ALLCAPS COOKBOOK PRESENTS: Cold Sesame-Peanut Noodles

It’s too hot.

Too much work to do.

But the body must eat. IT'S A CONUNDRUM.

I've always loved cold sesame noodles, which are always also cold peanut noodles, but people only ever say one or the other because I have no idea. But they've never been quiiiite right at home--til now. I was mightily pleased with these, made a huge batch, and kept eating them for two days afterward.

I used fresh udon noodles, but if you don't have access, regular noodles of your choice are totally fine. This one's pretty simple, so I'll stop with the Traditional Cooking Blog Confessional Life Story and get to it. It's based around the NYT recipe, but with some changes to up the acid component, which turns out to be what I was missing. (Other than MSG. You can choose to include 1/2 teaspoon of that or not as you like.)

Ingredients

3/4 package long skinny noodles of choice, or one full packet fresh udon noodles

2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil

3.5 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

2 tablespoons tahini or Chinese sesame paste

1.5 tablespoons peanut butter

1 1/4 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon ginger grated with the zest side of a box grater

2.5 taspoons garlic, grated with same

1/3 white or red onion, grated with same

2 tablespoons chili crisp (or chili oil if you want everything perfectly smooth)

1 teaspoon white or red wine vinegar

Half a cucumber, seeded and julienned

1 scallion, sliced thin diagonally

1/2 teaspoon white pepper

Roasted peanuts for garnish

Process

And it is just...processing.

Cook noodles according to package, but don't salt the water, the soy sauce is plenty salty. Place in a bowl with a small amount of sesame oil to prevent noodles from sticking and chill in the fridge while you make the sauce.

Put cucumber, peanuts, scallions, chili crisp, and white or red wine vinegar aside. Throw everything else into the food processor and puree until totally smooth. Add a little water if it seems too thick. Let this sit to meld for about 15-20 minutes

Retrieve bowl of cooked noodles and toss with sauce, chili crisp, and remaining vinegar. Top with cucumber, scallions, and peanuts. Serve ice cold.

When eating the next day, add about two tablespoons of cold water to each serving and stir quickly to loosen up the sauce again. Just as good!