Saturday, March 24, 2012

My Favorite Sesame Noodles by Lucy Burdette


I'm a sucker for sesame noodles--all kinds. I love the gloppy, viscous ones they serve in Chinese restaurants, and my sister-in-law's standby with noodles and a separate sauce. But the ones I serve over and over when company's coming and the barbeque is humming have no peanut-ty sauce at all. They are spicy and salty with a tang that comes from the balsamic vinegar and they can be paired with just about anything at all. I found the original recipe in Bon Appetite magazine and have tweaked it over the years.


Ingredients

1 tablespoon peanut oil
1 tablespoons minced, peeled ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons Asian sesame oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1.5 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon hot chili oil or chili paste with garlic--to taste!
1 pound linguine
12 scallions, cleaned and chopped
1/2 cup chopped roasted peanuts
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil, cilantro if desired

Heat the peanut and saute the garlic and ginger on medium heat for about a minute. Scrape this into a large bowl and add the sesame oil, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, hot oil or chili paste, scallions, and sugar, and whisk these ingredients until well combined. Cook the noodles as directed, drain, and rinse. Add them to the bowl and mix well. Leave them at room temperature, tossing occasionally until the sauce is absorbed. Before serving, sprinkle with nuts, basil, and cilantro, if desired, and serve at room temperature.For this dinner, I also added some leftover pork tenderloin that had been marinated and grilled the night before, and then cut into matchsticks. Add some flash stir-fried snow peas or bok choy and dinner is served. Warning: I don't make these if just the hub and I are at the table--the temptation is to finish off the entire bowl! (The dish would also be delicious with grilled shrimp or chicken or crunchy cubes of tofu for the vegetarians.)

Lucy Burdette is the author of the Key West food critic mysteries featuring aspiring food critic and accomplished home cook Hayley Snow. AN APPETITE FOR MURDER is in stores now, and DEATH IN FOUR COURSES will be published in September.

To keep up on all the latest news, please feel free to "like" Lucy's page on Facebook or follow her on twitter!



5 comments:

  1. OH, Lucy! I'm a huge fan of sesame noodles, and this recipe is a keeper. Thanks for sharing and have a great weekend.

    ~ Cleo

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  2. It's a keeper for me, too. I can't wait to try it. The whole meal is perfect, with the snow peas and a little protein. Love it!

    ~ Krista

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  3. thanks friends! This reminds me, speaking of crunchy cubes of tofu, we have to get Wendy to share a crispy, tasty tofu recipe, if she has one. My husband insists he doesn't like it, no matter how I've tried fixing it. While I like it every way:)

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  4. I think that makes three of us, this IS a keeper! Thanks

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  5. Boy, do those look good! Putting them on the menu, asap. I imagine you could add some chicken for protein and have a complete meal.

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