← Nouns Cooking · Chinese

Ingredients

• 300 g fresh alkaline wheat noodles (or thin egg-free noodles)
• 1 tbsp sesame oil, for the noodles
• 3 tbsp Chinese sesame paste (or tahini)
• 3 tbsp hot water
• 1 tsp Toasted sesame oil
• 2 tsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp Dark soy sauce
• 1½ tsp Chinese black vinegar
• 1 tsp Sugar
• 1 pinch Chinese five-spice
• 2 cloves Garlic, grated
• 2 tbsp Chilli oil (optional)
• 4 tbsp pickled radish or mustard greens, finely chopped
• 2 Spring onion, thinly sliced
• 1 handful Coriander (cilantro) (optional)

Method

1. Stir the sesame paste with the hot water a spoonful at a time until it loosens into a smooth, pourable sauce. Mix in the sesame oil, both soy sauces, vinegar, sugar, five-spice and garlic.
2. Bring a large pan of water to the boil and cook the noodles until just tender, usually 2–3 min for fresh ones. Drain well and toss with the tablespoon of sesame oil so they stay separate.
3. Divide the hot noodles between two bowls. Spoon over the sesame sauce and add chilli oil, pickles, spring onion and coriander.
4. Toss everything together vigorously at the table so every strand is coated, and eat while hot.

Tips

• Contains sesame and wheat. Check the noodles if you are vegan, as some alkaline noodles contain egg.
• In Wuhan the noodles are pre-boiled, oiled and fanned dry, then flash-reheated to order; this home version skips that step.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Omnivore's Cookbook Red House Spice