# Poor man's sesame seed oil



## kevin20422 (Dec 7, 2009)

I am making sugar peas with fried ginger tonight and I both excited and confused.  I refuse to pay $11.49 for sesame seed oil.  The recipe combines vegetable and sesame seed oil.

Can I throw in olive oil 100 percent?  Is it a taste thing or a heat thing?

Extra credit for responses received in the next half hour.

I am starting zuchinni with spaghetti sauce baked with cheese now.

I know I will get alot of response, everyone loves the poor man.  With the new tax on health care I may be even poorer.


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## boar_d_laze (Feb 13, 2008)

If you want it to taste like olive oil, cook in olive oil

Otherwise, cook in a light vegetable oil such as corn, or possibly peanut (if you like peanut).  After your peas are cooked, dress them with a high quality sesame oil -- preferably purchased from an Asian market.

If you buy sesame oil from a "regular" market, you'll pay two or three times what it costs in an ethnic store.  If you buy it from a healthfood store, you'll not only pay an even higher overcharge, but the oil will likely be rancid.

Go figure.

Buy no more sesame oil than you're likely to use in a couple of months.  After opening, store in a cool, dark place or the refrigerator.

Good luck,

BDL


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## kyheirloomer (Feb 1, 2007)

_I refuse to pay $11.49 for sesame seed oil. The recipe combines vegetable and sesame seed oil._

Are you buying it by the gallon, Kevin? That's an incredibly high price. Even the supermarkets around here only get seven dollars and change for a 10-ounce bottle. I pay about half that in an Asian market.

That aside, I don't know what recipe you used, but sesame oil isn't used for actual cooking. It's more of a finish oil, then lends sheen and flavor. And a little goes a long way. A typical use, for instance, would be to add it to a stir fry just before taking it off the heat.

As a so-so substitute, crush toasted sesame seeds and mix them with a light oil. The longer it sits the more of the sesame flavor will infuse. It won't be quite the same, but you'll come close to the unique flavor.


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## dc sunshine (Feb 26, 2007)

Must be the price per kilo, surely.  As said above, it's not used for the cooking, generally a few drops added in at the end as it is so strongly flavoured.  It will burn too and make the whole dish awful if you add it at normal wok frying temperature.

I love the stuff and yes it is pricey, I think we pay about AUS$2,50 per 250ml, which equates roughly to about USD$3.00 per 8 oz bottle.  The thing is that very little is needed to get that unique flavour, so in the long run, it's not all that expensive per serve.


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## kevin20422 (Dec 7, 2009)

Not by the gallon the price is for 16 oz at a major chain and  I could not find the link but it did say saute in half veg and half sesame oil.

It was fun but too hot from the ginger.  I learned hot to peel ginger with a spoon on the net though.

The zuchinni with spag sauce and parmesian cheese was alot of fun though.

My wife loves me so much for cooking.

Sorry about the spelling and thanks to all for your kind friendship and advice.


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## chefedb (Apr 3, 2010)

Dont know what supermarket, but they are ripping you off. A  5 ounce bottle of Kimi Brand $2.98 in asian supermarket in PUBLIX about $3.98. And you can cut it with other oil


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## kyheirloomer (Feb 1, 2007)

I'd be careful how I use the words "ripping you off," Ed.

Kevin is actually paying less than the Publix price. Roughly 4 bucks for a 5-ounce bottle vs 11 1/2 for a 16 ounce would make his purchase less expensive (half a buck less plus an extra ounce).

As noted, I'm paying just over four bucks for a 10-oz bottle (Kadoya brand); making it half the PUBLIX price and only about 2/3 the price of your Kimi.

So, using your logic, we could conclude that the one getting ripped off lives in Florida. /img/vbsmilies/smilies/biggrin.gif

Kevin, I suspect the recipe's instructions were to raise the smoke point of the sesame oil. Even so, I question that approach. You'd be better to saute in veggie or peanut oil alone, then flavor the dish with a few drops of sesame oil at the end. If you can find it again it would be interesting to see the whole recipe.


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## chefedb (Apr 3, 2010)

Maybe my math is off  but Keven said 11.49 for 16 ounce or 71.8 per ounce

Kimi at asian store cost me 2.98 for 5 ounce 0r 59.6 an ounce

Publix   3 98 for 5 ounce= 79.6 an ounce   No the one gettin ripped off shops in publix     Cant find 10 ounce bottles here, I can buy quarts ,  maybe they pack 10 ounce in Kentucky.


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## kyheirloomer (Feb 1, 2007)

Not unless they've moved Tokyo to the Bluegrass State, Ed. But you're partially right. The above is a typo, and it's an 11 ounce bottle (that'll teach me to squint instead of putting on the reading specs).

So, I'm paying 39 cents/ounce, vs your 59.6. I don't say you're being ripped off, compared to me; just that prices differ based on location, and south Florida may as well be New York in that regard. Nobody down there is offering any bargains, in my experience.

Obviously I didn't do the actual math, just rounded off and horseback estimated. But now that you've done the figuring, and given the geography, do you really consider an 8 cent difference as being ripped off? If so, than you must feel pretty badly about being ripped off to the tune of 20+ cents an ounce.

Anyway, returning to the original issue, there is no reason to cut sesame with other oils. It's a finishing oil, used to provide flavor and sheen, and only takes a few drops to accomplish that. Actually cooking with it doesn't make a whole lot of sense on several levels.


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## chefedb (Apr 3, 2010)

I work with 2 Chinese gentleman and have learned quite a bit from them. One is that in some dishes the oil is actually used to fry and in others it is simply added to taste. The Chinese are very economical and wast nothing and watch every penny, and since according to both of them the recipes where the oil is used to fry, should be cut , both for taste as well as saving money considering cooking oil figures to about 4.6 per ounce. As one of them points out by adding other oil , you increase the smoking point and less chance to burn.. Makes sense to me.


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## grumio (Apr 16, 2006)

Not all sesame oil is the Asian seasoning type. The "health food" untoasted stuff is pretty expensive. Btw, anyone check Amazon?

I've visited my (foodie) sister in Miami many times & am always amazed at the Publix monopoly. Seems like a pretty good store, but damn, as far as supermarkets go, it's the only game in town.


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## kevin20422 (Dec 7, 2009)

http://www.grouprecipes.com/39277/sauteed-snap-peas.html

I am not sure this is the same one but it says to saute in sesame oil also. Thanks for all the great feedback, I have been away for a while.


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