Green Bean Gomaae is a classic Japanese salad where we blanch fresh green beans and toss them in a sweet, sesame-soy dressing. You‘ll need only 4 ingredients and 20 minutes to make this delicious, vegan-friendly side dish.
Green Bean Gomaae (胡麻和え) is one of the vegetable side dishes that my mom taught me to make from scratch when I was young. The aromatic and nutty sesame sauce adds just the right touch to the vegetables. As green beans pair well with almost every Japanese meal, we would serve this dish regularly at the family dinner.
It’s fresh-tasting, delicious, and super simple. Whenever you need a quick veggie, this salad will always be a perfect match. It’s the one you’ll make again and again, and you may want to memorize this recipe!
Table of Contents
What is Gomaae?
Gomaae (sometimes written goma-ae or goma ae) is a Japanese side dish with vegetables lightly coated in sesame sauce. In Japanese, goma (胡麻) means sesame seeds and ae (和え) means dressed with sauce/dressing. Yes, the double “a” is correct!
For this dish, we crush toasted sesame seeds and season them with soy sauce and sugar. You will wonder why it’s so simple yet incredibly delicious. The sesame sauce is versatile and you can dress all kinds of vegetables with it! The top two popular choices are green beans and spinach.
Why You’ll Love This Dish
- Just 4 ingredients: Green beans, sesame seeds, soy sauce, and sugar. That’s it!
- Easy to make: Takes less than 15 minutes!
- Versatile: You can use other veggies if you don’t have green beans.
- Delicious: Everyone loves it and wants more! A sure way to eat more vegetables.
- Make-ahead friendly: It stores well in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Ingredients for Green Bean Gomaae
- green beans – I use either regular green beans or French green beans called haricots verts
- toasted white sesame seeds – you could use black sesame seeds or a combination of the two, but be aware that black sesame seeds have a stronger aroma and taste; a good source of vitamins, minerals, fiber, healthy fats, and protein
- soy sauce – I recommend Japanese soy sauce instead of other Asian varieties for the right flavor; for gluten-free, use GF soy sauce
- sugar – to add sweetness to balance out the saltiness of the soy sauce
How to Make Green Bean Gomaae
- Toast the sesame seeds and grind them. Then, combine all the sauce ingredients.
- Cook the green beans in boiling water until tender. Drain.
- Toss together the green beans and sauce and serve.
Please see the recipe card below for detailed instructions.
Helpful Tools: Japanese Mortar and Pestle
For gomaae, we use a Japanese ceramic mortar called suribachi (すり鉢) and wooden pestle called surikogi (すりこぎ). These are helpful tools in Japanese cooking to grind sesame seeds and nuts, mash vegetables and tofu, or mix ingredients. Most Japanese households have these tools to easily make gomaae.
I always recommend getting a bigger suribachi bowl if you can. That way, you can add all the salad ingredients into the sauce you just made in it and easily toss them together. Two of my favorite suribachi bowls are roughly 10 inches (25 cm) in diameter:
- Japanese-style large ceramic mortar (suribachi) (use promo code “JOC10” to get 10% off)
- Japanese-style 9.5″ pestle (surikogi) (use “JOC10” to get 10% off)
Cooking Tips for Green Bean Gomaae
- Toast the sesame seeds. Even though some are pre-toasted, it’s best to toast them again just before cooking to bring out the aroma and flavor. Don’t skip this step; it makes a difference!
- Leave some sesame seeds uncrushed. You don’t need to grind the sesame seeds down to a paste. My preference is to leave some sesame seeds uncrushed for texture.
- Don’t skip the sugar. You may be tempted, but don’t omit the sugar completely. You need it to counterbalance the salt in the soy sauce.
- Don’t overcook the green beans. Boil them until just tender, about 3 minutes for French green beans or 4–5 minutes for regular green beans. I like when they still have the slightest crunch of texture. As you cook, check at short intervals for doneness.
- Shock the green vegetables. To stop the cooking, quickly rinse them in cold water or shock them in a bowl of iced water. Cooling in ice water also helps veggies like green beans and spinach stay bright green.
Other Vegetables To Use for Gomaae
No green beans today? Try different variations with these veggies!
- Asparagus
- Avocado
- Bean sprouts
- Broccoli & Broccolini – my kids’ favorite!
- Burdock root (gobo)
- Carrot
- Cauliflower
- Chrysanthemum greens (shungiku) – my mom’s favorite
- Cucumber
- Kabocha
- Komatsuna – Mr. JOC’s favorite!
- Okra
- Spinach – try my recipe for Spinach Gomaae
- Tofu –add tofu to gomaae to make Shiraae, a variation of gomaae!
FAQs
Why don’t we make more sauce for the green beans?
The sesame dressing is not meant to be heavy and saucy. The green beans are coated only lightly with the sauce. For a half pound of green beans, you will need just 1 tablespoon of soy sauce and 1/2–1 tablespoon of sugar.
Can I use black sesame seeds?
You can, but please be aware that black sesame seeds have a stronger aroma and taste.
Can I use another vegetable other than green beans?
Sure! I listed above some of the vegetables that work with sesame sauce, so please check it out!
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Green Bean Gomaae (Sesame Dressing)
Ingredients
For the Dressing
- 3 Tbsp toasted white sesame seeds
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp sugar (can reduce to ½ Tbsp, but the dish will taste saltier)
For the Green Beans
- 1 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- ½ lb green beans
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients.
To Prepare the Sesame Dressing
- Bring a pot of water to a boil to cook the beans. Meanwhile, toast 3 Tbsp toasted white sesame seeds in a dry frying pan for a couple of minutes, gently shaking the pan. Be careful not to burn the seeds. Tip: Even if your sesame seeds are pre-toasted/roasted, it’s good to toast them again for a nice aroma.
- With a mortar and pestle (or spice grinder), grind the sesame seeds, leaving some uncrushed to add texture to the sauce.
- Add 1 Tbsp soy sauce and 1 Tbsp sugar and mix it all together. The dressing will look more like a paste than dressing. Set aside.
To Prepare the Green Beans
- If your green beans are not trimmed, snap the tip of one end of the bean with your fingers and draw it down the length of one side to remove any existing string. Do the same thing with the other end, pulling it down the other side of the bean.
- To the boiling water, add 1 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt and ½ lb green beans.
- Cook the green beans for 4–5 minutes (or 3 minutes for French green beans/haricots verts) until they are bright green and tender but still crunchy.
- Remove from the heat, place in a strainer, and quickly rinse them in cold water to stop them from cooking further (or you can transfer them to an ice-water bath). You don’t need to chill them; the beans should still be warm. Drain or dry well with a clean towel. Then, cut them into pieces 2 inches (5 cm) long. Tip: Shocking the green beans with cold water will help them stay green.
To Dress and Serve
- Transfer the warm beans to the bowl and toss them in the sesame dressing. Serve the Green Bean Gomaae at room temperature or chilled.
To Store
- Keep the leftover in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
