Cold Sesame Noodles

COLD SESAME NOODLES

Even if you make a large quantity of the sauce and keep it in the fridge, making these cold sesame noodles is a breeze. If you plan to store any leftovers, simply delete the warm water from the recipe. It should keep for a few weeks. If you like, you can cook the basic dish and then let your guests add their own personal touches, such as additional soy sauce or Chinese black vinegar, or hot chili sauce, for instance.

This cold sesame noodle meal resulted from a battle of the presentations between my friend and me.

INGREDIENTS:

NOODLES:

• 250g of noodles
• 1 julienned scallion
• ½ cup of cucumber
• ½ cup of bean sprouts
• ½ cup of shredded carrots
• cilantro
• Toasted sesame seeds
• crushed peanuts

SAUCE:

• 2 cloves of minced garlic
• 3 tablespoons of reserved cooking water from the noodles
• 2 tablespoon of rice wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons of peanut butter
• 1 tablespoon of sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon of fresh orange juice
• 1 tablespoon of soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon of canola oil
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1 teaspoon of Chinese sesame paste

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Al dente the noodles while reserving some of the boiling water Drain after giving the noodles a cool water rinse.
2. Stir all the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl. Scallion, carrot, and cucumber are all finely chopped.
3. Bean sprouts should be blanched for 15 seconds in boiling water, then drained and chilled in an ice bath.
4. Pour the sauce over the noodles in a bowl. Serve immediately with additional toppings like chili sauce, rice vinegar, or soy sauce along with the vegetables, chopped cilantro, broken peanuts, and toasted sesame seeds.