Cold Sesame Noodles

This cold sesame noodle recipe is a tasty version of the Chinese-American restaurant cold sesame noodles sold in New York City's Chinatown starting in the 1960s. 

These sweet and savory cold noodles will call your name late at night from the refrigerator when the hunger pangs strike. If you make these, you may find yourself grabbing a few noodles from the bowl and dropping them into your mouth when no one is looking. 

Just knowing these noodles are waiting for you in the refrigerator can be trouble. 

Some say that these noodles were introduced to the world of Chinese take out by a Sichuan-style restaurant in New York's Chinatown owned by Shorty Tang over 60 years ago. His restaurant was called Hwa Yuan. When he passed away, the restaurant closed, but it has since been reincarnated by the family, and still serves sesame noodles!

Ingredients in Sichuan-style Cold Sesame Noodles:

Noodles: There are lots and lots of versions and opinions about what ingredients to use to make this dish, and especially when it comes to the noodles. Some recipes call for fresh wheat noodles, or "yang chun." Other recipes say that these noodles aren't strong enough to hold up. 

Other recipes specify that you need to use alkaline noodles, which will hold up to being soaked in sauce and refrigerated. They even say, "don't use egg noodles.. they are too sticky." 

Ultimately, I actually used egg noodles.. in fact, spaghetti! When cooked al dente and then rinsed and tossed with a bit of oil, these noodles held up super well and remained firm over four days of leftovers. 

Plus, I already had them in my pantry!

Peanut or Vegetable Oil. 

Sesame Seeds: You can use raw sesame seeds and toast them, or buy pre-roasted sesame seeds. 

Minced Ginger and Garlic: I cheated and used garlic and ginger pastes. 

Sesame Paste: You can either use tahini or Chinese sesame paste. The difference is that the Chinese paste uses roasted ground sesame seeds while tahini uses raw ground sesame seeds. If you can find the Chinese version, that's probably better. I had tahini in my fridge and didn't need another new ingredient, so I used tahini. 

Peanut Butter: It adds a fabulous roasty flavor. 

Additional Sauce Ingredients: Soy sauce, sesame oil, white rice vinegar, sugar, and water. 

Chile Sauce: I used sambal oelek (also great for making Indonesian dishes), but chili garlic sauce would work too. In a pinch, sriracha is good too. 

For the Vegetables: Persian cucumber, carrots, and scallions. 

To Make These Sesame Noodles:

First, cook the noodles according to the package direction until they are "al dente." Rinse them and then toss them with peanut oil. 

Next, cook the garlic and ginger in peanut oil and set aside for adding to the sauce. 

To Make the Sauce: Combine the tahini, peanut butter, soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, chile garlic sauce, sugar, and water. Whisk everything until smooth and then whisk in the cooked garlic and ginger. 

To Prepare the vegetables: Julienne the cucumbers and carrots, and thinly slice the scallions. 

Toss everything together and then top with the scallions and sesame seeds. 

Cold Sesame Noodle Recipe Variations:

You can totally play with this recipe. The first thing I would try is to up the veggie amounts. For other veggies you could add cilantro, bean sprouts, shredded snow peas, and/or thinly sliced red bell peppers. 

You could also try different Chinese noodles and see what you prefer. 

Adding some chopped peanuts to the sesame seeds is pretty tasty too. 

I'm looking forward to snagging some Chinese sesame paste the next time I hit the Asian market. 

This dish might actually become your new Chinese take-out style favorite. 

More Chinese-Style Take Out Recipes: 

General Tso's Chicken

Barbecue Pork and Shrimp Egg Rolls

Barbecue Pork Lo Mein

Stir-Fried Crispy Orange Beef

Stir-Fried Beef and Broccoli

S is for Sausage, Shrimp, Squash, Sesame, Shortcakes, Strawberry, Sweet Whiskey, and more! 

Cooking through the Alphabet!

This week, we are featuring recipes that include ingredients and techniques starting with the letter "S."

• Blogghetti: Air Fryer Sausage Balls
• Food Lust People Love: Cheesy Sausage and Egg Casserole 
• Karen’s Kitchen Stories: Cold Sesame Noodles 
• Mayuri’s Jikoni: Schezwan Sauce
• Sneha’s Recipe: Shami Kebabs 
• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Southern Style BBQ Shrimp 
• Magical Ingredients: Spanakoparatha
• A Messy Kitchen: Strawberry Mint Spritzers
• Jolene’s Recipe Journal: Summer Squash Salad 
• Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice: Sweet Whiskey Skillet Teriyaki Chicken

Cold Sesame Noodles

Yield: 6 servings

Author: Karen's Kitchen Stories

Prep time: 30 MinCook time: 10 MinInactive time: 1 HourTotal time: 1 H & 40 M

This cold sesame noodle recipe is a tasty version of the Chinese-American restaurant cold sesame noodles sold in New York City's Chinatown starting in the 1960s.

Ingredients

For the Noodles

• 12 ounces dried Chinese egg noodles or dried spaghetti
• 1 tablespoon peanut or vegetable oil

For the Sauce

• 1/2 tablespoon peanut or vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 2 teaspoon mince ginger
• 3 tablespoons tahini or Chinese sesame paste
• 2 tablespoons smooth peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
• 2 tablespoon white rice vinegar
• 2 teaspoon chile sauce (see post for options)
• 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
• 3 tablespoons water

For the Vegetables and Topping

• 2 Persian cucumbers, julienned
• 2 carrots, peeled and julienned
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced
• 2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds

Instructions

To Prepare the Noodles

1. Cook the Noodles according to the package directions to al dente. Drain and rinse the noodles. Add them back to the pot and toss with the tablespoon of oil.
2. Set aside.

To Prepare the Sauce

1. In a small saucepan, heat the remaining peanut oil over medium low heat. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for about 1 minute, until fragrant. Remove from the heat. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the tahini or sesame paste, peanut butter, soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, chile sauce, sugar, and water until the mixture is smooth.
3. Add the garlic and ginger mixture.

To Prepare the Noodles

1. Pour the sauce over the noodles and toss until they are coated.
2. Add the cucumber and carrots and toss everything together. Transfer everything to a serving bowl and then top with the scallions and sesame seeds.
3. Chill in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 hours before serving.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

257

Fat (grams)

14 g

Sat. Fat (grams)

3 g

Carbs (grams)

26 g

Fiber (grams)

3 g

Net carbs

24 g

Sugar (grams)

4 g

Protein (grams)

7 g

Cholesterol (grams)

1 mg

https://www.karenskitchenstories.com/2024/09/cold-sesame-noodles.html

Karen's Kitchen Stories

noodles, sesame, Chinese

appetizer, side dish, take out

Chinese

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Recipe adapted from The Chinese Takeout Cookbook: Quick and Easy Dishes to Prepare at Home by Diana Kuan. I love this cookbook. 

Disclosure: I received a promotional copy of this book for an honest review. I've since continued to cook from it over and over again. It's totally worth buying if you love American-style Chinese take-out food. 

She later published the book, Red Hot Kitchen: Classic Asian Chili Sauces from Scratch, which is also worth checking out.