芝麻酱 (zhīmajiàng) · sesame paste, sesame sauce

Meanings

1 sesame paste
2 sesame sauce

About the ingredient

调料 Seasonings

A thick, brown paste of ground roasted sesame, with oil that separates on top in the jar. It is stiff, especially from the fridge, so cooks stir it and loosen it with water and oil before dressing cold noodles, cold dishes and hotpot dips.

Contains sesame

Also called 麻酱

Used in 11 dishes

麻酱糖饼 májiàng tángbǐng

麻酱面 májiàngmiàn

涮羊肉 shuànyángròu

Characters

Examples

HSK 4

热干面的味道主要来自芝麻酱。

Règānmiàn de wèidao zhǔyào láizì zhīmajiàng.

Hot dry noodles get most of their flavour from sesame paste.

HSK 7-9

吃火锅的时候，我喜欢蘸芝麻酱。

Chī huǒguō de shíhou, wǒ xǐhuan zhàn zhīmajiàng.

When I eat hotpot, I like to dip into sesame sauce.

Tips

usage

Northern speech shortens it to 麻酱, the classic dip for Beijing mutton hotpot. Chinese sesame paste is made from roasted sesame, so it is darker and nuttier than Middle Eastern tahini.