turns out really clumpy ( sticky ) - i read it elsewhere its because the oil from the sesame seed comes out. What should i do to stop it from becoming clumpy so that it become really "powdery"?
Thanks!
darwin,
ReplyDeleteI pulsed it for around 5 second, not more than 10 for each round of milling
Hi Wendy! (:
ReplyDeleteI was wondering if it is possible to grind the sesame seeds with a blender/pounder instead of milling them?
Nina,
ReplyDeletePounding, You can try. That's the old method, just don't get the oil coming out.
Blender, can, but with large amounts.
hi Wendy, I wanted to get the mill to grind the sesame seed, which brand do you use? Thank you.
ReplyDeleteButtercreem,
ReplyDeleteIt's Panasonic. It came with my blender
I always make my own black sesame powder!! It'a really easy and we can use it to make many things like breads, cakes etc. Love it!!
ReplyDeletehi. If using just for food colouring, do we need to toast them before blending into powder?
ReplyDelete