Taiwanese Cold Sesame Noodles

This is one of my most favorite things to eat during the summer. Back home we have very few cold dishes (surprising for a country in a hot climate!) so it seemed unlikely for me to become so enamored with this dish. Luckily by recommendation of my friend Shirley (if she says it is good I will at the very last try it) I tried these noodles a while back at a Taiwanese restaurant and since then I was hooked! They serve them with sliced ham but we made some ground pork to go with ours.

The recipe came from a very cool cooking blog I discovered recently (http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com). Although this recipe is very, very good the sauce comes out a little too dense for my personal taste. Therefore the quantities for denser ingredients will be reduced next time this dish comes to life.

On this occasion we had our good friend Irene come over to help us cook and eat :). She's Taiwanese and give some very enthusiastic approval to the outcome. We serve it with some cold tofu and some stir fried baby bok choy. Hope you all enjoy!

Shopping List:

1 pound fresh or dried medium-wide plain wheat Chinese noodles
1/2 cup carrots, peeled and cut julienne
1/2 cup cucumbers, peeled, seeded and cut julienne
1/2 cup roughly chopped cilantro
1/2 cup thinly sliced scallion tops

For the Sauce:

2 tablespoons toasted sesame paste
2 tablespoons smooth peanut butter (all natural or Simply Jif)
2 tablespoons minced scallion, white part only
2 1/2 tablespoons finely minced fresh garlic
1 tablespoon finely minced cilantro leaves
2 tablespoons chicken or vegetable stock/broth
2 tablespoons light or thin soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon Shao Hsing wine or dry sherry
3 teaspoons chili-broad bean sauce/paste
1/4 teaspoon toasted and ground Sichuan peppercorns (or black pepper to taste)
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2-3 teaspoons honey or raw sugar

Instructions:

If you are using dry noodles cook them just like you would cook pasta making sure not to over cook the noodles. Also, don't go al dente since Asian noodles are not meant to be served until thoroughly cooked. If you are using fresh noodles remember to fluff them before putting them in the pot or they will all stick together. After the noodles are done, rinse them with cold water to remove the starch and place them in the fridge to cool off.

For the sauce is a simple throw it all together in a blender or food processor. The blog quoted at the top recommends an immersion blender but if you don't have one of those don't worry. I used my mini 2-cup food processor with good results :).

The ground pork is extremely easy as well. Throw it in a pot/pan with a little bit of oil and season it to taste with salt/pepper. Most of the flavor will come from the sauce in the noodles. Cook it until it is thoroughly cooked and then keep on the side.

At this point bring out your cold noodles, and mix veggies, sauce and noodles in a big mixing bowl. Place the noodles on their plate and top them off with some of the ground pork. Use some crushed peanuts and some of the extra veggie and some cilantro to plate it and there it is, a very refreshing and healthy summer treat!