Sesame Noodles

  

I confess I just made a real pig of myself.  Seriously.  I decided to update my old recipe for Simple Sesame Noodles.  The photos on the original posting were not the best and I really wanted to make a better presentation.

This is such a simple dish, so quick and easy to make, plus it caters to my great love of pasta.  I quite simply adore pasta and if it is as quick and easy to make as this dish is, I love it even more!! 

 

Seriously, you have never met a quicker pasta dish to make and eat than this one.  The timing depends on what type of noodles you decide to use. I used spaghettini today and they cooked to al dente in six minutes.

So this made for a really quick, ultra quick, super quick lunch indeed!

 

You can use whatever type of noodles you want to make this simple dish. The only requirement is that they be long, thin and rather fluid, ie. wiggly.

Anything like spaghetti, ramen, udon, spaghettini, linguine and the like works really well!

 

The strength of this dish lies in the deliciousness of the simple sauce/dressing which gets quickly mixed together to toss with the cooked noodles.

Its a little bit salty, a little bit sweet, a little bit spicy,  a little bit tangy,  and a whole lotta bit delicious!

 

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE SIMPLE SESAME NOODLES

For me this is just plain store cupboard ingredients, but then I have a whole section in my larder dedicated to oriental flavors.

• 1/2 pound (130g) long thinnish noodles, uncooked
• 2 1/2 TBS dark soy sauce
• 1 TBS sugar
• 2 fat cloves garlic, peeled and finely minced
• Hot chili oil to taste
• 1 TBS seasoned rice wine vinegar
• 1 1/2 TBS toasted sesame oil
• 2 TBS light sunflower oil
• 2 spring onions, trimmed and thinly sliced

 

As I said for the noodles, you want something which is long and thin. I used spaghettini, but any kind of long thin noodle works well.

Most of these ingredients can be found in the oriental section of the supermarket.  They are very common ingredients. Make sure you use "toasted" sesame oil and not regular sesame oil. The toasted oil has a much richer flavor and color than the regular oil.

 

Rice wine vinegar is a mild flavored vinegar which is made from rice. It contains far less acid than other types of vinegars and I find that it has a somewhat sweet flavor, probably from the rice.  It is also referred to as Rice Vinegar.

There is actually no alcohol in it. It is simply made from rice and is used extensively in Asian cooking.  It is great in salad dressings. If you cannot find it a good substitute would be white wine vinegar or cider vinegar.

Don't confuse it with Japanese sushi rice vinegar, which is meant for use in making sushi and is highly sweetened in comparison. 

 

Dark soy sauce is darker, thicker and a bit sweeter than regular or light soy sauce.  It is used to flavor oriental dishes, but its dark color is also used to darken the color of oriental dishes. 

It does contain more sodium than the light soy sauce, but it is a bit sweeter and that offsets any additional saltiness. Do bear this in mind when using it. 

 

Toasted sesame oil is golden brown in color and the toasting helps it to develop a rich and nutty scent and flavor.  

If you only have regular sesame oil, there is a great article on how to toast your own found here.  Its not really that hard. I find it much more  convenient to keep already toasted sesame oil in my larder rather than toast my own.

 

HOW TO MAKE SIMPLE SESAME NOODLES

Like I said, nothing could be quicker or easier than these simple tasty noodles! If you are like me, you won't be able to resist gobbling them up! 

Place the soy sauce, sugar, garlic, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, hot chili oil and sunflower oil in a jar with a tight light. Shake well together until amalgamated. Set aside.

Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil. Add the noodles and cook to al dente according to the package directions. Drain very well and return to the saucepan.

 

Shake the jar of sauce ingredients again really well and pour over the warm noodles. Toss to coat. Add the spring onions and toss again.

Serve immediately, or allow to chill and serve as a salad with your chosen protein additions. (shredded chicken, pork, cooked shrimps.)  I like to reserve a bit of the spring onion to sprinkle over top of the finished noodles. 

 

I am not sure what it is about these that makes them as moreish as they are. I can always make a huge pig of myself when these are on the menu!  Perhaps it is the ease with which they go together?

I think more than likely it is just that they are impossibly delicious.  I am not sure if this is called Unami or not.   I can only say for sure that they are irresistible!  Especially if you enjoy oriental flavors!

Simple Sesame Noodles

Yield: 4

Author: Marie Rayner

Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 10 MinTotal time: 15 Min

Quite simply delicious. This goes together quickly and is very easy to make. Excellent served cold as a salad as well. Add some shredded cooked chicken or pork, or cooked baby shrimps.

Ingredients

For the noodles:

• 1/2 pound (230g) uncooked thin noodles, such spaghettini, linguine, vermicelli, etc. (today I used spaghettini)

For the sauce:

• 2 1/2 TBS dark soy sauce
• 1 TBS caster sugar (finely granulated)
• 2 fat cloves garlic, peeled and finely minced
• 1 TBS seasoned rice wine vinegar
• 1 1/2 TBS toasted sesame oil
• hot chili oil to taste
• 2 TBS light sunflower oil
• 2 spring onions, thinly sliced

Instructions

1. Place the soy sauce, sugar, garlic, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, hot chili oil and sunflower oil in a jar with a tight light. Shake well together until amalgamated. Set aside.
2. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil. Add the noodles and cook to al dente according to the package directions. Drain very well and return to the saucepan.
3. Shake the jar of sauce ingredients again really well and pour over the warm noodles. Toss to coat. Add the spring onions and toss again.
4. Serve immediately, or allow to chill and serve as a salad with your chosen protein additions. (shredded chicken, pork, cooked shrimps.)

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