These cold sesame noodles are a great dish for summer days when all you want for dinner is something cool.
We use a store-bought rotisserie chicken, which means all you have to cook is the noodles. Serves 4:
Cold Sesame Noodles with Chicken
- 1-2 cups shredded cooked chicken
- 1 cucumber (about 1 pound)
- 12 ounces linguini
- 2 tablespoons dark sesame oil
- ½ cup smooth peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce, more to taste
- 1 teaspoon minced or grated ginger
- 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
- Hot sesame oil or Sriracha to taste
- ½ cup thinly sliced scallions for garnish
Set a pot of salted water to boil for the noodles. When it comes to a boil, add the noodles, and cook until it’s al dente. Drain and run cold water over them to cool. Drain and put aside.
Peel the cucumber, cut it in half the long way and scoop out the seeds. Cut the cucumber into 1/4” slices and set aside.
While noodles are cooking, whisk together the sesame oil, peanut butter, sugar, soy sauce, ginger, rice wine vinegar, and hot oil in a large bowl. Thin the sauce with hot water so it’s the consistency of heavy cream. Taste and adjust to taste. Add the chicken, cucumbers and noodles to the bowl. Toss until completely mixed. Serve garnished with scallions and enjoy!
My verdict:
This is one of my favorite dishes that Frank makes. It’s a great summertime dinner. If you don’t have a rotisserie chicken, you can poach a chicken breast, it will poach in about 10 minutes, and then use that water for the noodles. We do the noodles in the microwave in our favorite Fasta Pasta.
He always uses peanut butter, but you can use Chinese sesame paste or tahini. I’m always asking for more rice wine vinegar, and he likes a little more soy sauce.
We’ve also garnished it with sesame seeds and cilantro, so feel free to add what you like, this is one of those recipes that’s really flexible and delicious!
