I told you how much I love hummus. I also told you that its best if you can make it with tahini. Here in China there is no true tahini like you'd find in the Middle East or North Africa. Tahini is a paste made from sesame seeds. Below you'll find some of the substitutes I have tried for tahini with things available locally in China. Some work better than others.
Idea #1. Well, here in China we have a sesame seed paste, too. Its called 芝麻酱 (zhimajiang). Its served a lot at hot pot restaurants for dipping. It is a lot darker than tahini (I'm guessing tahini uses raw seeds and our China version uses roasted seeds?). If you use this as a substitute, I would put in half of what the recipe calls for since its a lot stronger.
Idea #2. You can often find 芝麻粉 (zhimafen) in dry bins at larger grocery stores. Its simply sesame seed powder. If you add a little oil into this powder to make it kind of pasty, you can use this as a substitute for tahini as well. I find its not as strong as the zhima jiang, but you still might not want to put in the full amount called for until you've tasted it.
Idea #3. Resort to Taobao! About a year ago the only tahini I could find on Taobao was really expensive. But I have recently found some very reasonably priced options from a couple sellers. I have tried this one, and it works great. I have not tried this one, as its newer, but the price is even better!
What have you tried that has worked? Let the rest of us know!
Idea #1. Well, here in China we have a sesame seed paste, too. Its called 芝麻酱 (zhimajiang). Its served a lot at hot pot restaurants for dipping. It is a lot darker than tahini (I'm guessing tahini uses raw seeds and our China version uses roasted seeds?). If you use this as a substitute, I would put in half of what the recipe calls for since its a lot stronger.
Idea #2. You can often find 芝麻粉 (zhimafen) in dry bins at larger grocery stores. Its simply sesame seed powder. If you add a little oil into this powder to make it kind of pasty, you can use this as a substitute for tahini as well. I find its not as strong as the zhima jiang, but you still might not want to put in the full amount called for until you've tasted it.
Idea #3. Resort to Taobao! About a year ago the only tahini I could find on Taobao was really expensive. But I have recently found some very reasonably priced options from a couple sellers. I have tried this one, and it works great. I have not tried this one, as its newer, but the price is even better!
What have you tried that has worked? Let the rest of us know!
Great idea about the sesame paste! I have some of that. We also have a Muslim part of town (Hui) and I've wondered if I could get it there...or at least sesame seeds.
ReplyDeletecreamy peanut butter! texture works great, taste blends well too .... and best of all: its probably in your pantry!
ReplyDeletelaura
i've made it myself a couple times. here we have the white sesame seeds that you can buy in the baking aisle. (do you have those there?) so i've just roasted them in the oven a little bit, and then blended them up in the food processor with some olive oil. i was never sure how long it would keep though, so i was scared to make a huge batch. but i'm guessing it would keep well in a sealed jar in the fridge. and i'm also not sure if authentic tahini is made with roasted seeds or not. i've seen recipes that call for both! and if anyone in taipei is reading this--FYI, you can actually get imported tahini at city super for about $250NT!
ReplyDeleteSesame seeds are readily available in my grocery stores here in western China. Not sure about everywhere else? Beth, the sesame powder is probably a little like powdering your own for us out here. I've had some that people made like you mentioned and the sesame were still pretty chunky--but maybe they just didn't have a strong enough blender or food processor. A coffee or spice grinder would probably do best for dealing with the seeds.
ReplyDeleteI've always just used the Betty Crocker recipe for hummus and used the white sesame seeds (didn't do anything to them because i didn't know i was supposed to) I think it turns out okay... ? :)
ReplyDeleterecipe:
http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/hummus/c4b638e5-363d-4089-8aa0-aedca8489410#?st=6&term=hummus&ps=9&pi=9&fv=AND(HasGridViewImage%3ATrue)
I have made my own a few times - wasn't too hard, and I did find tahini on this site... http://www.nogogo.cn/
ReplyDelete(I use them a lot because it is really simple - they have good customer service (a rarity in our parts!!)
Yes, Erica--I have bought from those same people but through taobao. They are really helpful. I think they are linked up in the post for where I've bought tahini before. Thanks for another recipe, Michelle!
ReplyDeleteI make my own too. Sesame seeds are cheap at my market. It is a little difficult to get it smooth enough in my processor but it works well enough.
ReplyDelete