These cold sesame noodles are quick and easy to make, especially if you make a bigger batch of the sauce and store it in a jar in your refrigerator. Just omit the warm water if you decide to make enough for storage and it should keep for a few weeks. You can make the basic dish and then each person can add in whatever extras they like – more soy sauce, Chinese black vinegar, hot chili sauce, etc.
Sarah and I had a battle of the presentations for this cold sesame noodle dish, so check it out.
Recipe Instructions
Cook the fresh noodles al dente and reserve some of the cooking liquid. Rinse the noodles with cold water and drain.
Don’t let them sit too long, as they tend to stick together. If you have to pre-cook them, then you can rinse with some warm water and drain again.
Stir together all the sauce ingredients in a small bowl until combined (peanut butter, salt, sesame oil, canola/vegetable oil, sesame paste, soy sauce, garlic, orange juice, rice wine vinegar, and 3 tablespoons reserved cooking water from the noodles).
Julienne the scallion, cucumber, and carrot. Blanch the bean sprouts in boiling water for 15 seconds and put into an ice bath. Drain.
In a bowl or on a plate, add the noodles and sauce. Arrange the vegetables over the noodles, and sprinkle chopped cilantro, scallion, crushed peanuts and toasted sesame seeds over the top. Serve immediately.
Here’s my cold sesame noodle plate:
And here’s Sarah’s:
Put some rice vinegar and soy sauce on the table in case you decide it needs more of either depending upon your personal preference.
Toss it all together when ready to eat these cold sesame noodles and enjoy!
I think Sarah won the cold sesame noodles presentation challenge!
Cold Sesame Noodles
Ingredients
FOR THE NOODLES:
- 8 oz. noodles (250g)
- 1 scallion (julienned)
- ½ cup carrots (shredded)
- ½ cup cucumber
- ½ cup bean sprouts
- cilantro
- Toasted sesame seeds
- Handful of crushed peanuts
FOR THE SAUCE:
- 2 tablespoons peanut butter
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 1 teaspoon Chinese sesame paste
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
- 2 tablespoon rice wine vinegar (or white vinegar)
- 3 tablespoons reserved cooking water from the noodles
Instructions
- Cook the noodles al dente and reserve some of the cooking liquid. Rinse the noodles with cold water and drain.
- Stir together all the sauce ingredients in a small bowl until combined. Julienne the scallion, carrot, and cucumber.
- Blanch bean sprouts in boiling water for 15 seconds and put into an ice bath and drain.
- In a bowl, pour the sauce over the noodles. Add the vegetables, chopped cilantro, crushed peanuts and toasted sesame seeds on top and serve immediately, along with extra toppings like chili sauce, rice vinegar, or soy sauce.
I tried Cold Sesame Noodles at my local Chinese take-out a few weeks ago and fell in love with the dish! Then the virus hit and now my local Chinese take-out is closed for awhile 😭 so I couldn’t get my “cold sesame noodle fix”. So, being an avid follower of y’all I searched for a recipe, and y’all did not disappoint!! I made a large batch of the sauce (I was not going to waste all the extra fresh orange juice) and have had the dish twice in 2 days. My mom is in love with it too, we both just finished our second bowls and my mom said she could it this all day, every day! I was really excited to see that I didn’t have to alter the sauce recipe to accommodate my onion allergy, so a super win!! Thank you for keeping me in good recipes during this time!
Hi Cali, awesome to hear you are enjoying your homemade cold sesame noodles! It’s super delicious and now I’ve got a craving to make it for lunch :)
Thumbs up yummy site!
Thank you so much!
Oh yes! Look so yummy! Can I translate the recipe and put on my French blog. Of course I mention and link your blog.
Thanks and congrats for your nice work…
Jean
Hi Jean, We generally have strict syndication guidelines so email us on our contact page, and we can work something out to allow your French readers to enjoy this recipe too!
Do you think this would work if made ahead? Could I mix everything together, throw it on a bowl and take it on a picnic?
Hi Angela, this is definitely a great make-ahead recipe…but I would leave the sesame sauce separate and pour it on top when ready to serve. I would separate the noodles and veggies and also lightly oil the noodles so they don’t stick together in a large clump when you are ready to serve it. Happy picnicking!
I had was craving sesame peanut noodles — glad I was right when I thought to check out your site!! Even though I was missing several ingredients, I improvised here and there, and they were STILL delicious!! Thank you for sharing your wonderful recipes!!
Hi Lorre, You’re welcome and good to hear you were able to improvise! I do like a good cold sesame noodle dish too :)
This looks YUMMY! Thanks for joining us on The Yuck Stops Here recipe link party again this week! I can’t wait to see what you’ll bring to the party next week. I have stumbled and pinned this yummy recipe. HUGS
Thanks for stopping by Cheryl!
Looks so delicious! I love the combination of vegetables used and that they are plentiful!
Hi Bismah, uh-oh, looks like we missed your comment back in July! We make a point of responding to everyone that stumbles on our little corner of the internet here. Our biggest pet-peeve is probably when there aren’t enough veggies on the table, so we feel ya there! Hope you had a chance to make it since you commented! :)
Thanks Abbie, I suspect you pinned Sarah’s version, as I must have lost the plating battle! For me, the best part is after you toss it all together!
This dish looks so delightful! And so colorful. I love all the veggies happening.
Pinning!
Can you suggest any alternatives to using peanut butter? I can easily leave out the crushed peanuts as a topping, but the peanut butter seems essential for the sauce. We have a severe peanut allergy in the house, so peanut butter isn’t a possibility!
Hi Angie, you can definitely substitute more tahini (sesame paste) for the peanut butter (as long as there isn’t a sesame allergy at your house!). It’ll still taste great. You just need to whisk it a bit more and maybe add a bit of hot water to make a smooth sauce. Let us know how it goes!
I found that I am able to substitute almond butter in many recipes, especially non bakery ones.
And of course, this means you can roast and crush almonds for the top and keep the recipe nicely consistent…
Great idea for folks allergic to peanuts specifically! Thanks for the tip, Lenina!