I know I say it a lot, this is my ‘faaaavorite’ recipe. I just can’t help but say that again though, with this pasta recipe. I have been making these sesame noodles way before they ever became popular in the food blog world. I know everyone has their favorite version of this recipe, but this is my perfected version (if I may be so bold). I know there are several ingredients, but don’t be intimidated. It comes together very quickly (assuming you have a well stocked spice cabinet), and the dressing and marinade only have to be made once and works for both the chicken and the noodles.
My favorite part about this recipe is all of the fresh vegetables in the noodles. Most people just make the noodles with the sauce, but I promise you, the vegetables are what gives this recipe a fresh, hearty taste. I have used nearly every vegetable in these noodles, but my favorite ones to use are red cabbage (sliced very thin-ads amazing color and texture), green onions, carrots, red, orange, and yellow bell peppers. You could even add slightly steamed broccoli and bean sprouts. Pretty much anything you add with this sauce and these noodles will be delicious! The other great thing about this recipe is it can be a one-dish-wonder. If you want to cut the grilled chicken and add to the noodles, you have a complete meal that can be served in one bowl with your meat, vegetables, and carb.
Take these noodles to a barbecue, on a picnic, or serve an Asian feast with ham fried rice, won tons and sesame noodles. Enjoy 🙂
*TIP: I know many people have never used rice vinegar, hoisin sauce, sesame oil, red chili sauce, etc. Don’t skip over this recipe because you don’t have these ingredients. Once you buy these ingredients once, you will be able to make SO many Asian or Thai recipes. You will be amazed at how fast you go through them, once you learn to enjoy these flavors. I now can’t keep enough of these ingredients in my food storage!! They are great to have to cover all of the boring, plain rice in our storage.
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1/2 c. rice vinegar
- 1/2 c. white vinegar
- 1 c. soy sauce
- 1 T. hoisin sauce
- 2 T. sesame oil
- 3 T. vegetable or canola oil
- 1-1 1/3 c. brown sugar (depending how sweet you like it--I of course use it all 😉
- 1 T. sesame seeds
- 1 T. lime juice
- 3 T. peanut butter
- 1 t. ginger (freshly grated or ginger powder)
- 1 t. red pepper flakes
- 2 T. sweet red chili sauce (I use my homemade jalapeno jelly-chili sauce can be found in the Asian aisle)
- 16 oz. thin spaghetti noodles or angel hair pasta
- 1/2 c. green onions, sliced
- 1/2 c. carrots, sliced
- 1 red or orange bell pepper, sliced thinly
- 1 c. red cabbage, sliced thinly
- 4-5 chicken breasts
- Combine in a bowl the ingredients for the marinade. If the peanut butter is too thick and won't whisk into the sauce well, microwave it for a few seconds until soft. Once marinade is smooth, take 1/2-3/4 c. of the marinade and place in a ziploc bag or in a bowl with the chicken. Put chicken in the fridge until ready to grill. Set the rest of the marinade aside until the noodles are cooked.
- Cook the noodles until tender and then drain and rinse. While noodles are cooking cut the vegetables very thinly (you don't want big chunks of vegetables, just thin slices). When the noodles are drained and cooked, place in a large bowl. Add the vegetables to the warm noodles (this will help soften the carrots). Pour the remaining dressing (not from the chicken, the extra) over the noodles. Let noodles sit until chicken is cooked.
- Grill the marinated chicken until cooked through. Serve the grilled chicken along side the sesame noodles. Garnish the sesame noodles with sesame seeds and sliced green onions.
(Marinade & dressing for the chicken and noodles)
