We don't need to remind everyone that there's a serious heat wave washing over much of the country right now. How about we just give you something cool to serve for supper?
Cold may be a strong word to use for this dish. It's really more room temperature if you serve it right away, but it tastes great leftover, straight out of the fridge, so change the name as you wish. Chilly Peanut Sesame Noodles just didn't sound quite right to us.
We've seen a few versions of this dish around the web lately. Most of them contain sesame oil for that distinct, toasted flavor. Not all of them, however, have peanut butter -- which is one ingredient we really love. It makes the noodles a little sticky, especially when they are really cold, but we prefer a hearty peanut flavor mixed in with the scallions and Asian ingredients.
We also like to keep the vegetables simple: chopped scallions and cucumber sliced into tiny, thin matchsticks (a mandoline helps). You could add carrots or maybe some crunchy radishes, but don't go crazy. The noodles are the main event here.
And speaking of noodles, any long, thin variety is fine. Soba would be great, but spaghetti works, too. We used whole wheat spaghetti because it made eating an entirely too big bowl of noodles seem healthier, but use whatever sounds good to you.

Cold(ish) Peanut Sesame Noodles
serves four as a main course2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4 teaspoons peanut or canola oil, divided
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 inch piece of ginger, peeled and minced
1 pound spaghetti or soba noodles
1 English (seedless) cucumber
5 scallions (white and light green parts) chopped
2 teaspoons black sesame seeds (toasted white ones would be fine, too)
For the sauce:
2 tablespoons natural peanut butter*
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
3 tablespoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Heat 2 teaspoons of oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Cook the garlic and ginger for about 2 minutes, then remove and set aside.
Add the remaining 2 teaspoons of oil, increase the heat slightly, and add the chicken breasts. Cook until golden on each side, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Turn the heat to low, cover the pan, and cook until chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes. Remove chicken from the pan and set aside to cool.
Bring a large stockpot of water to a boil and cook spaghetti according to the package directions. While it cooks, peel the cucumber and slice into thin strips about 4 inches long. This is much easier on a mandoline, but you can certainly do it by hand -- the strips can be any thickness you like.
In a large bowl, whisk together the ingredients for the sauce, plus the garlic and ginger. When the spaghetti is finished cooking, drain and rinse under cold water until cool. Add to the bowl with the sauce and toss to coat. Add the cucumber, scallions, and sesame seeds.
Slice the cooled chicken into thin, diagonal strips and place on top of the noodles on each plate.
*If you use regular peanut butter, you may want to reduce the amount of sugar in the sauce, as non-natural peanut butter contains sugar.
Related: Cold Soba, Sesame, and Carrot Salad
(Images: Elizabeth Passarella)
Peeler by Normann C...

Comments (17)
Soba is a delight if you can find it. I'm fond of the kind made with buckwheat and lotus root because it holds up better than the straight buckwheat kind. If you can't find it in stores but know you like it, you can buy it online (can't remember where I found it). I keep meaning to do that.
Maybe I missed it, but should the set-aside garlic and ginger be added to the sauce?
midwest_foodie: Yes, absolutely. Sorry about that- fixed it.
Soba noodles are always available at Asian Grocery Stores.
Great recipe. I am going to try it. Thanks.
I didn't know what to make for dinner tonight and this is absolutely perfect!
I've said it before, but it bears repeating: natural or organic peanut butter contains aflatoxin, an unpleasant carcinogen that you'd be best off avoiding. There are very few foodstuffs that do not benefit from being organic, but sadly, peanuts are not one of them. Aspergillus flavus, a mold, grows on most peanuts and high concentrations of aflatoxin, a chemical it produces are found on "natural" and "organic" peanuts. In addition, the FDA regulates aflatoxin levels in peanut butters but not if you get your peanut butter ground in a store or at home.
For more information:
http://www.aspergillusflavus.org/aflatoxin/
So, despite the high sugar levels in large commercially made peanut butters, they do have some advantages for your health.
I've made a version of this recipe twice this week and it is AWESOME!
I find I'm geetting all my new good recipes from this site lately!!
I made this today, and it was great!
However I have one criticism: it's WAY more complicated than it needs to be.
I usually don't like the idea of "dumbing down" or fiddling with recipes at ALL, but this is a simple dish and doesn't need to be so fussy. You don't need 3 types or even two types of oil. We used olive oil for the whole thing and it was fine. You can chop the cuke any way you want, and add a shot or two of hot chili sauce. It's also nice with a little cilantro.
I think not using the sesame oil would change the recipe greatly. The sesame oil adds a rich, velvety, nutty flavor that I can't see coming from olive oil.
I cooked the chicken wrapped in foil in the oven at 350 degrees for 35 minutes after marinating in some of the sesame and peanut oil, soy sauce, grated ginger, vinegar and garlic for about an hour. The chicken came out great. (Chicken gets too dry whenever I try to saute it.) I served this on rice because I couldn't find soba and also used bean sprouts instead of the cucumber.
Very delicious... can't wait to have the leftovers tonight.
Just made this recipe last night, delicious! I used a whole wheat pasta which seemed to soak up the sauce very quickly, so I'd recommend doubling or tripling the sauce portion if you like plenty of sauce. I also rubbed the chicken with some jarred curry powder before cooking and that added some great flavor!
I have my peanut-sesame sauce in the frig right now. I use tahini and organic p.b, plus chili with garlic sauce and a bit of hoisin sauce for a teeny bit of aromatic sweetness, plus lots of lime juice.
Then I toss cooked, rinsed noodles, usually linguini, with the sauce and add sliced English cucumber, shredded poached chicken breast and lots of fresh chopped cilantro. It's got a taste reminiscent of pad thai. That's what's for dinner tonight!
Love this recipe; I made another version of this (from the Disney Family website) previously that wasn't as good. This one was much better. Very delicious made gluten-free as well - I used rice noodles and GF tamari soy sauce. Really scrumptious supper, even on a cold day in October!
Delicious and so easy! The way that the recipe is written makes it look much more complicated than it is. I used brown sugar instead of white and next time I'll probably add a little sriracha to the sauce...but this recipe is definitely a keeper.
Oh my goodness, this is my favorite side for any dish. You just inspired me to do this for Memorial Day grilling. Thanks for the great idea! Happy weekend to all!
I made this sauce tonight and used it on some noodles, veggies, and baked tempeh. The sauce was good, but not quite the recreation of chinese takeout noodles I'd hoped for. Is there a Cold Sesame Noodle cognition theory?
could you also use spaghetti squash in place of the spaghetti (or soba)?
I also had problems with the chicken being dry, so maybe I will try it differently next time. Otherwise, it is very yummy - tangy, nutty, sweet, salty, yummmmm. I've made it with linguini and bean vermicelli, without cucumber, with it, with slivered carrots, etc. It is delicious.