Sesame Sauce Cold Noodles(麻醬涼麵)
An umami-packed sauce brings this cool and refreshing summer dish together
Happy Friday! It’s been a busy start of July over here. I taught a cooking class at TANG this past weekend and demonstrated taro balls (芋圓) and sticky taro dumplings (芋粿巧). Then we went to a July 4th pool party with my Taiwanese friends, where I brought some homemade douhwa (豆花, dessert tofu), mungbean soup (綠豆湯) and of course, taro balls to share. And now my sister-in-law and nephew are visiting us for a few days. We’re going to grill and go eat some Korean food together. It’s been a lot but it’s honestly been great, and I am just trying to take the time and enjoy the moment as much as I can.
The sweltering and humid conditions these days remind me of the summers I spent in Tainan (Southern Taiwan) as a kid. Heat happens to be my cup of tea, I’m built for it, no complaints from me. At the multigenerational TANG conference, I too, like many of the grandparents there, was walking around with my tall Zojirushi thermos all over the place with some form of hot beverage. I chuckled at the thought of sharing something in common with the older generation and not with my own. The grandparents certainly make me feel less alone in the hot-beverage-all-year-round club.
Nonetheless, summers are for cold dishes. Not only because most people, unlike me, prefer cold and even icy things to eat in the summer, but cold dishes are easy to put together. This Taiwanese version of cold noodles features yellow yakisoba noodles, a sesame and peanut sauce, and fresh toppings of cucumbers, carrots, ham and egg strips on top. It’s decadent and fragrant from the nut butters and sesame oil and refreshing from the vegetables which provide pops of color and lots of crunch. Make extra sauce to keep in the fridge all summer long.
INGREDIENTS
1-2 packages of yakisoba noodles (or 1 lb of spaghetti)1
4-6 thin carrots, julienned
4-6 cucumbers, julienned
3 eggs, scrambled
1/4 tsp salt
1 package (6 oz) of ham, cut into strips
SESAME PEANUT SAUCE
1/4 cup tahini2
2 tbsp peanut butter (creamy or chunky)
1/4 cup cold water
3 tbsp tsuyu3 or soy sauce
1 tsp rice vinegar
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp sesame oil
4-5 garlic cloves (optional)
DIRECTIONS:
Make the sauce: in a small pot on the stove with low heat, slightly toast the tahini until it becomes darker and starts to smell fragrant, about 1-2 minutes. Careful not to overdo it, as white sesame burns easily and turns bitter. Set aside to let cool.
In a small bowl, add the tahini, peanut butter, water, tsuyu, vinegar, sugar, and sesame oil and whisk until smooth. Adjust tsuyu/soy sauce and sugar levels to your liking.
Cook the noodles: Fully cook raw yakisoba noodles and spaghetti noodles according to package instructions (If using pre-cooked yakisoba noodles, which usually come with seasoning packs, quickly blanch the noodles and drain, reserve seasoning packs for another use). Soak noodles in ice water for a few minutes, drain well. Toss with oil to prevent sticking.
Make egg strips: Add 1/4 tsp of salt to the eggs and mix well. In a nonstick pan over low heat, cook the scrambled eggs in thin layers, flip and remove when cooked but still tender. Repeat as necessary. Roll up the egg and cut into thin strips. Set aside.
Make garlic topping: in a tall container add garlic cloves and enough water to partially cover them. Pulse and blend with a soup blender until garlic is minced. Alternatively, mince garlic and add some water to dilute.
To serve: divide the noodles and top with cucumbers, carrots, egg strips, and ham strips. Top with sesame sauce and a teaspoon of garlic topping, if using. Serves 4-6.
Traditionally liangmien uses oiled noodles (油麵) fresh from the refrigerated section in Taiwan. Outside of Taiwan we have to be resourceful sometimes and opt for alternatives such as spaghetti noodles, which work beautifully in this recipe. Soba noodles are also great. If Japanese yakisoba noodles are accessible to you, that’s my favorite to use and the closest type of noodles I can find to oiled noodles.
Taiwanese sesame sauce comes in a jar and is made from heavily roasted white sesame and peanuts. Since tahini, which is made from raw white sesame seeds, is easier to find, we’re lightly toasting the tahini and adding peanut butter to essentially make our own Taiwanese sesame sauce.
Tsuyu or mentsuyu is a Japanese bonito-flavored soup base/ seasoned soy sauce that is commonly used in this recipe and reflects Japan’s influence on Taiwanese dishes. Feel free to use regular soy sauce.