Recipe - Cold Sesame Noodles

Cold Sesame Noodles

There are a lot of things I love about Chinese/Asian cuisine, but one thing I really love is the flavor of toasted sesame oil. So fragrant, so delicious. A little goes a long way, and too much can actually be "too much" because there is a bit of a bitter undertone that can overpower the other flavors in the dish.

That said...

There is ONE dish that I absolutely adore - cold sesame noodles. I've tried doing this with peanut butter instead of the actual toasted sesame paste, and it just doesn't do it for me. Now, if you've got an Asian grocer in your area, get a jar (or two) of this magical ingredient. Otherwise, do what I did - Amazon! Got two jars and they threw in a "free" spoon. A very long handled spoon. Which you WILL need, because the oil separates and you need to blend it VERY well before you measure it out. By the bye, tahini will NOT cut it here, you need that toasted flavor.

As to the chili paste? Well, this was originally a Szechuan style recipe, so there's supposed to be a bit of a kick to it. You can omit it if you like, but don't increase it because it'll actually overpower the sesame flavor. Which, frankly, is the whole point of this recipe... 

Oh, one more thing. If you can't find Asian egg noodles, you can substitute dried lo mein noodles (even "regular" grocery stores have this stuff if you look hard enough). Or, if you want to honk off a certain sister who faints at the utterance of the "R" word, you can substitute 6 packets of RAMEN (Sis? SIS?!?) without the "seasoning packet" (or, as I like to refer to it, colored salt). 

You can serve this as an appetizer. Or, you can eat it as a main course. I can't see this as an appetizer, because every time I make a batch I want to eat the whole damn thing...

INGREDIENTS:

4 oz. Chinese (toasted) sesame paste, well stirred
4 Tbsp. Asian (toasted) sesame oil
1 1/2 Tbsp. soy sauce, heated
6 Tbsp. Low-Sodium Chicken Stock, heated
2 Tsp. minced garlic or garlic paste
2 Tsp. minced peeled fresh ginger or ginger paste
2 Tsp. rice vinegar
1 Tsp. sugar
1/4 Tsp. Asian chili paste* or dried hot red pepper flakes
3/4 pound fresh* or dried* Asian egg noodles or thin spaghetti
3 Green Onions, finely minced 
3 Tbsp. Toasted Sesame Seeds
*available at some Asian markets

RECIPE:

In a blender blend together sesame paste, 2 Tsp. of the sesame oil, soy sauce, chicken stock, garlic, ginger, vinegar, sugar, and chili paste. In a pot of salted boiling water, add a dash of sesame oil and then cook the noodles until they are al dente, drain them in a colander, and rinse them well under cold water. Drain the noodles well. In a bowl toss them with the remaining 2 Tbsp. sesame oil. Drizzle the noodles with the sesame mixture, toss well. Transfer to a platter and top them with the scallion and toasted sesame seeds.

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