Noodles East · Chinese home cooking
Cold Sesame Noodles
Chilled wheat noodles coated in a thin, tangy sesame-soy dressing with garlic and chilli oil, topped with crisp cucumber and carrot strips for a cool, chewy bowl.
About this dish
The dressing is the whole dish, and it wants to be thinner than you think. Sesame paste seizes into stiff clay when cold noodles touch it, so loosen it with water, a spoonful at a time, until it pours off the spoon in a slow ribbon. Rinse the boiled noodles under cold water to stop cooking and wash off surface starch; that keeps them springy instead of gumming together. You hear a squeak as you toss. The bowl is pale brown, glossy, and smells of toasted sesame, garlic and vinegar.
Before you start
Equipment: Pot. Tap the ingredient checkboxes as you go.
Method
6 steps · tick each one off as you finish it.
Whisk the dressing
Put the sesame paste, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, garlic and 2 tbsp chilli oil in a bowl and stir; it will seize into a stiff lump. Add cold water 1 tbsp at a time, whisking, until it pours off the spoon in a slow ribbon.
Rest the dressing
Leave the dressing for 10 minutes while you prepare everything else; the garlic softens and the paste loosens further. Taste: it should be nutty, tangy and lightly sweet, with the salt clearly in the background rather than leading.
Cut the vegetables
Cut the cucumber and carrot into fine 5 cm strips, keeping them in iced water for 5 minutes so they curl slightly and stay crisp. Drain very well; water clinging to the strips will thin the dressing and make the bowl taste flat.
Boil and chill the noodles
Boil 2 litres water with 2 tsp salt. Cook the noodles 3 to 4 minutes until a strand snaps cleanly with no white core, then drain and rinse under cold running water for 45 seconds, tossing with your hands until completely cool.
Toss
Shake the noodles dry, toss with 1 tsp sesame oil so the strands stay separate, then pour over the dressing and lift and turn with two forks for 60 seconds. Every strand should look pale brown and glossy, with no dry white patches.
Pile and finish
Twirl the noodles into two shallow bowls, arrange the cucumber, carrot and scallions in separate piles on top, and scatter sesame seeds and coriander. Finish with 1 tsp chilli oil down the middle so a red streak runs through the pale sauce.
Tips that matter
- Chinese sesame paste is darker and more bitter than tahini. If using tahini, add 1/2 tsp extra sugar and 1 tsp toasted sesame oil to round it out.
- Dress the noodles just before serving. Left to sit, they drink up the sauce; revive leftovers with 1 tbsp cold water and a few drops of vinegar.
Easy variations
- Add 120 g poached shredded chicken breast or 100 g firm tofu strips on top for a more filling lunch bowl.
- Replace the chilli oil with 1 tbsp finely ground toasted Sichuan peppercorn oil for a numbing, citrusy version.
Questions that come up
Why did the dressing turn into a stiff paste on the noodles?
It was too thick to begin with. Whisk in cold water until it ribbons off the spoon, and toss the noodles while they are still cool but not dripping wet.
Can I make this ahead?
Keep the dressing, vegetables and cooked noodles separate in the fridge for up to a day. Toss them together just before serving, adding 1 tbsp water to loosen.
Nutrition, roughly
| Energy | 560 kcal |
|---|---|
| Protein | 15 g |
| Carbohydrate | 72 g |
| Fat | 24 g |
Estimated per serving from standard ingredients, rounded. Treat it as a guide, not clinical data.
Boiling Noodles and Pasta Well
Salt, water volume, the two-minute window and the starchy cooking liquid that most home cooks pour down the sink.
