If you’ve been on our Old Beijing Dinner Tour, you know the almost pure ecstasy that is the sesame dipping sauce. Although we haven’t been able to get our hands on our vendor’s exact Beijing hotpot recipe, here’s a few approximations if you’re looking to try to make the sauce at home. Good luck!
Recipe 1. Basic Sesame Sauce Recipe for Beijing-style Hotpot.
320g sesame paste (use sesame paste from an Asian grocer as it’s made from roasted sesame seeds. Tahini is made from raw sesame seeds)
80g smooth peanut butter
3 pieces of fermented tofu (you can find this in Asian grocers. It looks like pieces of white tofu in a red translucent sauce in a jar. It usually has a red lid)
1tbs Chinese Chive Sauce (I don’t see this often overseas but you could take a jar of it home with you. Go to the cooking sauces section of any supermarket here and match the characters 韭菜花 to a jar of green sauce. 韭 is an easy character to remember so look for the jar with that character on it)
1-2tbs light soy sauce (use this as a seasoning like salt and add to taste)
1/2tsp sugar (to taste)
1/4-1/2 tsp of oyster or hoisin sauce (to taste)
Cilantro and green onion chopped
Mix all ingredients together, adjust to achieve the desired flavor and mix in cold water to achieve desired consistency.
Recipe 2. Beijing Hotpot Recipe Restaurant Sesame Sauce
(makes 355 bowls – adjust proportionally as needed)
10000g of ‘2-8 Sauce’ (a mixture of 80% sesame sauce and 20% peanut butter)
1250g light soy sauce
4500g Chinese chive sauce
2500g fermented tofu
650g fish sauce
500g Chinese cooking wine
310g oyster sauce
150g MSG
100g fine black pepper
300g sugar
55g 13 Spice Powder (available in Asian grocers)
50g chilli oil
50g Sichuan pepper oil
If that sounds too complicated, why not join us for a small group walking tour of Beijing’s best hidden foodie gems? We’ve got tours every day of the week, and you can find out more about the Old Beijing Dinner tour with the link.
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