Cold Peanut Sesame Noodles - Creamy, Crunchy, Yummy!

Hi there and welcome to my kitchen. Today I'm going to show you how to make cold sesame peanut noodles. Cold noodle dishes dressed with sesame paste are popular in China and Taiwan, but today's version with peanut butter is an American invention according to the New York Times. This makes good sense. Peanut butter is an American thing after all. Turns out the peanut butter adds creaminess and helps the sauce emulsify and coat the noodles better. Sounds good right? It is very good. Sesame noodles are perfect for summer because you can enjoy them cold or at room temperature, which satisfies your desire for something cooling. I've also added finely sliced red cabbage and cucumbers for crunch. I tested this dish without the veg, but I enjoyed it a lot more with the crunch and freshness of the vegetables mixed in. This dish would work well for meal prep. Keep your prepared noodles ready in the fridge for a satisfying anytime snack or turn the noodles into a quick meal with extra protein, steamed veggies, or more raw vegetables. Stick around and I'll show you exactly how to make this. First, I want to talk about a couple of the key ingredients. We'll start with the sesame. Sesame paste is a super healthy ingredient that's loaded with vitamins E, K, B6, magnesium, copper, calcium, iron, and zinc. In Ayurveda, sesame is best for vata types due to its warming, sweet taste. As an Ayurvedic nutritionist, I would recommend most people to enjoy sesame regularly for its calcium and healthy fat content. While sesame isn't my top source of healthy fats for everyday use, sesame is a good source for two to three times a week. In this recipe, the warmth of the sesame along with the ginger, garlic, green onions, and other spices are essential to provide digestive support for the heavier wheat noodles. Now, which sesame should you use? Well, sesame noodles are traditionally made with Chinese sesame paste, which is different from tahini in that it's made with toasted sesame seeds. Toasted seeds impart a stronger sesame flavor, so if you love the taste of sesame, I encourage you to invest in this specialty ingredient. I didn't buy it because I've got plenty of tahini. Tahini is also a sesame paste, but it's made with untoasted sesame seeds, so the flavor is less intense. There's also another sesame ingredient, and that's sesame oil. Toasted sesame oil is an essential ingredient for this recipe. Which noodles should you use? Well, what you want for this dish is a thin wheat noodle made with flour and water. Wheat-based noodles give you a nice chewy texture. Avoid noodles with egg since it interferes with the overall taste. The very best noodle for sesame peanut noodles is guanmiao noodles, which are a Taiwanese handmade specialty noodle commonly used in soups and stir fries. Guanmiao noodles are made with just flour and water, and they're sun-dried. A good substitute would be the Japanese udon, soba, or somen noodles. To make this recipe, start by bringing a pot of water to boil over high heat. Add the noodles and cook them according to the package instructions. Just be careful not to overcook. And here I'm using chopsticks to stir the noodles every minute or so until they're separated. It's so fun! Isn't that beautiful? Next, we're going to strain into a large sieve and run cold water over the noodles for a minute or so to stop them from cooking. Then you'll set them aside until needed and move on to the ingredients for the sauce, starting with the green onions. You'll want to set aside the green part of the onions for garnish. Next, finely chop the garlic and the ginger. Taking the peel off with the knife, slicing into planks, and then matchsticks, and then tiny pieces. We're going to heat sesame oil. This is the toasted sesame oil in a tiny skillet on medium-low heat. Add the garlic and ginger and sizzle until lightly browned. And this is an optional step. You can leave this raw if you prefer. Enjoy the aromatics as they're sizzling. And then once lightly browned, transfer over to your mixing bowl. You're going to add in the chopped green onions you prepared, followed by the peanut butter. That's the creamy part. And the tahini. This is tahini. And then the soy sauce, the rice wine vinegar, or you could use any vinegar here. And then the mirin, or cooking wine, gives a little bit of sweetness and complexity. The hot water. And the hot water helps to blend and emulsify the peanut butter and the tahini. So I like giving it a stir here to get everything nice and smooth. And then you're going to add in your maple syrup or sugar, and your chili garlic paste. A little stir, why not? And your salt, and a little bit of black pepper as well. So stir finely until well blended. Have fun with this. The consistency should be a heavy cream. And if it's too thick, add a little more water. And then move on to chopping up your red cabbage and your cucumbers. And notice how I'm chopping the cucumbers into what's called matchsticks. And these long pieces are a good combination with the noodles, which are also long, right? So then you're going to transfer the noodles into the bowl with the sauce and stir well to coat everything. And I like two forks here. It works really well for this step. Yes, beautiful. Then we're going to add in our prepared cucumbers and cabbage and mix everything again together with the two forks. Isn't it pretty? I love the color that that adds. Then we're going to garnish with chopped peanuts, the reserved green onions, cilantro, some more chili sauce if you like. And yay! Admire your beautiful creation. And now you get to take a bite. You have earned it. Once your sesame noodles are ready, you have a great snack or an element that can be turned into a quick meal with one or more of the following. For extra protein, enjoy it with tofu, eggs, chicken, or fish. For extra cooked vegetables, steam your choice of cauliflower, carrots, snap peas, broccoli, bok choy, cabbage, or Asian greens and have it on top. Or make a miso soup and fill that with vegetables. For extra raw vegetables, enjoy with a fresh green salad or garnish with extra cucumber slices, radishes, or red bell peppers. Then for dessert, enjoy a bit of fresh fruit to bring in the light quality and help with the digestibility of the heavier noodles.