Ridiculously delicious sesame noodles are just 15 minutes away. Shall we do this?
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For quick dinners involving a pound of pasta, I sort of idiotically gravitate toward Italian flavors about 95% percent of the time. No offense to Italian flavors — they’re wonderful, obviously. BUT. How about shaking it up a little once in a while, right? Just as easy, just as delicious, and really great for a change: this easy sesame noodles recipe. It’s quicker than take-out, honestly. And fresher tasting, not to mention better for your bod.
Which leaves more room for Christmas cookies.
Very sensible, don’t you think?
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This recipe is great as-is. Or you can add some veggies (think thinly sliced red bell peppers, broccoli and snow peas), some tofu, or un-veganize the heck out of it with some cooked shrimp, chicken or beef if you like. This amount will feed a family of four for dinner or six or more as a side dish.
Oh, and it’s ready in 15 minutes, so there’s really nothing stoppin ya.
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Talk to you soon.
Carolyn xx
Quick and Easy Sesame Noodles
So quick. So easy. So GOOD. Faster and better for you than takeout. Top with cooked tofu, shrimp, chicken or beef if you like. You could also include some broccoli, sliced red bell peppers, and/or snow peas.
Ingredients
- 1 pound spaghetti*
- 1 medium shallot, minced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
- 3 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
- 1/4 cup crunchy natural peanut butter
- 3 tablespoons good soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
- 1/2 teaspoon sriracha
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
- 3 scallions, white and light green parts thinly sliced
- Gomasio for serving, optional**
Instructions
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook spaghetti until al dente, drain and return to pot.
Meanwhile, place the minced shallot, garlic and ginger in a small bowl and stir in the rice vinegar. Let sit for five minutes. Then whisk in peanut butter, soy sauce, sesame oil and sriracha until perfectly smooth.
In a small pan, toast the sesame seeds over low heat, stirring a few times, until fragrant and lightly browned.
As soon as you drain the pasta, pour the sauce overtop and toss to coat well. Stir in scallions and sesame seeds and serve immediately. Pass gomasio at the table if you like.
Recipe Notes
* This recipe calls for spaghetti because I really want you to be able to make it with ingredients you already have in the pantry. (And because it's good with spaghetti!) But you can use thin Chinese egg noodles too, which may absorb a little less of the sauce and leave the dish a little saucier overall.
* For the record, I do know that gomasio is Japanese and this take on sesame noodles is sort of vaguely, inauthentically Chinese. Hooray for the melting pot. 🙂
