I find nothing as yawn-inspiring as a food blogger who “yums” at their own creations. I see it on blogs all the time. “‘Yum, yum and yum,’ and did I say, ‘yum?!'” I can hear them now, oohing and ahhing at their own creations. However, I may soon become part of this silly little navel gazing taste-bud gazing club.
Tonight I made sesame noodles. That old dish from the Chinese restaurants in New York. I didn’t think I’d be eating sesame noodles again, so I was overcome with enthusiasm -yum! Take that as a warning; the recipe might not be as miraculous to your palate as it is to mine.
- Fixings:
- 1 box papadini spaghetti
- 1 tablespoon grapeseed oil
- 1 cucumber, peeled and diced
- 1 carrot, shredded
- ¼ cup cilantro, minced
- Sauce:
- 1 cup creamy roasted almond butter
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons ume plum vinegar
- 2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup agave nectar
- ¾ cup water
- ½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
- In a large pot, bring 3 quarts (12 cups) of water to vigorous boil, then add 1 tablespoon grapeseed oil and pasta
- Reduce to slow boil, stirring frequently and cook uncovered 7-9 minutes, until pasta is tender
- Drain pasta in a steel colander
- In a one quart jar, combine almond butter, sesame oil, vinegars, agave, water and salt; mix well
- Place pasta, cucumber and carrots in individual bowls
- Drizzle with sesame sauce, sprinkle with cilantro and serve
You can also add scallions and broccoli to this dish as well as leftover chicken which gives it an extra hit of protein. I have been eating a lot of these gluten-free sesame noodles lately, seeking refuge from the cold weather in bowls of warm noodles, smothered in sauce –ahh sweet sesame solace.
Madelyn Griffith-Haynie, CTP, CMC, MCC, SCAC says
If this tastes ANYTHING like NYC take out Cold Sesame Noodles, you are my new best friend. One of my absolute favorite dishes, I’ve been trying to duplicate (from memory) ever since I had to move away [sob].– Close, but no cigar. Gluten free for about 18 months now, I thought I’d have to give up the quest. Will be shopping soon (and praying).
Jumped over from Pinteres to another blog to here, btw. – Nice site!
xx,
mgh
(Madelyn Griffith-Haynie – ADDandSoMuchMore dot com)
– ADD Coach Training Field founder; ADD Coaching co-founder –
“It takes a village to transform a world!”
Jennifer says
I’ve been hearing and reading a lot about Agave not being a good sweetner to use. Have you tried any others in this recipe?
cali says
Loved this recipe! I am on the verge of going raw so I substituted the noodles for zucchini noodles that I made with a vegetable peeler. Came out great and my family liked it too!
Bobbi says
We just finished eating this dish and everyone liked it a lot – great, healthy comfort food. However, we thought it could use a little punch, a kick, a bit of red pepper flakes, perhaps. Any ideas of what might give this more spice would be most welcome.
Thanks for the great recipe!
Kristin says
Hi Elana –
I want to try your sesame noodles recipe with my newly aquired kelp noodles. What can I sub for umeboshi vinegar?
Thanks,
Kristin
elana says
Jen,
I realize that the Bob’s Red Mill is much more accessible, however, if it is not too difficult for you to order on the internet, you can get a much higher quality brand for less than 1/2 the price. I actually order most of my baking ingredients online –it takes a bit of forethought though saves a lot of money.
Unfortunately, I have not endeavored in making my own pasta –seems very labor intensive. You could leave a post in the forums and other pasta aficionados might have some resources for you.
Hope this helps.
Elana
Jen says
Hello.
My husband just recently found out he has a MILD gluten intolerance so I have been searching for recipes for the past 2 days. Your recipes seem to be more intune with the way we eat, except for the fact that we are vegan, but eggs and meat can be easily changed to fit our own requirements. Even your use of agave is pretty much unheard of, so it’s nice to find a site that uses cashews and agave on a regular basis. The almond four sounds very delicous as well, I just wish the Bob’s Redmill almond flour was more appropriate for your recipes as they are based a city away from where I live.
I do have a question about pasta. I was hoping that this would include a recipe on how to make the noodles as well.
Have you ever tried making noodles or reccomend cookbook(s) or a recipe site that has recipes for pasta.
Thanks!
elana says
Dear Karen,
I don’t have a recipe for pasta, haven’t gotten that adventurous yet. Haven’t tried making wrapper for dumplings either. Sorry I can’t be of more help.
Elana
Karen Bean says
I would love a recipe for pasta and wrappers that I can use for dumplings and ravioli. Please help. I tried using the dried rice wraps… they didn’t work as they kept tearing. Suggestions???
elana says
Betty -Thanks for your inquiry; please see this section of my faq’s for the answer.
Betty says
Why use grapeseed oil? I am aware of the health benefits of olive and peanut oil, but don’t know much about grapeseed oil?
kazari says
it looks pretty yum to me!
I often say yum on my blog, because I try a lot of new stuff, and I’m constantly surprised when it works out well.
I often say ‘oops’ and ‘eewww’ as well…
Becky says
Elana,
This looks fabulous. I like the idea of adding umeboshi vinegar.