Cold “Sesame” Noodles with Tons of Veggies

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Since Cold sesame noodles have sustained me through many a New York night. After all, weekly Chinese takeout stands as a hallowed tradition in any New York apartment without a decent kitchen—basically, every apartment I ever occupied during my years in the city.Read this little prologue, followed by a step by step, or jump to the recipe.  Once I moved away, in 1999, I pretty much gave up cold sesame noodles. The ones I’ve sampled here in the midwest are pretty, pretty bad. I did have a bang-up recipe for them years ago, from fellow New Yorker Jane Brody’s Good Food Book. But once my daughter left home and the divorce went through, I found I was the only person craving them. My son never developed the taste.And yet, when friends recently popped by in this hottest of summer, I happened on the following version (with modifications, including very little sesame to speak of) and thought, what could be finer?

Note that there is no sesame in this version other than in the oil; I used peanut butter, so honestly, that title is a TOTAL shell game. Ha! I’ll best you yet, Google. OK, that actually isn’t possible. You can buy sesame paste—NOT tahini, which has a different preparation—at Asian markets, and you could replace the peanut butter with that. But you can buy peanut butter anywhere, and you could really use any nut butter you fancy or have on hand, I’m guessing, except coconut, which is distinctly sweet. OK, that paragraph was a lot longer than anticipated.

Here’s my adaptation of the “Saucy Asian Noodle Salad” from Moosewood Restaurant Celebrates (Clarkson Potter, 2003). And here’s the cookbook if you want to check it out.

Step One: Prepare the dressing
The original version of this suggested marinating tofu. I blew this off as I’d decided to (forgive me, vegan and vegetarian friends) tea smoke some chicken as the protein. Here’s the formula:

• 4 parts nut butter
• 2 parts each soy sauce and citrus juice (I used limes, and liked them, though the original called for lemon; orange would also work)
• 1 part brown or coconut sugar (or skip it if you’re sugar averse)
• 1/2 part each rice vinegar and toasted sesame oil
• grated fresh ginger and sriracha or gochujang to taste

Either way, add the nut butter last. If you want to marinade tofu or tempeh, use the dressing ingredients first without the nut butter. Then, after an hour or so, remove the tofu or tempeh and mix in the nut butter. Waiting to add it to the end makes it a lot easier to mix. And DO NOT use the marinade on any sort of raw meat, or you’ll have to discard it.

Step Two: Noodles and veggies
I used about 1.5 ounces of pasta per person, and I went with the recommended soba; both the texture and flavor work nicely. As an alternative, fresh egg noodles—the Asian kind, not the fat German or Eastern European ones—or ramen will do in a pinch. Grate about 1 carrot and 1 radish per person, and add a handful of chopped or baby greens per person as well. Since I had dandelion and baby bok choy on hand, but once again, any flavorful tender greens should do the trick.

Step Three: Mix it all together.
Exactly what the header says. Top with toasted sesame seeds, chopped nuts, crumbled seaweed, minced cilantro—whatever floats your boat. I was going to use sesame seeds, but Steve seems to have eaten them all, and by then I was all, dammit, I’m hungry. Just take the picture already.

• Cold Sesame Noodles: The Recipe

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Cold "Sesame" Noodles with Tons of Veggies

An easy 3-step recipe subs nut butter for sesame paste (but still uses sesame oil) in a DIY version of the Chinese takeout classic.

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Cuisine

Asian

Prep Time

20 minutes

Servings

sides MetricUS Imperial

Ingredients

Dressing

• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup fresh citrus juice lemon, lime, or orange
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar or cider, or other mild light vinegar
• 2 tablespoons brown or coconut sugar (to taste; you may want to use less, especially if you use orange juice)
• 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
• 1 teaspoon sriracha or gochujang or other chili paste, to taste
• 1/2 cup peanut or almond butter

Salad

• 2 bundles soba noodles or 6 oz. long thin pasta of your choice, including ramen
• 2 cups finely shredded bok choy, Chinese cabbage, or other leafy crunchy green
• 1 cup shredded dandelion or mustard greens
• 2 cups grated carrots
• 1/4 cup grated radish
• sprouts, minced cilantro, sesame seeds, or chopped peanuts for garnish

Cuisine Asian Prep Time 20 minutes Servings sides MetricUS Imperial Ingredients Dressing 1/4 cup soy sauce 1/4 cup fresh citrus juice lemon, lime, or orange 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil 1 tablespoon rice vinegar or cider, or other mild light vinegar 2 tablespoons brown or coconut sugar (to taste; you may want to use less, especially if you use orange juice) 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger 1 teaspoon sriracha or gochujang or other chili paste, to taste 1/2 cup peanut or almond butter Salad 2 bundles soba noodles or 6 oz. long thin pasta of your choice, including ramen 2 cups finely shredded bok choy, Chinese cabbage, or other leafy crunchy green 1 cup shredded dandelion or mustard greens 2 cups grated carrots 1/4 cup grated radish sprouts, minced cilantro, sesame seeds, or chopped peanuts for garnish

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Instructions

1. Mix all ingredients down to nut butter. Add the nut butter last, whisking til smooth.
2. Cook the noodles in a large pot of salted water. If using soba, be sure to rinse after draining, then drain again thoroughly; I use a salad spinner to remove as much water as possible. Chop and grate all veggies.
3. Toss noodles and veggies with dressing. Garnish as desired.

Recipe Notes

Adapted from the "Saucy Asian Noodle Salad" recipe from Moosewood Restaurant Celebrates, by the Moosewood Collective. (Clarkson Potter, 2003)

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