Cold Noodles with Sesame Dressing, Chinese Style | Hong Kong Food Blog with Recipes, Cooking Tips mostly of Chinese and Asian styles | Taste Hong Kong

Cold Noodles with Sesame Dressing, Chinese Style

Cold Noodles with Sesame Dressing, Chinese Style

At the time when I started cooking on my own, this was already one of the dishes I liked making. Although it was ages, I still remember I was rather slow in slicing the ingredients. However, it was rewarding because the result were refreshing and the noodles were creamy with the sesame sauce (tahini). And, it was the dish I brought to my first potluck party.

Then, I risked more variations, replacing celery for cucumber, boiled eggs for fried eggs, and even peanut butter for sesame paste. When time permits, I’d substitute chicken shreds for store-bought ham to yield some succulent bites of meat. For an easy and quick version, like I did for this recipe, I’d veer in the meatless direction and spike it with the Sichuan pickled mustard shreds.

Every thing here can be prepared in advance (that is why it is good for potluck), including shredding the vegetables, whisking the sauce, and even boiling the noodles. Just be sure, after prepared, they have to be covered and stored separately in fridge.

For the noodles, I like them to be ‘meatier’, that is, springy yet not too thin. Ajisen ramen is the one I used here.

Cold Noodles with Sesame Dressing, Chinese Style

If you plan to use peanut butter, which is usually sweetened but without sesame flavors, consider adding a spoon of sesame oil to flavor the sauce, also making the noodles more slippery.

My sesame paste is flavorful but tasteless; it is homemade in which I did not add any sugar or salt. If yours is store-bought, then very likely, it is sweetened and therefore you may need to skip adding the sugar.

This time, slicing is done quickly with my mandolin slicer.

Cold Noodles with Sesame Dressing, Chinese Style

  • Ingredients
  • 250g wheat noodles (or ramen)
  • 100g cucumber, shredded
  • 100g carrot, skinned shredded
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • ~50g Sichuan pickled mustard
  • salt and oil for boiling noodles
  • 1 tsp roasted white sesame seeds, optional
  • yield 2 servings
  • Sesame dressing
  • 6 tbsp white sesame paste (tahini)
  • 4 tsp rice vinegar
  • 4 tsp sugar
  • 1 tsp soy sauce
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt, or to taste
  • 1/4 tsp ground white pepper
  • 1 tsp sesame oil, optional
  • 1/2 tsp roasted sesame seeds, optional
  • ~4 tbsp drinking water

Method

In a pan, fry beaten eggs into a thin sheet. Let cool, and cut into thin shreds.

In a large pot, with about 2 litres of water, 1/2 tea spoon each of salt and oil, bring them to a boil. Add noodles and cook barely tender but done (I cook mine for about 2 minutes).

Have another large bowl filled with cold drinking water ready. Drain the boiled noodles and transfer them into the bowl of cold water. Loosen the noodles in the water, then drain well.

Mix all ingredients (except drinking water and skip the sugar if yours is sweetened) for the sauce, then add water a spoon a time, whisking well until it reach your preferred consistency.

Store the noodles, shreds, and sauce separately in fridge until chilled, about 2 hours or overnight.

Just before serving, toss noodles and shreds with sauce. Sample taste, add some more salt if required (you may also adjust the amount of sugar and vinegar to suit your taste). Garnish with roasted sesame seeds if using. Serve cold.

Cold Noodles with Sesame Dressing, Chinese Style

Enjoy!


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Comments

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  1. Helena

    It’s quite funny, I was just thinking these last two days of trying this recipe ! I actually saw on the internet a lot of versions with peanut butter, but I think I would prefer a pure sesame one, so your recipe comes in handy…
    I only have a few questions about it : do you roast the sesame seeds before grinding them to make the tahini ? And should this neutral sesame paste be replaced with chinese roasted sesame paste (I actually have a jar of it already opened which I’d like to use) ?

    By the way, here’s what I read about fuzzy melon : http://recipes.wikia.com/wiki/Winter_melon . It’s said on several other sites that it is at least related to winter melon. But I do understand that it should be cooked in different ways, even if it’s the same vegetable ! So thanks for your precise tips.

  2. Stephanie

    That looks so so good. I love noodles so much, esp sesame ones! Pinning it to pinterest for later

  3. Angie@Angie's Recipes

    Nothing beats a good cold noodle for the lunch during the summer heat.

  4. MK

    cold sesame noodles are addictive. i made your recipe using natural peanut butter instead of tahini and it tastes so good! thanks for sharing it.

  5. TasteHongKong

    @Helena,
    Yes, I roast or pan fry the sesame seeds before blending them with oil into a paste (let me see how soon I could share that recipe too). Tahini and sesame paste should be different in names, yours should be good for making this dish, and I suppose it (factory produced) is creamier than homemade.
    Thanks for the link; yes, it is a different concept than I know.

  6. TasteHongKong

    @Stephanie,
    Thanks for pinning.

  7. TasteHongKong

    @Angie@Angie’s Recipes,
    Yes, this is a favorite especially on hot days.

  8. TasteHongKong

    @MK,
    So efficient – in less than 24 hours, you had already made the dish and advised us how you like this. Thanks!

  9. Juliana

    Oh! I love this kind of noodles…light and refreshing. Thanks for the recipe and hope you are having a fantastic week 🙂

  10. mycookinghut

    Looks light and refreshing, love it!

  11. tigerfish

    This is 夏天好面 in my opinion. Yum!

  12. Mary Moh

    Looks delicious. I have never tried a cold noodle dish. I think it would be great on hot days.

  13. lena

    one day, i must really try noodles with tahini..i never had peanut butter or peanut sauce in anything else except in desserts. btw, i managed to find the korean sweet potato noodles already and bought one packet, now i shall go and chk out your old recipe again 🙂

  14. TasteHongKong

    @lena,
    Feel free to do so, and hope you enjoy both.

  15. Homemade Sesame Paste | Confinement Lady For Hire

    […] I blended the paste with a few more seasonings for serving with cold noodles, a meatless style. Do not get me wrong that I do not like this paste to go with meats. I like […]