Cold Sesame Noodles: The 15-Minute Summer Dinner You Will Crave

⏱ Prep: 5 min 🔥Cook: 10 min 👤Serves: 4 🌿Diet: Vegan option

Cold sesame noodles are the dish that proves a sauce can be a meal. Wheat noodles rinsed cold and tossed in a rich, nutty sauce of peanut butter, tahini, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, garlic, ginger and chili oil, then topped with cucumber, scallions, crushed peanuts and more chili oil. Fifteen minutes. No heat required after the noodles cook. Better the next day straight from the fridge.

Ingredients

For the noodles

• 12 oz (340g) Chinese wheat noodles, or spaghetti, linguine or soba. Fresh or dried. Cook to al dente, just barely done and rinse immediately under cold running water until completely cool. The cold rinse stops the cooking and removes surface starch so the noodles stay separate and absorb the sauce without clumping.
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil, tossed through the rinsed noodles to prevent sticking before you make the sauce

For the sesame sauce

• 3 tablespoons smooth peanut butter, natural, unsweetened. The peanut butter is the body of the sauce, it coats the noodles and adds richness and depth. Almond butter or sunflower butter for nut-free versions.
• 2 tablespoons tahini, stir the jar thoroughly before measuring. The combination of peanut butter and tahini produces a more complex, nutty sauce than either alone.
• 3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce, or tamari for gluten-free
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar, the acid that balances the richness of the nut butters. Do not substitute with white vinegar, too sharp.
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil toasted only. Adds the specific nutty fragrance that defines sesame noodles.
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar, or honey or maple syrup. Balances the soy salt and vinegar tang.
• 2 cloves garlic, finely grated
• 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, finely grated, or ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• 1–2 tablespoons chili oil or 1 teaspoon chili garlic paste. Start with 1 tablespoon and add more to taste. The heat is the final dimension of the sauce.
• 3–4 tablespoons hot water or reserved noodle cooking water to thin the sauce to the correct pourable consistency. Noodle water contains starch that helps the sauce cling.

Toppings

• 1 English cucumber, julienned or cut into thin matchsticks. The cool crunch against the rich sauce is structural, not optional garnish.
• 4 scallions, thinly sliced
• ¼ cup (35g) roasted peanuts, roughly crushed
• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
• Extra chili oil for serving
• Fresh cilantro, optional

How to make it

1. Cook and cool the noodles. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Reserve ½ cup of the water before draining. Cook the noodles to al dente. Drain immediately and rinse under cold running water, tossing as you rinse, until the noodles are completely cold, 60–90 seconds. Drain well. Toss with 1 teaspoon sesame oil. Set aside.Rinsing under cold water is non-negotiable. Hot noodles sitting in their own steam continue cooking, go soft and clump together. Cold rinsed noodles stay separate, absorb the sauce properly and have the right texture when served cold.
2. Make the sauce. Whisk peanut butter, tahini, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, brown sugar, grated garlic, grated ginger and chili oil together in a large bowl until completely smooth. Add the hot noodle water one tablespoon at a time, whisking after each addition, until the sauce reaches the consistency of heavy cream, pourable but thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.Taste the sauce on its own before adding the noodles. It should be nutty, tangy, slightly sweet, savory and have a gentle heat. It will taste slightly too intense on its own, this is correct, because it dilutes when tossed with the noodles.
3. Toss and serve. Add the cold noodles to the bowl with the sauce. Toss thoroughly using tongs or two forks until every noodle is completely coated, spend 2 full minutes tossing. Top with julienned cucumber, sliced scallions, crushed peanuts and toasted sesame seeds. Drizzle extra chili oil over the top. Serve immediately or refrigerate.If serving cold from the fridge, the sauce will have thickened. Add a splash of water or rice vinegar and toss again before serving.

Why peanut butter and tahini together

The Kitchn confirms: peanut butter adds great depth of flavor and coats the noodles well, while Chinese sesame paste rounds out the sauce, even a small amount makes a significant difference.

Peanut butter alone produces a rich, one-dimensional sauce. Tahini alone is bitter and flat in a cold application. Together they produce a layered nuttiness, the peanut provides body and sweetness, the sesame provides depth and a slight bitterness that stops the sauce from being cloying.

The starchy noodle water is the other underused technique. It contains dissolved starch that helps the sauce adhere to the noodles rather than pooling at the bottom of the bowl. Use it instead of plain hot water to thin the sauce.

Make it ahead

Claire’s note

Cold sesame noodles are one of the best make-ahead dishes in the entire collection. The sauce keeps refrigerated for 1 week in a sealed jar, make a large batch Sunday and use it all week. The dressed noodles keep for 2 days in the fridge and genuinely improve overnight as the sauce penetrates every noodle. Add the cucumber and peanut toppings fresh at serving only, they go soft in the fridge. The sauce also thickens overnight, add a splash of rice vinegar or water and toss before serving. As a complete meal: add shredded rotisserie chicken, sliced soft-boiled eggs or crispy tofu over the top. The same sauce works on rice, on roasted vegetables and as a dipping sauce for spring rolls.

Serve with

Cold sesame noodles work as a standalone lunch or as a side alongside the Asian crunch salad, both cold, both built around sesame dressing, both excellent together. For more from the Asian pantry, the same sesame oil and soy sauce go into the Korean beef bowl, the sticky sesame chicken and the complete Asian recipes collection.

Add cold sesame noodles to your weekly meal planner, make the sauce Sunday, cook noodles in 10 minutes and lunch is ready for three days. And for more recipes, follow us on Pinterest.

Cold Sesame Noodles

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• Author: Claire Bennett
• Total Time: 15 minutes
• Yield: 4 servings 1x
• Diet: Vegan

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Description

A refreshing dish of cold noodles tossed in a rich, nutty sesame sauce with crunchy toppings.

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Ingredients

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• 12 oz (340g) Chinese wheat noodles (or spaghetti, linguine, or soba)
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• 3 tablespoons smooth peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons tahini
• 3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 2 cloves garlic, finely grated
• 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, finely grated
• 1–2 tablespoons chili oil
• 3–4 tablespoons hot water or reserved noodle cooking water
• 1 English cucumber, julienned
• 4 scallions, thinly sliced
• ¼ cup (35g) roasted peanuts, roughly crushed
• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
• Extra chili oil for serving
• Fresh cilantro (optional)

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Instructions

1. Cook and cool the noodles: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Reserve ½ cup of the water before draining. Cook the noodles to al dente. Drain immediately and rinse under cold running water, tossing as you rinse, until the noodles are completely cold — 60–90 seconds. Drain well. Toss with 1 teaspoon sesame oil. Set aside.
2. Make the sauce: Whisk peanut butter, tahini, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, brown sugar, grated garlic, grated ginger and chili oil together in a large bowl until completely smooth. Add the hot noodle water one tablespoon at a time, whisking after each addition until the sauce reaches the consistency of heavy cream.
3. Toss and serve: Add the cold noodles to the bowl with the sauce. Toss thoroughly using tongs or two forks until every noodle is completely coated — spend 2 full minutes tossing. Top with julienned cucumber, sliced scallions, crushed peanuts and toasted sesame seeds. Drizzle extra chili oil over the top. Serve immediately or refrigerate.

Notes

Cold sesame noodles can be made ahead, as the sauce keeps for a week in the refrigerator. The dressed noodles improve overnight as the sauce penetrates every noodle.

• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Cook Time: 10 minutes
• Category: Main Course
• Method: No-Cook, Boiling
• Cuisine: Asian

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 serving
• Calories: 450
• Sugar: 7g
• Sodium: 600mg
• Fat: 20g
• Saturated Fat: 3g
• Unsaturated Fat: 15g
• Trans Fat: 0g
• Carbohydrates: 60g
• Fiber: 4g
• Protein: 12g
• Cholesterol: 0mg