The oil doesn't really carry the allergen, or something
August 16, 2024 6:57 PM Subscribe
I'm allergic to sesame SEEDS, but I can have sesame oil. I love Japanese food. What of the cuisine can I eat?
I love Japanese cuisine, and want to try more of it -- especially in environments where I might not be able to really grill a server/cook about the contents of the food. For sushi, I usually just ask for no sesame seeds, and it's easy -- what you see is what you get with sushi.
You are not my doctor or anything, but would love a list of other Japanese food items that both typically have sesame seeds or sesame paste in it (and therefore I could not eat it), versus foods that typically do NOT have sesame seeds or sesame paste in it (and therefore I COULD eat it). Again, sesame OIL alone is OK.
I'll always check to the best of my ability, but wanted to get a list of some ideas of what typically would be sesame-seed-free.
(No current plans to visit Japan but I live in NYC, if it helps.)
Thank you in advance!
I love Japanese cuisine, and want to try more of it -- especially in environments where I might not be able to really grill a server/cook about the contents of the food. For sushi, I usually just ask for no sesame seeds, and it's easy -- what you see is what you get with sushi.
You are not my doctor or anything, but would love a list of other Japanese food items that both typically have sesame seeds or sesame paste in it (and therefore I could not eat it), versus foods that typically do NOT have sesame seeds or sesame paste in it (and therefore I COULD eat it). Again, sesame OIL alone is OK.
I'll always check to the best of my ability, but wanted to get a list of some ideas of what typically would be sesame-seed-free.
(No current plans to visit Japan but I live in NYC, if it helps.)
Thank you in advance!
A lot of Japanese foods are free of sesame seeds, or can be made free of sesame seeds. Ramen often has sesame seed garnish but this is not essential. Gyoza are seed free. Udon soups, again specify no sesame seed garnish and you’re good. Dishes like omurice, curry, okonomiyaki, takoyaki do not present with seeds. Many kaiseki style dishes are seed free (for example the potato salad and the vegetables). Grilled fish does not have seeds. Karaage uses seeds only for garnish. Tempura is fine but check the sauce. Edamame is fine. There is a wide world of pastry open to you as well.
I would steer clear of teriyaki, katsu and katsu sauces, stir fried noodles, gomae, furikake seasoning, seasoned rice in general.
posted by shock muppet at 11:04 PM on August 16 [3 favorites]
I would steer clear of teriyaki, katsu and katsu sauces, stir fried noodles, gomae, furikake seasoning, seasoned rice in general.
posted by shock muppet at 11:04 PM on August 16 [3 favorites]
Sesame seeds are really common in Japanese sweets, it’s pretty common to have something (like some dough, or sweet potato, or fruit) fried and then glazed in a sticky sweet coating and rolled liberally in sesame seeds. So if you are lucky enough to visit a Japanese cafe with sweet snacks or a bakery, be extra careful. But again it’s pretty easy to tell, since they are usually all over the outside. Less common on baked goods and pastries instead of sweet fried things, but I’ve definitely encountered plenty of sesame garnish and sesame paste fillings. In the case of sesame paste, it will be a filling and most likely be in the name of the item.
Sesame in Japanese is “goma”. There is a category of side dishes, goma-ae, that is basically any vegetable with a sesame dressing, which you should avoid. A lot of the time the typical seaweed salad in an American style sushi combo will be goma-ae. I highly suggest, if you are in a place that does good Japanese food, to get an order of tsukemono as substitution for any goma-ae you may feel like you’re missing out on. Tsukemono means pickled things and they are usually crunchy, colorful, tangy, and sesame-free. I’m not sure I’ve ever had a Japanese pickle with sesame seeds that weren’t just sprinkled on as a garnish, like, they are never pickled in with the veggies. Like, that probably exists but the risk is low.
If you are getting onigiri, avoid the mixed rice ones. They tend to have furikake or seeds mixed into the rice. The ones with fillings are usually plain white rice and salt, and you will be able to see any sesame used as garnish. Instead of furikake, which super commonly has sesame seeds in it, try my favorite rice sprinkles - yukari. Yukari is made of dried shiso leaves and is usually purple. It’s so so so savory yummy and I think is the perfect flavor with plain rice.
posted by Mizu at 3:58 AM on August 17 [2 favorites]
Sesame in Japanese is “goma”. There is a category of side dishes, goma-ae, that is basically any vegetable with a sesame dressing, which you should avoid. A lot of the time the typical seaweed salad in an American style sushi combo will be goma-ae. I highly suggest, if you are in a place that does good Japanese food, to get an order of tsukemono as substitution for any goma-ae you may feel like you’re missing out on. Tsukemono means pickled things and they are usually crunchy, colorful, tangy, and sesame-free. I’m not sure I’ve ever had a Japanese pickle with sesame seeds that weren’t just sprinkled on as a garnish, like, they are never pickled in with the veggies. Like, that probably exists but the risk is low.
If you are getting onigiri, avoid the mixed rice ones. They tend to have furikake or seeds mixed into the rice. The ones with fillings are usually plain white rice and salt, and you will be able to see any sesame used as garnish. Instead of furikake, which super commonly has sesame seeds in it, try my favorite rice sprinkles - yukari. Yukari is made of dried shiso leaves and is usually purple. It’s so so so savory yummy and I think is the perfect flavor with plain rice.
posted by Mizu at 3:58 AM on August 17 [2 favorites]
It sounds like you should also watch out for the sauce "goma shabu" (example). At least the homemade recipe that I have calls for grinding up a very large amount of sesame seeds as the bulk of the ingredients. Since it's functionally a generic brown sauce, it might be harder to recognize the sesame content at a glance. It's frequently used as a dipping sauce for shabu shabu (hot pot).
posted by past unusual at 2:49 PM on August 17 [1 favorite]
posted by past unusual at 2:49 PM on August 17 [1 favorite]
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It's super common as a salad dressing at Japanese restaurants and is also very tasty with all the foods that aren't lettuce.
posted by RobinofFrocksley at 8:09 PM on August 16 [3 favorites]