Orchid’s Spicy Sesame Sauce

Sesame sauces of varying degrees of sweetness and spiciness are a prominent feature of northern, and to a lesser extent, central Chinese cooking. The base is always the dark brown and keenly aromatic paste ground from toasted sesame seeds. As to the spicing, garlic, scallion, ginger, vinegar, and sweeteners are all used in sesame sauces to give each its special taste.

• This blend is my favorite, a sleeping tiger—a sauce that is sweet to begin and spicy on the wa