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Sesame steak sauce


For as long as I can remember, I have been having a food love affair with the sesame steak sauce at The Japanese Village Restaurant. Even as a child I remember getting dressed up and driving to downtown Ottawa with my family, climbing over snowbanks in my uncomfortable dress shoes to celebrate whatever we were celebrating with an exquisite steak dinner. The sesame steak sauce has always been centre stage for me. It's why I still go there today, at the Victoria location now, to celebrate something special or to get together with friends over delicious cooked-right-in-front-of-you Teppanyaki cuisine.

I have always kept an eye out in stores for something similar to the sauce I adore, but I have never found anything that came close. So I decided to play around with ingredients in my own kitchen to see if I could create my own version of this beloved sauce. Using just four ingredients, I'm happy to say I think I've NAILED it.



Here's how I made it:
per serving

2 tbsp tahini
1 tbsp soy sauce (I like Kikkoman)
1 tbsp cold water (depending on the thickness of your tahini, you may need to add a little more than 1 tbsp water)
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard

I combined the ingredients in a small bowl and mixed them up. That's all!



It's not traditional in Japanese cuisine to put a sauce like this on your rice. Still, it's a tradition at The Japanese Village Restaurant to enjoy it this way, and this recipe will satisfy cravings until our next family celebration dinner out.

Are you a fan of sesame steak sauce? Have you recreated any of your favourite restaurant foods at home? Leave a comment and tell me all about it!