Maybe it’s time to look beyond claims of virginity in the oil aisle.
Because you see, our 20-year love affair with olive oil has had fallout. We’ve forgotten that there’s a whole world of oils that don’t come from the olive tree. And they can do a heck of a lot more than just saute and make a fine dressing.
OK, maybe we didn’t forget. Maybe we didn’t know about them at all. It’s not as though prior to the EVOO revolution we were all swilling avocado and grape seed oils. But olive oil has done a fine job of elbowing out other up-and-comers.
Sesame, for instance. You may never have bought it, but chances are you’ve had it. It’s what gives many Asian dishes a nutty, savoury, richly aromatic flavour.
Most sesame oil is made by pressing roasted sesame seeds. The oil tastes deeply nutty, almost smoky, and pairs well with anything salty. There are cold-pressed varieties, but skip them; while fine for frying, the flavour is unimpressive.
A high smoke point (215 C or 420 Fahrenheit) means this amber coloured oil can handle the heat of the fry pan. But its flavour shines brightest when used raw. Which means that getting the deepest, richest sesame flavour will mean using a bit of the oil in the pan to saute, then drizzling a bit more over the finished dish.
When shopping for sesame oil (sometimes labelled “toasted sesame oil” and often hidden in the Asian or International aisle), the darker the colour, the richer the flavour. And while loads of antioxidants give sesame oil a long shelf life, refrigerating it will make it last even longer.
What to do with it? It’s obviously a natural for stir-fry (remember to drizzle a bit more on the finished dish for best flavour) and makes killer marinades for steak. For more ideas for using sesame oil, check out the Off the Beaten Aisle column over on Food Network: http://bit.ly/wp2mDN
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Sesame Pulled Pork Sandwiches
Start to finish: 50 minutes (15 minutes active)
Servings: 6
375 ml (12-oz) bottle beer
180 ml (6-oz) can tomato paste
60 ml (1/4 cup) packed brown sugar
125 ml (1/2 cup) rice vinegar
45 ml (3 tbsp) sesame oil, divided
15 ml (1 tbsp) soy sauce
7 ml (1 1/2 tsp) garlic powder
7 ml (1 1/2 tsp) mustard powder
1 whole star anise
1.4 kg (3 lbs) pork tenderloin, cut into 5-cm (2-inch) chunks
5 to 10 ml (1 to 2 tsp) hot sauce
Salt and ground black pepper, to taste
6 bulky rolls or other burger buns
Sesame seeds, to garnish
Sliced scallions, to garnish
In a large saucepan, whisk together the beer, tomato paste, brown sugar, vinegar, 30 ml (2 tbsp) of the toasted sesame oil, the soy sauce, garlic powder and mustard powder. Add the star anise and pork. Bring to a simmer over medium-high, then cover and cook until very tender, about 40 minutes.
Discard the star anise, then use 2 forks to shred or pull apart the pork into bite-size pieces. Stir in the remaining 15 ml (1 tbsp) of toasted sesame oil and the hot sauce. Season with salt and pepper.
Divide the pork between the buns, sprinkling each serving with sesame seeds and scallions.
Nutrition information per serving (values are rounded to the nearest whole number): 563 calories; 128 calories from fat (23 per cent of total calories); 15 g fat (3 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 147 mg cholesterol; 48 g carbohydrate; 55 g protein; 2 g fibre; 923 mg sodium.
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J.M. Hirsch is the national food editor for The Associated Press. He is author of the recent cookbook, “High Flavor, Low Labor: Reinventing Weeknight Cooking.” His Off the Beaten Aisle column also appears at FoodNetwork.com. Follow him on Twitter http://twitter.com/JM_Hirsch.
