Cold Sesame or Peanut Noodles

Makes: 2 main-course or 4 side-dish servings

Time: 30 minutes

F M O

These noodles are easy to prepare; in addition to cucumbers, you can add in other crunchy vegetables like carrots, radish, and peppers. To make it more substantial, add ½ cup or so of small tofu cubes, cooked soybeans, or Crunchy Crumbled Tempeh (page 512). If you use an egg-free pasta, this becomes vegan.

• Salt
• 1 pound cucumbers
• 12 ounces fresh Chinese egg noodles or dried (not fresh) long pasta like linguine
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• ½ cup tahini, peanut butter, or a combination
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce, or to taste
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger (optional)
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar, white wine vinegar, or other vinegar
• Hot chile oil or Tabasco sauce
• ½ teaspoon pepper, or more to taste
• At least ½ cup chopped scallions for garnish

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil and salt it. Peel the cucumbers, cut them in half, and seed them. Cut the cucumber into shreds (use a grater or a knife, depending on your taste) and set aside.
2. When the water comes to a boil, add the noodles. Cook, stirring occasionally until the noodles are tender but not mushy. (Start tasting after 1 minute for fresh noodles, 5 minutes for long pasta.) While the noodles are cooking, whisk together the sesame oil, tahini, sugar, soy, ginger if you’re using it, vinegar, chile oil to taste, and pepper in a large bowl. Thin the sauce with some of the cooking water to about the consistency of heavy cream; you will need ¼ to ½ cup. Stir in the cucumbers.
3. When the noodles are done, drain them and rinse under cold water. Drain again. Toss the noodles with the sauce and cucumbers. Taste, add salt if necessary, then garnish and serve.

Cold Fiery Noodles Like a salad, really, with lots of crisp vegetables and a light, hot-sweet dressing: Rinse (and trim if you’d like) ½ cup bean sprouts and slice a handful of radishes (any kind). Chop up some cilantro and peanuts for garnish. When you make the dressing, omit the tahini or peanut butter; increase the vinegar to 2 tablespoons and add ¼ cup good-quality vegetable oil. When you stir in the cucumbers in Step 2, add the sprouts and radishes and at least 1 teaspoon Chile Paste (page 664) or minced fresh chile (like jalapeño or Thai). Thin with just 1 tablespoon or so of water. Proceed with the recipe, garnishing each serving with a sprinkle of scallions, cilantro, and peanuts.

Cold Ginger Noodles Great at any temperature, really: Increase the fresh ginger to 1 tablespoon. When you make the sauce in Step 2, add ½ teaspoon ground ginger and 1 teaspoon honey. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds.