Sesame Noodles
Cold noodles in a sesame-and-black-vinegar dressing that stays emulsified because of the noodle water you saved.
- Prep
- 15m
- Cook
- 8m
- Waiting
- 20m
- Total
- 43m
- Serves
- 4
- Effort
- Easy
Method
Tap a step number to mark it done. Tap an ingredient once for got it, twice for need it.
| 4 tbsp | Whisk the dressing, adding the water last and slowly 6m Add the noodle water a spoonful at a time. Poured in at once it splits. | Toss the chilled noodles with the dressing and the raw vegetables 3m Dress within an hour of eating. Left overnight the noodles absorb everything and go dry. | |
| 3 tbsp | |||
| 2 tbsp | |||
| 1 tbsp | |||
| 2 tsp | |||
| 2 cloves | |||
| 2 tbsp | |||
| 100 ml | |||
| 400 g | Boil the noodles, rinse cold, and chill 20 minutes 8m Rinse hard under cold water to strip the surface starch, or they glue together. | ||
| 1 tsp | |||
| 1 | |||
| 3 | |||
| 2 tbsp | |||
| a small handful |
-
Whisk the dressing, adding the water last and slowly
6m- Chinese sesame paste 4 tbsp
- light soy sauce 3 tbsp
- Chinkiang black vinegar 2 tbsp
- toasted sesame oil 1 tbsp
- sugar 2 tsp
- garlic 2 cloves
- chilli oil 2 tbsp
- hot noodle cooking water 100 ml
Add the noodle water a spoonful at a time. Poured in at once it splits.
-
Boil the noodles, rinse cold, and chill 20 minutes
8m- fresh wheat noodles 400 g
- toasted sesame oil 1 tsp
Rinse hard under cold water to strip the surface starch, or they glue together.
-
Toss the chilled noodles with the dressing and the raw vegetables
3m- from 1 Whisk the dressing, adding the water last and slowly
- from 2 Boil the noodles, rinse cold, and chill 20 minutes
- cucumber 1
- spring onions 3
- toasted sesame seeds 2 tbsp
- coriander (optional) a small handful
Dress within an hour of eating. Left overnight the noodles absorb everything and go dry.
Why the noodle water is not optional
Sesame paste is ground seed — fat and solids with almost no emulsifier of its own. Whisk it straight into soy sauce and vinegar and it seizes, then splits into a grainy sludge under an oil slick. Starchy noodle water fixes both problems: the dissolved amylose acts as a stabiliser, holding the fat in suspension, and it thins the paste while keeping the dressing thick enough to cling. Add it hot and slowly, whisking, and the dressing turns pale and glossy in about thirty seconds.
Notes
- Chinkiang vinegar is malty and rounded rather than sharp. Rice vinegar works but you will want a little more sugar.
- Rinsing the noodles cold stops the cooking and washes off loose starch. Toss them in a teaspoon of sesame oil immediately after.
- Make the dressing a day ahead if you like; it keeps a week and thickens, so loosen with warm water before using.