Recipe: Sesame Noodles

Recipe Source: Passmore, Jacki.  Savoring China.  Oxmoor House, Menlo Park, 2003 p. 192

I can't believe I haven't posted this before, because I know I've made this recipe.  Repeated searches through TypePad have convinced me, intellectually anyway, that I have not posted it, so I'm going ahead and posting it now.  In my heart, though, I have a sneaking suspicion that one of you is saying, "Less than two years and she's already recycling recipes?" 

Anyway, I made this dish so that there would be something high in carbohydrates when my husband got back from his big regional sports practice, but there was an ulterior motive as well.  As I've mentioned - repeatedly - neither our refrigerator nor our freezer holds much of anything.  This leaves me with periodic purges of both resources.  In a recent purge, I discovered two open containers of tahini.  They must go.... but tahini isn't cheap.  At the risk of boring everyone to death with tahini recipes, I really need to find ways to not waste this stuff.  I suspect that the sesame paste used in Chinese cooking is rather different from tahini, but that's missing the point. 

I made a few changes.  I substituted cashews for the peanuts in the original, to accommodate a food allergy.  The "vegetable oil" was olive oil, because that's my default cooking fat.  I also decided that I just couldn't bring myself to deep-fry the cashews in that much oil, and roasted them instead.  This is less authentic, but I don't much care at this point.  I just couldn't bring myself to do it. 

The result was a very tasty treat that perfectly satisfied both me and my husband. 

Sesame Noodles (serves 4; approx. $1.52/serving)

2 ounces toasted cashews

9 ounces fresh Chinese-style noodles

1/4 cup tahini

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons hot pepper sesame oil

2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1/2 cup hot water

1/2 cup chopped scallions

1 cayenne pepper, chopped

Equipment:

• Large saucepan
• Strainer
• Bowl

1. Chop the cashews finely and set aside.
2. Bring a large saucepan filled with salted water to a boil. 
3. Add the noodles and boil 3 - 4 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, make the sauce.  Combine the next 6 ingredients in the bowl and mix as well as you can, whether that's with a whisk or a fork or whatever. 
5. Drain the noodles.  Put them in your serving bowl.
6. Add the sauce.  Toss well to coat.
7. Top with the cashews, scallions and cayenne.  Serve.

Comments

[Chris]

This looks much better but just as easy as my "simple sesame noodles". Great job!