Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Simple Sesame Noodles - Win!

Back after a very long break. Pregnancy nausea and cooking don't really go well together :)

This was one of the first recipes I tried as I entered back into the kitchen. I've now made it twice and it was a huge hit both times. Takes about 10 minutes to make, even if you decide to add some protein to it!

Simple Sesame Noodles (with revisions)

12 ounces, fluid thin noodles, cooked and drained (Japanese noodles, linguini, angel hair, or spaghetti - which is what I used.)
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tbsp sugar (I used brown sugar)
4 garlic cloves (I only used 3 - they were huge)
2 tbsp rice vinegar
3 tbsp pure sesame oil
1/2 tsp hot chili oil (replaced with 1/4 tsp chili powder)
4 tbsp canola oil (reduced to 1tbsp only)
4 whole green onions, sliced thin (Omitted - I didn't have any)
ADDITION TO ORIGINAL RECIPE - cooked shrimp or 1 inch chunks of cooked chicken, no seasoning added, cooked in sesame/canola oil (1/2 tbsp total)

Whisk together ingredients in a bowl (except noodles and green onion). Pour sauce over warm noodles and toss.
Sprinkle with green onion, toss if you wish
Serve!

This recipe is fantastic cause it fast, easy, and versatile. Again total cooking / prep time is about 10-15 minutes so this is the perfect weeknight dinner. You can easily add chicken, shrimp, or tofu plus a variety of vegetables to this recipe to round it out as a full meal. Personally I find a bowl of noodles a little unsatisfying. Pasta could be swapped for gluten free as well. 
I found the amount of oil used to be WAY too much and I never used the maximum. Next time I may eliminate the canola oil totally, or do two and two of sesame and canola oil. Cutting the oil still provided enough sauce to cover the noodles with a lovely taste. I may swap the sugar for honey next time to see if it adds to the flavour. The onion would be a great addition, so I'll plan to have it on hand next time. This time I simply garnished with sesame seeds for visual appeal. 

Not totally toddler approved - the garlic and sesame is quite potent, but I got a few bites in. 

Overall a definite win and it'll be in our regular menu!

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