Gomasio

Where to use gomasio ?

Explore these delicate Japanese flavours

Gomasio is often used to replace salt in traditional Japanese cuisine so it’s everyday everywhere. Excellent in winter soups and summer salads, it will enchant your meat, fish, vegetables and avocado.

How to get the best from your gomasio ?

Our recipe ideas for gomasio:

·         Broccoli with gomasio: sprinkle your broccoli with a pinch of gomasio just before serving;

·         Sushi: roll your sushi in gomasio just before serving;

·         Salmon tataki: sear your salmon slices, then sprinkle with gomasio and enjoy;

·         Japanese chicken: add a few pinches of gomasio to your marinade;

·         Avocado toast with gomasio: add a few pinches of gomasio to your avocado toast;

·         Wok sauteed noodles: sprinkle a teaspoon of gomasio on your noodles just before serving.

Catfish with gomasio

Ingredients

8 thin slices of catfish;

2 tablespoons flour;

2 tablespoons breadcrumbs;

3 tablespoons Yuzu juice;

3 tablespoons olive oil;

4 tablespoons Gomasio.

Method

Mix the flour, breadcrumbs and the yuzu juice together in a bowl. Roll the slices of catfish in the breadcrumb mix. Fry them in hot oil in a frying pan for about 2 to 3 minutes then sprinkle with gomasio. Serve with grilled vegetables or salad.

Our tip: if you can’t get hold of catfish, use monkfish, cod or hake.

The essential Japanese mix

This Japanese mix is bursting with sweet and spicy flavours. The roasted sesame seeds add notes of caramel and hazelnut which are go deliciously with the mild aromas of the umeboshi plum.

Gomasio, the Japanese mix

The name Gomasio comes from the Japanese words “goma” which “sesame” and “shio” which means “salt”. This roasted spice mix is made from Golden Sesame, Black Sesame, Sesame with Umeboshi plums from Wakayama and fleur de sel from Ifaty.

The umeboshi plum is from the same family as apricots and plums. The umeboshi plum cannot be eaten raw, but is used in jam, sweets or cordials. It is also used to produce Umeshu, a very fruity and sweet Japanese liqueur.

Sesame seeds are widely used in Japanese cuisine, especially in furikake, a vital Japanese seasoning. In gomasio, sesame seeds are roasted then mixed with a brine made with Ume plums, which gives sweet and fruity aromas.  

The fleur de sel from Ifaty is harvested by hand by the Vezo fishermen, an ancient people from the West coast of Madagascar. Fleur de sel from Ifaty is finer than other salts and dissolves easily which means you can add it right at the end of cooking or just before serving.

Where does gomasio come from?

The essential mix of spices for Japanese cuisine

The sesame used in gomasio is one of the first oilseeds discovered by mankind. The first traces of this sesame date back to India more than 7,500 years ago. The Japanese decided to use it as a condiment by mixing them with salt, that’s how they created the renowned gomasio: “goma” means sesame and “shio” means salt in Japanese. Ever since, gomasio has become a vital part of traditional Japanese cuisine. It is also widely used in ayurvedic cuisine for its health benefits, as sesame seeds represent immortality and contain many minerals such as phosphorus, magnesium and calcium.