Cold Noodles In Sesame Sauce

[=Mark]

Cold Noodles In Sesame Sauce

Here is a great summer recipe that works well as an appetizer or a lite main course. It has been a smashing success whenever I have brought it as a covered dish. Everyone always remarks how spicy hot it is, and some even say they usually don't go for spicy food, but loved this anyway. If you follow the recipe exactly, it has a bare minimum of heat to qualify as chilehead-hot, but more pepper sauce could be added.

• 1 lb thin spaghetti
  
• 1/2 c oriental sesame oil
  
• 5 tsp sesame tahini
  
• 2/3 c peanut butter
  
• 3 T white vinegar
  
• 5 T Szechuan Pepper Sauce (sriracha works fine here)
  
• 2 fresh or dried red hot chiles minced (cayenne or red jalapeno)
  
• 6 T sugar
  
• 1 c chicken broth
  
• 1 c soy sauce
  
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
  
• 1 large cucumber peeled seeded and julienned
  
• 1 bunch scallions minced fine
  

Boil the noodles according to package direction, drain, and cool thoroughly under cold running water while still in the colander. Toss the now cool noodles with the sesame oil (you could use the pot you cooked them in for this provided you wash all the starchy remains out), cover, and refrigerate for 2 hours to let the sesame flavor absorb into the noodles. In a large bowl combine the tahini, peanut butter, vinegar, Pepper Sauce, chiles, sugar, chicken broth, soy sauce, and ground black pepper. Stir until smoothe. Add the cold noodles, toss well. Add the cucumber strips and minced scallions, toss well, and serve.

Keywords: Appetizer, Main Dish, Hot and Spicy

( RG282 )

[MetsFan5]

Has anyone tried this? It sounds delicious but I avoid spicy so I’d leave the  peppers out and use the sriracha on the side. 

[Lisa Shock]

I tend to go more towards THIS recipe. However, I like to use Japanese buckwheat noodles, they stand out better when cold.

[liuzhou]

55 minutes ago, Lisa Shock said:

I tend to go more towards THIS recipe. However, I like to use Japanese buckwheat noodles, they stand out better when cold.

 

Agreed about the buckwheat noodles.

 

On 03/04/2003 at 4:53 AM, =Mark said:

5 T Szechuan Pepper Sauce (sriracha works fine here)

 

I'm mystified about how Sriracha can be subbed for Sichuan Pepper sauce, though. They are nothing like each other.

[Tri2Cook]

2 hours ago, liuzhou said:

 

I'm mystified about how Sriracha can be subbed for Sichuan Pepper sauce, though. They are nothing like each other.

Just a guess but maybe "works fine here" means "will still be tasty" and not "will be the same" just as an option to anyone who doesn't have Sichuan Pepper sauce available where they live.

[liuzhou]

16 minutes ago, Tri2Cook said:

Just a guess but maybe "works fine here" means "will still be tasty" and not "will be the same" just as an option to anyone who doesn't have Sichuan Pepper sauce available where they live.

 

 

Yeah, but if you are putting in 5 T Sriracha why also put in the chili peppers. I just find the whole recipe a bit weird.

[Alex]

I'm sure the recipe is good as it stands, but I also find it a bit odd. I rely on Sam Sifton's recipe in the NY Times, Takeout-Style Sesame Noodles.

[ElsieD]

That's one big glug of sesame oil.

[Anna N]

8 minutes ago, Alex said:

I'm sure the recipe is good as it stands, but I also find it a bit odd. I rely on Sam Sifton's recipe in the NY Times, Takeout-Style Sesame Noodles.

 For those who don’t have access to the New York Times 

 

Click  

[Alex]

20 minutes ago, Anna N said:

 For those who don’t have access to the New York Times 

 

Click  

 

Doesn't the Times allow ten free articles a month? It used to, anyway.

[Anna N]

22 minutes ago, Alex said:

 

Doesn't the Times allow ten free articles a month? It used to, anyway.

 Those were the days before they put their cooking stuff behind a pay wall.  

[Katie Meadow]

I find the inclusion of both peanut butter and sesame to be a little strange. For making Chinese dishes I find these following two products far more satisfying than plain peanut butter and middle eastern tahini:

 

One is Jade brand sichuan peanut sauce. It is a bit spicy, is halfway between a smooth and a chunky style and is extremely versatile. When it comes to sesame flavor in Chinese food I find that Chinese brands of sesame paste are better than tahini. The Jade brand sauces are available from most large markets that have a variety of ethnic condiments. Sesame paste is available at most Asian markets.

 

The NYT recipe for take out noodles benefits greatly from the use of these two substitutions. Personally I like to make either a peanut sauce sauce noodles or a sesame sauce noodles instead of combining both. But I do agree with Smitten Kitchen that thinning out the sauce is a good way to go. Use a little less gloppy peanut product or sesame product and up the soy, vinegar, chicken broth or whatever.  

[Anna N]

59 minutes ago, Katie Meadow said:

But I do agree with Smitten Kitchen that thinning out the sauce is a good way to go.

Thanks muchly for mentioning Smitten Kitchen as a source of cold noodle recipes.  I love cold noodles and she has a number of recipes that are quite appealing and very easy.  

[Beebs]

Yum - love cold sesame noodles! Haven't tried this recipe though. 

 

Don't bother with tahini, it's the wrong flavour. If you can't find Chinese sesame paste, add some toasted sesame oil to the PB. Or toast some sesame seeds & grind it up yourself. I use both PB & sesame paste together. Splash of Chinese black vinegar instead of plain white. I also like a scoop of Lao Gan Ma crispy chili sauce in there. And if you can get it, minced salted pickled mustard vegetable (zha cai) - brings it to the next level!

 

Don't be afraid to thin that sauce out or make more sauce than you think you need. I find the noodles get a bit stodgy after awhile from sucking up all that sauce, especially if you're having leftovers for lunch the next day.

 

Oh yeeaaah...this is going on the menu rotation this week, we've got some summer-ish weather in the forecast! 

[MetsFan5]

Thanks everyone! Great suggestions. I did think the original recipe called for an abundance of sesame oil. 

[Tri2Cook]

8 hours ago, liuzhou said:

 

 

Yeah, but if you are putting in 5 T Sriracha why also put in the chili peppers.

Good question. I was only commenting on the substitution, not the recipe as a whole. 

[Lisa Shock]

If things are too thick, I often just add a little water.

[Lisa Shock]

Forgot to mention that I strongly object to the black pepper in the OPs recipe.

[liuzhou]

1 hour ago, Lisa Shock said:

Forgot to mention that I strongly object to the black pepper in the OPs recipe.

 

Yes, that was one of the things I picked up on first. And the insistence on "oriental" sesame oil, but then using tahini! I like tahini a lot, but it ain't Asian style sesame paste. I can just about forgive the spaghetti!

 

I'm not a stickler for so-called "authenticity", but...

Edited May 12, 2018 by liuzhou (log)