Last night I had the pleasure of being a guest chef at the Ted and Amy Supper Club in Fort Greene. The theme was Tiki Summer Feast, so Kara set up long tables in her lovely backyard for the 12 guests and cranked up some tiki lounge music. I did a variety of shareable plates, including hoisin wings, Chinese barbecued ribs, and potstickers filled with shredded braised duck leg (which turned out to be a huge favorite!)
The meatless dish I served was a big bowl of cold sesame noodles, which also got emptied pretty quickly. I first blogged about these noodles last summer and have made them every few weeks since. A quick dish that requires minimal cooking (just boiling the pasta), it’s a lifesaver during dinner parties, when the oven and stove top are needed for everything else. But it’s also a filling and tasty dinner for one or two people.
Since there’s no end in sight for hot, sticky weather, I thought I would reshare this for your summer night meals, in or out of doors. If you’re not vegetarian and want to fancy it up, try adding some prosciutto, bacon bits…or even shredded duck!
My electricity bill these past two months has been frightening. Living in a building with only two units that is considered a “house” by ConEdison’s standards, my roommate and I have had to pay double the monthly amount of typical apartment tenants. And it doesn’t help that we have three air conditioners. We try to use them a little as possible, but with July’s record high temps and oppressive humidity, a little AC meant the difference between good night’s rest and no sleep.
And of course, I can’t not cook at home. As somewhat of a carb addict, 75% of my homecooked dinners, let’s just be honest, involve noodles or pasta. But the noodle soups will have to wait until fall.
Cold sesame noodles, on the other hand, are essential for the summer. They make great picnic food. They make great sides for cookouts. They are the same savory-sweet kind you get from the Chinese takeout, with less grease and no MSG. And they require very little prep time and don’t even have to be reheated out of the fridge (within a reasonable number of days, of course.)
For the noodles themselves, I like to use Chinese egg noodles, soba, or spaghetti. They should be round, not too thin or too thick (the width of a spaghetti strang is perfect.) I find that regular all-wheat Chinese noodles are usually too spongey for this sauce, rendering the dish into somewhat of a gloppy mess. Same with rice noodles. Egg noodles, soba, or spaghetti hold their firmness the best, and allow the sauce to coat the noodles instead of seeping in.
I also like to sauté my garlic and ginger just a little, before tossing it in with the sauce. I’d rather have fragrant garlic and ginger instead of raw, and that extra step of sautéeing for 30 seconds makes a huge difference.
Check out my new book The Chinese Takeout Cookbook for many more Chinese restaurant favorites!
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Serves 4 as a main or 6 as an appetizer
- 12 ounces dried spaghetti or Chinese egg noodles
- 2 tablespoons peanut oil
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 2 teaspoons grated ginger
- 1 cucumber, peeled and julienned
- 2 carrot, peeled and julienned
- 2 teaspoons white sesame seeds
- 2 scallions, green parts only, thinly sliced
Sauce:
- 3 tablespoons Chinese sesame paste (or 3 tablespoons tahini with an extra teaspoon of sesame oil)
- 2 tablespoons smooth peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons Chinese rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoons chili paste
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground Sichuan pepper (optional)
- Bring a pot of water to boil and cook egg noodles or spaghetti until al dente, or the minimum amount of time according to package instructions. Drain immediately, rinse with cold water, and drain again. Toss with 1 tablespoon of the peanut oil and set aside.
- Heat the other tablespoon of peanut oil in a small pan over medium heat. Gently cook the minced garlic and grated ginger until just fragrant, about 30 to 40 seconds. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- Prepare the sauce: In a medium bowl, combine the sesame paste, peanut butter, soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, chili paste, sugar, and optional Sichuan pepper. Add 3 tablespoons of water and whisk until the mixture is smooth. Stir in the cooked garlic and ginger.
- Pour the sauce over the noodles, add the cucumbers and carrots, and toss. Transfer to large bowl or deep serving dish and sprinkle the sesame seeds and scallions on top. You can serve the sesame noodles at room temperature or chill in the fridge for 1 to 2 hours before serving.
Notes: Leftovers will keep in the fridge for up to 3 or 4 days.
One of my favourite Chinese snack foods, thanks for the recipe!
Diana, these look like the perfect thing for a hot summer evening. I will be making these soon, as it’s been steamy here in the Rockies. Scrumptious looking.
I really enjoyed meeting you this weekend in NYC!
OMG this looks amazing. Gotta make it tonight.
I found your site through Foodgawker. I’ve wanted to learn how to make various kinds of noodle dishes for ages and your site is perfect. Please keep posting simple dishes for us newbies to Chinese cooking. Keep up the good work!
… I’m not addicted to carbs right now, but cold noodles might just tip me over.
there’s absolutely no chance these’ll make you sick haha. Thinking about street side cold noodles… *cries*
This looks YUMMY..have to try it
Saw this on the front page of Tastespotting. I just HAVE to make this tonight!
Wow, such an enticing photo – I’m not at all hungry right now, but I’d like to reach through the screen and just try a perfect bite. I have only read about cold sesame noodles, never tried them, but they sound amazingly flavorful! What are the little red flecks? Are they part of the chili sauce?
Marina – Yes, the red flecks are part of the chili sauce. You can also add more if you like your noodles spicier.
there’s been so many sesame noodle recipes floating around, but this is just perfect! there’s a store here that makes noodles in soup that makes use of copious amounts of sesame paste – it’s totally rocking. these cold noodles are awesome to chill up my sunny days, and i wouldn’t mind putting a bit of broth over for a soupy version on the chilly days!
Love the idea of sauteeing the garlic and ginger so it is more fragrant!
These look great!!
Here’s another fave recipe of mine.
Sesame Noodles with Tofu and Red Peppers
http://wp.me/puWta-6g
It’s particularly fun to serve these in little Chinese take-out boxes for a festive appetizer at a party.
What is that? I’ve never noticed this product before…is there another name for it? Can this dish be made with a common substitute or even without it? Thanks!
You can find Chinese sesame paste in Chinese supermarkets. But you can definitely substitute tahini, which is widely available in major supermarkets (might be more difficult to find in more rural areas). I use tahini myself most of the time when making cold sesame noodles. Hope that helps!
Looks great. I can’t wait to try making your version.
These look wonderful! This summer has been rough; no- (or low-) cooking meals are certainly required!
Looks so delicious. I’ve also peeked at your eggplant recipes. I am looking for more ways to cook eggplant so I bookmarked a couple. Your photographs are so clear. Thanks!
This sounds tasty and I like that it is served cold!
I’ve been craving cold noodle salad and the one I whipped up of the cuff last week was only so-so. I think the sesame paste and peanut butter you use will give me what I’m looking for. Can’t wait to give it a try,
This recipe looks great. I’m curious though about a suitable facsimile for chili paste. Do you mean chili paste as in Korean gochujang? Are sri racha or sambal olek acceptable substitutes? And if so, anyone have an idea on scaling up or down to achieve the same spice profile?
Thanks
I absolutely love these noodles and always order them when ordering Chinese Take out. I made this recipe EXACTLY as listed and these were WONDERFUL!!! BETTER than restaurant quality!! I brought the sauce to a friend’s and after we finished eating, she said the rest is for me!! (I made double the amount of sauce.) I also brought them to work and it disappeared very quickly! SO YUMMY!!!
Oh, and I used the Tahini with the extra tablespoon of Sesame Oil. This is now a favorite go-to recipe!! Thanks for posting it!!!
BW – No problem! This is one of my favorite recipes of all time. Definitely great as leftovers too. :)
I’m currently living in a small Provencal village (thus 400 miles from decent Chinese!). So when I crave Asian, I’m obliged to make my own…this is a wonderful recipe, I made a jar of the sauce that I’m keeping in the fridge for individual portions. I put the recipe up on the Lunch in Paris facebook page today! http://www.facebook.com/LunchinParis
Thank you for this recipe. I found it on pinterest and this is my second time making it. My husband loves it too! I’ve been putting napa cabbage in it since i haven’t had any cucumber, as well as peas and pea shoots. Last time, I fried some tofu to go along with it and it was delicious! I’ve been using the garlic chili sauce as I’m not sure what to use for the chili paste.
This used to be a staple on Chinese Restaurant menus and I even had it at a Chinese restaurant here in Nashville about 20+ years ago when I first moved here. Any ethnic food was a novelty in Nashville at that time. Sadly, I haven’t seen this in a restaurant for about that long. Fortunately, I have a recipe that I’ve had for 30+ years. I don’t even remember where I got it, but it is similar to this recipe. I like the addition of the veggies, kinda makes it seem more healthy. Otherwise, I always felt it was kind of decadent – sweet, hot, rich and carbs – what else is there!
Thanks for this spin on it.
Pete