Spicy Sesame Noodles

Noodles are served at the Lunar New Year to represent a long life. Usually they are made by hand, and are very, very long. The longer the noodles, the longer your life. This year, I opted to make one of my favorite dishes - sesame noodles.

I've tried a bunch of recipes for sesame noodles, but none have quite matched my memory of the first time I ate them. They were made by a co-worker's mother, a girl who I sadly do not see anymore. All versions I've seen use some form of paste - peanut butter, tahini - which in my opinion make the noodles goopy. So I came up with my own version of sesame noodles.

Firstly, soba noodles are one of my favorite types of pasta. They are slightly nutty, and they taste good cold. Not having any at hand, I used some buckwheat noodles that were meant for naeng myun, a cold noodle soup. Good enough. They were a bit delicate in texture, but held up well.

Next was the sauce. I wanted to keep the noodles from getting gloppy and sticky, so I kept the sauce thin. For some reason, I can never toast sesame seeds properly - they always end up burned. The least burned of the seeds were sprinkled over the noodles along with some chopped green onion.

The result: flavorful and easy to eat.

Spicy Sesame Noodles

12 oz soba noodles
2 cloves chopped fresh garlic
1 tsp minced fresh ginger
2 Tbs vegetable or peanut oil
2 Tbs sesame oil
1 Tbs soy sauce
1 Tbs siracha or other chili sauce
1 tsp sugar
1 Tbs white sesame seeds
2 green onions, chopped

Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain and rinse well under cold water.

In a large pan, heat the vegetable oil over medium high heat. Saute garlic and ginger in vegetable oil. Add noodles and toss to coat. In a small bowl, combine sesame oil, soy sauce, siracha, and sugar. Pour over the noodles and blend in well. Remove from heat.

Spread sesame seeds in a thin layer on a toaster oven pan. Toast until light brown.

Garnish noodles with sesame seeds and green onion, and serve hot or cold.