Sesame Noodles
I can’t think of many things better than a cold sesame noodle salad. Except maybe one that you make at home for dirt cheap that tastes scads better than what you find at the deli.
I swiped the basic recipe from this lady here but of course had to make it my own. I started out with some noodles (tonight we went gluten-free and tried some by bionaturæ made with rice, potato and soy. They were surprisingly good. And left an awful lot of milky soup in the noodle pot. But that’s beside the point.)
For the sauce I didn’t measure a thing, I just sort of eye-balled it. A healthy portion of soy sauce, about three cloves of garlic, a small palmful of raw sugar, a generous splash of rice vinegar, sesame oil, and chili oil, and a tiny splash of olive oil. Pioneer Woman’s recipe called for a lot more canola oil, which I didn’t have. I didn’t want the flavor of the olive oil to overpower anything, so I kept it to a minimum. Besides, there was already plenty of oil in it, next time I’ll just leave it out altogether and not miss it at all. Whisk it all together!
While the noodles were still boiling and the sauce was all done, I sauteed up some lovely shallots and spinach. I had no green onions and these seemed like perfectly good substitutes. I pined for some snow peas, but they can be had another day.
Once the noodles were done, I drained them, coated them in the sauce and tossed them with the vegetables. Verdict: loved it. Josh commented that he loves it so much more than any other store-bought sesame noodle salad because they’re all so oily. (Another confirmation for no canola oil!) It was ridiculously simple to make and everything can be done by the time the noodles are boiled. It was even better the next day chilled and with grated carrot added. It will definitely be a regular quick go-to meal.
Tags: Pasta
