Sesame Noodles
These unbelievable, slightly fiery noodles boast the perfect balance of savory and sweet. The shimmering, no-cook sauce is a quick-and-easy blend of soy, sesame, peanut butter, and chili garlic sauce. It’s complex and spicy, and made with 5 ingredients! This entire dish makes it to the table in 15 minutes!
I added a little peanut butter for a nutty taste, but you can leave it out. If you have a peanut allergy, or simply don’t have PB on hand, you can leave it out of this recipe. It adds a nice nutty quality and creamy texture, but so does the sesame oil. If you’re noodles seem like they need a little moisture, add more sesame oil or soy sauce.
You can make this dish as spicy as you want! The recipe calls for 1 tablespoon chili garlic sauce, but you can definitely add more. If you’re unsure of how spicy the finished product will be, add more chili garlic sauce at the end, just before serving (and after you’ve tasted the dish). You can also serve extra chili garlic sauce at the table.
This vegetarian dish can be bumped up with protein. If you want to add protein to this dish, add cooked chicken, steak, shrimp, tempeh, or seared tofu!
Feel free to add vegetables to this dish! I decided to keep this dish simple, but you can certainly add steamed or roasted vegetables. Great choices would be bok choy, spinach, broccoli, snow peas, and snap peas.
I used rice noodles but you can use any noodles or pasta you want. I chose wide rice noodles – I love how the wide ribbons cling to the sauce. You can also use any rice- or wheat-based Asian noodle, or linguine, spaghetti, or noodle of choice.
This gluten-free,15-minute meal that can be eaten hot or cold! We slurped the noodles down while they were still piping hot, and it was delightful. If you’d rather have a chilled noodle dish, you can pop the glossy noodles in the fridge and eat them when you’re ready!
Sesame Noodles
Ingredients
- 8 ounces noodles, rice noodles, Asian noodles, or regular pasta noodles
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon sesame oil, divided
- 4 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon smooth peanut butter
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar, regular or seasoned
- 1 tablespoon chili garlic sauce
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Fresh cilantro leaves, optional
- Toasted sesame seeds, optional
Instructions
- Cook the noodles according to the package directions. Drain, transfer to a large bowl and toss with 1 teaspoon of the sesame oil.
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together the remaining sesame oil, soy sauce, peanut butter, rice vinegar, and chili garlic sauce. Add the sauce to the cooked noodles and toss to combine. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.
- Transfer the noodles to a serving bowl (or individual dishes) and top with cilantro and sesame seeds (if using).